Nanowire Systems Research Articles

Squeezing dynamics of a nanowire system with spin-orbit interaction

We analyze the dynamics of squeezing in a ballistic quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit interaction in the presence of both strong and weak magnetic fields and for different initial states of the system. Compared to the more standard measure of squeezing based on variances, we show that entropy squeezing is a more sensitive measure. Our results show that there is a strong relationship between the spin-orbit interaction and the strength of entropy squeezing. Furthermore, there is a relationship between the initial state and the number of squeezed components. This allows new knobs to control the strength and the component of entropy squeezing in a nanowire system.

Distinguishing topological Majorana bound states from trivial Andreev bound states: Proposed tests through differential tunneling conductance spectroscopy

Trivial Andreev bound states arising from chemical potential variations could lead to zero-bias tunneling conductance peaks at finite magnetic fields in class $D$ nanowires, precisely mimicking the predicted zero-bias conductance peaks arising from the topological Majorana bound states. This finding raises a serious question on the efficacy of using zero-bias tunneling conductance peaks, by themselves, as evidence supporting the existence of topological Majorana bound states in nanowires. In the current work, we provide specific experimental protocols for tunneling spectroscopy measure- ments to distinguish between Andreev and Majorana bound states without invoking more demand- ing nonlocal measurements which have not yet been successfully performed in nanowire systems. In particular, we discuss three distinct experimental schemes involving response of the zero-bias peak to local perturbations of the tunnel barrier, overlap of bound states from the wire ends, and most compellingly, introducing a sharp localized potential in the wire itself to perturb the zero-bias tun- neling peaks. We provide extensive numerical simulations clarifying and supporting our theoretical predictions.

Electronic Properties of Cr and Mn Doped BN Nanowires

In this work, we have investigated electronic structures of pure and doped (with Cr and Mn atoms, separately) BN nanowires along [001] direction with zinc blende phase by means of density functional theory calculations. Our results show that the substitution doping of nanowires by Cr and Mn atoms decrases the band gaps of the all BN nanowires. Also, spin polarized calculations exhibit that the density of states (DOS) for spin up and spin down electrons are antisymmetric structure for both Cr and Mn doped BN nanowires. All these show that doped BN nanowire systems have potential applications in electronics and spintronics.

Miniaturizing superconducting nanowire single-photon detection systems

Miniaturizing superconducting nanowire single-photon detection systems

Photoresponse and Field Effect Transport Studies in InAsP–InP Core–Shell Nanowires

A ternary InAsyP1−y alloy is suitable for an application to near-infrared (NIR) optical devices as their direct bandgap energy covers the entire NIR band. A nanowire (NW) system allows an epitaxial integration of InAsyP1−y alloy on any type of substrate since the lattice mismatch strain can be relieved through the NW sidewall. Nevertheless, the very large surface to volume ratio feature of the NWs leads to enormous surface states which are susceptible to surface recombination of free carriers. Here, ternary InAs0.75P0.25 NWs are grown with InP passivation layer (i.e., core–shell structure) to minimize the influence of the surface states, thus increasing their optical and electrical properties. A photoresponse study was achieved through the modeled band structure of the grown NWs. The model and experimental results suggest that 5-nm-thick InP shell efficiently passivates the surface states of the InAs0.75P0.25 NWs. The fabricated core–shell photodetectors and field-effect transistors exhibit improved photoresponse and transport properties compared to its counterpart core-only structure.

Thermodynamic States of the Mixed Spin 1/2 and Spin 1 Hexagonal Nanowire System Obtained from a Seven-Site Cluster Within an Improved Mean Field Approximation

The mean field approximation results in the mixedspin 1/2 Ising model and spin 1 Blume-Capel model, in the hexagonal nanowire system, are obtained from the Bogoliubov inequality. The Gibbs free energy, magnetization, and critical frontiers are obtained. Besides the stable branches of the order parameters, we obtain the metastable and unstable parts of these curves and also find phase transitions of the metastable branches of the order parameters. The classification of the stable, metastable, and unstable states is made by comparing the free energy values of these states.

Plasmonic modes in nanowire dimers: A study based on the hydrodynamic Drude model including nonlocal and nonlinear effects

A combined analytical and numerical study of the modes in two distinct plasmonic nanowire systems is presented. The computations are based on a Discontinuous Galerkin Time-Domain approach and a fully nonlinear and nonlocal hydrodynamic Drude model for the metal is utilized. In the linear regime, these computations demonstrate the strong influence of nonlocality on the field distributions as well as on the scattering and absorption spectra. Based on these results, second-harmonic generation efficiencies are computed over a frequency range that covers all relevant modes of the linear spectra. In order to interprete the physical mechanisms that lead to corresponding field distributions, the associated linear quasi-electrostatic problem is solved analytically via conformal transformation techniques. This provides an intuitive classification of the linear excitations of the systems that is then applied to the full Maxwell case. Based on this classification, group theory facilitates the determination of the selection rules for the efficient excitation of modes, both in the linear and the nonlinear regime. This leads to significantly enhanced second-harmonic generation via judiciously exploiting the system symmetries. These results regarding the mode structure and second-harmonic generation are of direct relevance to other nano-antenna systems.

Superconducting nanowire single photon detection system for space applications.

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have advanced various frontier scientific and technological fields such as quantum key distribution and deep space communications. However, limited by available cooling technology, all past experimental demonstrations have had ground-based applications. In this work, we demonstrate a SNSPD system using a hybrid cryocooler that could ultimately be compatible with space applications. With a minimum operational temperature of 2.8 K, this SNSPD system presents a maximum system detection efficiency of over 50% and a timing jitter of 48 ps, which paves the way for various space applications.

Piezotronic Effect on Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling in a ZnO/P3HT Nanowire Array Structure.

A key concept in the emerging field of spintronics is the voltage-gate control of spin precession via the effective magnetic field generated by the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Traditional external gate voltage usually needs a power supply, which can easily bring about background noise or lead to a short circuit in measurement, especially for nanoscale spintronic devices. Here, we present a study on the circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) in a ZnO/P3HT nanowire array structure with the device excited under oblique incidence. We demonstrate that a strong Rashba SOC is induced by the structure inversion asymmetry of the ZnO/P3HT heterointerface. We show that the Rashba SOC can be effectively tuned by inner-crystal piezo-potential created inside the ZnO nanowires instead of an externally applied voltage. The piezo-potential can not only ensure the stability of future spin-devices under a static pressure or strain but also work without the need of extra energy; hence this room-temperature generation and piezotronic effect control of spin photocurrent demonstrate a potential application in large-scale flexible spintronics in piezoelectric nanowire systems.

Cyclic Voltammetry Peaks Due to Deep Level Traps in Si Nanowire Array Electrodes

When metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) is used to increase the effective surface area of Si electrodes for electrochemical capacitors, it is often found that the cyclic voltammetry characteristics contain anodic and cathodic peaks. We link these peaks to the charging–discharging dynamics of deep level traps within the nanowire system. The trap levels are associated with the use of Ag in the MACE process that can leave minute amounts of Ag residue within the nanowire system to interact with the H2O layer surrounding the nanowires in a room temperature ionic liquid. The influence of the traps can be removed by shifting the Fermi level away from the trap levels via spin-on doping. These results in lower capacitance values but improved charge–discharge cycling behavior. Low-frequency noise measurements proof the presence or absence of these deep level traps.

Abnormal elastic modulus behavior in a crystalline-amorphous core-shell nanowire system.

We investigated the elastic modulus behavior of crystalline InAs/amorphous Al2O3 core-shell heterostructured nanowires with shell thicknesses varying between 10 and 90 nm by conducting in situ tensile tests inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Counterintuitively, the elastic modulus behaviors of InAs/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires differ greatly from those of bulk-scale composite materials, free from size effects. According to our results, the elastic modulus of InAs/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires increases, peaking at a shell thickness of 40 nm, and then decreases in the range of 50-90 nm. This abnormal behavior is attributed to the continuous decrease in the elastic modulus of the Al2O3 shell as the thickness increases, which is caused by changes in the atomic/electronic structure during the atomic layer deposition process and the relaxation of residual stress/strain in the shell transferred from the interfacial mismatch between the core and shell materials. A novel method for estimating the elastic modulus of the shell in a heterostructured core-shell system was suggested by considering these two effects, and the predictions from the suggested method coincided well with the experimental results. We also found that the former and latter effects account for 89% and 11% of the change in the elastic modulus of the shell. This study provides new insight by showing that the size dependency, which is caused by the inhomogeneity of the atomic/electronic structure and the residual stress/strain, must be considered to evaluate the mechanical properties of heterostructured nanowires.

Sol-Gel Processed p-Type CuO Phototransistor for a Near-Infrared Sensor

Solutionp-type thin-film transistors, consisting of sol-gel-processed CuO films, were fabricated. The optoelectric properties of sol-gel-processed, CuO-based back gate thin-film transistors were investigated, and a detectivity of 1.38 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">11</sup> (cm Hz <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1/2</sup> W <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> ) was achieved. This detectivity for sol-gel-processed CuO thin-film transistors is higher than that of the previously reported layered two-dimensional material systems and comparable to that of devices based on a one-dimensional nanowire system. Our results indicate that the sol-gel-processed, CuO-based photodetector system is a promising candidate for applications, such as near-infrared imaging devices, sensors, solar cells, and p-type inks for future printed electronics.

Magnetoconductance correction in zinc-blende semiconductor nanowires with spin-orbit coupling

We study the effects of spin-orbit coupling on the magnetoconductivity in diffusive cylindrical semiconductor nanowires. Following up on our former study on tubular semiconductor nanowires, we focus in this paper on nanowire systems where no surface accumulation layer is formed but instead the electron wave function extends over the entire cross section. We take into account the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling resulting from a zinc-blende lattice and the Rashba spin-orbit coupling, which is controlled by a lateral gate electrode. The spin relaxation rate due to Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling is found to depend neither on the spin density component nor on the wire growth direction and is unaffected by the radial boundary. In contrast, the Rashba spin relaxation rate is strongly reduced for a wire radius that is smaller than the spin precession length. The derived model is fitted to the data of magnetoconductance measurements of a heavily doped back-gated InAs nanowire and transport parameters are extracted. At last, we compare our results to previous theoretical and experimental studies and discuss the occurring discrepancies.

Magnetic Properties of the Cylindrical Ising Nanowire: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

A cylindrical ferrimagnetic magnetic nanowire system of core and shell layers has been investigated using Monte Carlo simulation. Critical temperature is obtained for different values of exchange couplings at the core–shell interface, at shell–shell and core–core. The total magnetization has been the determinate for different values of crystal field. Hysteresis loop, coercive field and remanent magnetization of a core and shell layers are obtained using the Monte Carlo simulation. A number of characteristic behaviors are found, such as the occurrence of single and triple hysteresis loops for appropriate values of crystal field, temperatures values and exchange interaction values.

On the stability of steady-states of a two-dimensional system of ferromagnetic nanowires

AbstractWe investigate the stability features of steady-states of a two-dimensional system of ferromagnetic nanowires. We constitute a system with the finite number of nanowires arranged on the(e→1,e→2){(\vec{e}_{1},\vec{e}_{2})}plane, where(e→1,e→2,e→3){(\vec{e}_{1},\vec{e}_{2},\vec{e}_{3})}is the canonical basis ofℝ3{\mathbb{R}^{3}}. We consider two cases: in the first case, each nanowire is considered to be of infinite length, whereas in the second case, we deal with finite length nanowires to design the system. In both cases, we establish a sufficient condition under which these steady-states are shown to be exponentially stable.

Nonpolar Resistive Switching in Ag@TiO2 Core-Shell Nanowires.

Nonpolar resistive switching (RS), a combination of bipolar and unipolar RS, is demonstrated for the first time in a single nanowire (NW) system. Exploiting Ag@TiO2 core-shell (CS) NWs synthesized by postgrowth shell formation, the switching mode is controlled by adjusting the current compliance effectively, tailoring the electrical polarity response. We demonstrate ON/OFF ratios of 105 and 107 for bipolar and unipolar modes, respectively. In the bipolar regime, retention times could be controlled up to 103 s, and in the unipolar mode, >106 s was recorded. We show how the unique dual-mode switching behavior is enabled by the defect-rich polycrystalline material structure of the TiO2 shell and the interaction between the Ag core and the Ag electrodes. These results provide a foundation for engineering nonpolar RS behaviors for memory storage and neuromorphic applications in CSNW structures.

Creating single Majorana type topological zero mode in superfluids of cold fermionic atoms

We explore the topological phase, which involves Majorana type topological zero mode fermions (MTZFs) at the edge, using d–wave superfluid with Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) interactions. The self-Hermitian of this MTZF({{boldsymbol{gamma }}}^{{boldsymbol{dagger }}}{boldsymbol{(}}{bf{k}}{boldsymbol{)}}{boldsymbol{=}}{boldsymbol{gamma }}{boldsymbol{(}}{bf{k}}{boldsymbol{)}}) is similar to that of the Majorana fermions (MFs) ({{boldsymbol{gamma }}}^{{boldsymbol{dagger }}}={boldsymbol{gamma }}). We show that, to realize a single MTZF at each edge in superfluid with d–wave pairing in a Majorana type Kramers Doublet (MTKD) state, it is important to lift both the spin and the Dirac Cones degeneracies. These non-Abelian anyons obey the non-Abelian statistics which may be useful to realize topological quantum computation. We suggest that the topological feature could be tested experimentally in superfluids of cold fermionic atoms with laser field induced spin orbit interactions. These studies give a new possible way to investigate the MTZFs in a two-dimensional (2D) system as compared to MFs in the one-dimensional (1D) nano-wire and 2D system, and enrich the theoretical research on finding non-Abelian anyons in topological system.

Precise Placement of Metallic Nanowires on a Substrate by Localized Electric Fields and Inter-Nanowire Electrostatic Interaction.

Placing nanowires at the predetermined locations on a substrate represents one of the significant hurdles to be tackled for realization of heterogeneous nanowire systems. Here, we demonstrate spatially-controlled assembly of a single nanowire at the photolithographically recessed region at the electrode gap with high integration yield (~90%). Two popular routes, such as protruding electrode tips and recessed wells, for spatially-controlled nanowire alignment, are compared to investigate long-range dielectrophoretic nanowire attraction and short-range nanowire-nanowire electrostatic interaction for determining the final alignment of attracted nanowires. Furthermore, the post-assembly process has been developed and tested to make a robust electrical contact to the assembled nanowires, which removes any misaligned ones and connects the nanowires to the underlying electrodes of circuit.

Coaxial silver nanowire/polypyrrole nanocomposite supercapacitors

Abstract Three-dimensional (3D) core-shell silver nanowire (Ag NW) - polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposites are used for the fabrication of supercapacitors. In-situ chemical polymerization of PPy onto Ag NWs results in the formation of diameter tunable, coaxial and 3D nanocomposites. Inner Ag NW core facilitates the charge transfer and PPy shell shows a remarkably high pseudocapacitance. Fabricated Ag NW/PPy nanocomposite has a specific capacitance of 509 F g −1 at a current density of 0.31 A g −1 , while the energy and power densities are found to be 4.27 Wh kg −1 , 60.7 W kg −1 , respectively. For these devices a capacity retention of more than 90% is obtained following 10000 cycles. It is envisaged that the 3D core-shell nanocomposite architecture investigated here can be extended to other conducting polymer and metal nanowire systems.

Majorana ϕ0-junction in a disordered spin-orbit coupling nanowire with tilted magnetic field

Majorana Josephson junctions in nanowire systems exhibit a pseudo-4π period current-phase relation in the clean limit. In this work, we study how this current-phase relation responds to a tilted magnetic field in a disordered Majorana Josephson junction within the Bogoliubov-de Gennes approach. We show that the tilted magnetic field induces a ϕ0 phase shift to the current-phase relation. Most importantly, we find that this ϕ0-junction behavior is robust even in the presence of disorders.