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The observed impurity induced far-infrared absorption in CsCl : Rb\(^+\) and CsCl : K\(^+\) is compared with a calculated density of acoustic phonon states in CsCl. The absorption due to CsCl : Rb\(^+\) displays a minimum between the acoustic and optic phonon bands. A narrow line is observed in CsCl: K\(^+\) at 85.8 cm\(^{-1}\) which falls in this quasi-phonon gap.
New resonant-mode infrared absorption lines have been observed in NaCl with high concentrations of fluorine impurities. The quadratic concentration dependence of the strength of these lines indicates that they are due to pairs of fluorine impurities. At the resonant frequencies, the motion of some host ions appears to be as important as the motion of the impurities themselves.
The preparation of Bi2Sea single crystals with low free carrier densities allowed an investigation of the lattice vibrations to be carried out from the reflectivity of cleavage planes at nearly normal incidence of the radiation (E ~ c). The experimental results ean be explained with two classical oscillators, whose eigenfrequencies oceur at 92 and 69.5 cm-I. The static dielectric constant was determined to be 100 ± 10 for E ~ c.
The photoconductivity of both undeformed and deformed Te samples has been investigated at liquid He temperature by means of a Fourier spectrometer. Three peaks were usually found in the spectra of undeformed samples at 11, 24 and 46 cm\(^{-1}\). These are shown to be due to three different chemical impurities. The deformed samples are characterized by additional structure at higher frequencies.
We have studied the lowest magnetic excitation of Ni\(_{1-x}\)Co\(_x\)O mixed crystals for 0.94 \(\leq\) x \(\leq\) 1. Together with previous results for 0.02 \(\leq\) x \(\leq\) 0.07 and neutron data for x = 0.14 and x = 0.30, the results are discussed by means of a model, especially the variation of AFMR frequency and preferred spin direction with Co concentration x.
Non-Formal Education
(1989)
We report here that reconstruction on (100), (1lIlA, and (1l1lB CdTe surfaces is either C(2X2), (2X2), and (l X I) or (2X I), (l X I), and (l X I) when they are Cd or Te stabilized, respectively. There is a mixed region between Cd and Te stabilization in which the reflected high-energy electron-diffraction (RHEED) patterns contain characteristics of both Cd- and Te-stabilized surfaces. We have also found that the Cd-to-Te ratio of the x-ray photoelectron intensities of their 3d\(_{3/ 2}\) core levels is about 20% larger for a Cd-stabilized (1lIlA, (1lIlB, or (100) CdTe surface than for a Te-stabilized one. According to a simple model calculation, which was normalized by means of the photoelectron intensity ratio of a Cd-stabilized (lll)A and aTe-stabilized (1l1lB CdTe surface, the experimental data for CdTe surfaces can be explained by a linear dependence of the photoelectron-intensity ratio on the fraction of Cd in the uppermost monatomic layer. This surface composition can be correlated with the surface structure, i.e., the corresponding RHEED patterns. This correlation can in turn be employed to determine Te and Cd evaporation rates. The Te reevaporation rate is increasingly slower for the Te-stabilized (Ill) A, (l1l)B, and (100) surfaces, while the opposite is true for Cd from Cd-stabilized (Ill) A and (Ill)B surfaces. In addition, Te is much more easily evaporated from all the investigated surfaces than is Cd, if the substrate is kept at normal molecular-beam-epitaxy growth temperatures ranging from 2oo·C to 300 ·C.
We report the results of a detailed investigation on the Te-stabilized (2 x 1) and the Cdstabilized c( 2 X 2) surfaces of ( 100) CdTe substrates. The investigation demonstrates for the first time that both laser illumination and, to a greater extent, high-energy electron irradiation increase the Te desorption and reduce the Cd desorption from ( 100) CdTe surfaces. Thus it is possible by choosing the proper growth temperature and photon or electron fluxes to change the surface reconstruction from the normally Te-stabilized to a Cd-stabilized phase.
We report the contactless determination of the conductivity, the mobility and the carrier concentration of II-VI semiconductors by means of the technique of the partially filled waveguide at a microwave frequency of 9 GHz. The samples are CdHgTe epitaxial layers, grown on CdZnTe substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The conductivity is determined from the transmission coefficient of the sample in the partially filled waveguide. For the analysis of the experimental data, the complex transmission coefficient is calculated by a rigorous multi-mode matching procedure. By varying the conductivity of the sample, we obtain an optimum fit of the calculated data to the experimental results. Comparison with conductivity data determined by the van der Pauw method shows that our method allows to measure the conductivity with good accuracy. The behaviour of the transmission coefficient of the sample is discussed in dependence on the layer conductivity, the layer thickness and the dielectric constant of the substrate. The calculations require to consider in detail the distribution of the electromagnetic fields in the sample region. The usual assumption of a hardly disturbed TE\(_{10}\) mode cannot be used in our case. By applying a magnetic field in extraordinary Voigt configuration. galvanomagnetic measurements have been carried out which yield the mobility and thus the carrier concentration. These results are also in good agreement with van der Pauw transport measurements.
The microwave transmission and reßection is evaluated for stratified lossy dielectric segments partially filling the rectangular waveguide by the method which combines the multimode network theory with the rigorous mode matching procedure. As an example, we investigate in detail the microwave scattering properties of II-VI-epitaxial layer on a lossy dielectric substrate inserted in the rectangular waveguide. The experimental data verify the accuracy and the effectiveness of the present method. Extensive numerical results are presented to establish useful guidelines for the contactless microwave measurement of the conductivity of the epitaxiallayer.
The influence of different CdZnTe substrate treatments prior to II-VI molecular beam epitaxial growth on surface stoichiometry, oxygen, and carbon contamination has been studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and reflection high energy electron diffraction. Heating the substrate at 300 °C can eliminate oxygen contamination, but cannot completely remove carbon from the surface. Heating at higher temperatures decreases the carbon contamination only slightly, while increasing the Zn-Cd ratio on the surface considerably. The magnitude of the latter effect is surprising and is crucial when one is using lattice matched CdZnTe (Zn 4%) substrates.
We have grown HgTe/CdTe superlattices by molecular beam epitaxy; barrier thicknesses were in the range from 15 to 91 Å and the well thickness was maintained at a constant value of 30 Å. The infrared photoluminescence was investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the temperature range from 4.2 to 300 K. All superlattices showed pronounced photoluminescence at temperatures up to 300 K. To gain more detailed insight into the band structure of the HgTe/CdTe superlattices, band structure calculations were performed. The concept of the envelope function approximation was followed. Employing the transfer matrix method, the calculations were completed taking into account an eight band k·p model. An important parameter in these calculations is the natural valence band offset (VBO) between the well and barrier materials. As a general trend, the value for the direct gap decreases with increasing VBO. The experimentally determined energies of the band gap are in reasonable agreement with the values obtained by the theoretical calculations. A comparison between theory and experiment shows that the observed transition energies are closer to calculations employing a large offset (350 meV) as opposed to a small VBO (40 meV).
In the present work we report the results of magneto-transport measurements on some Hg-based li-VI semiconductor epitaxiallayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The transport measurement were carried out at temperatures in the range 0.4 - 4.2 K in magnetic fields up to 10.0 T. Further, we point out the necessity of using multicarrier models for data interpretation and show finally some Shubnikov-de-Haas results on sampies with high mobility carners.
We have investigated Cd\(_{1-x}\)Mn\(_x\)Te thin films with Mn concentrations of x=0.12, 0.18, 0.30, 0.52, and 0.70. These single crystal layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on [001] CdTe substrates. The real part of the refractive index, n, was determined below the band-gap Eo in the range of 0.5-2.5 eV at T=300 K. The parallel reOectivity was measured near the Brewster angle at the YAG laser wavelength of 1.064 J.Lm (hv= 1.165 eV). Combining these results with the optical pathlength results (nd) of reOection measurements in a Fourier spectrometer we have determined n(x,v) over a wide spectral range by utilizing a three parameter fit. The accuracy of these results for n should improve waveguide designs based on this material.
In this paper, we present results on the first MBE growth of HgSe. The influence of the GaAs substrate temperature as well as the Hg and Se fluxes on the growth and the electrical properties has been investigated. It has been found that the growth rate is very low at substrate temperatures above 120°C. At 120°C and at lower temperatures, the growth rate is appreciably higher. The sticking coefficient of Se seems to depend inversely on the Hg/Se flux ratio. Epitaxial growth could be maintained at 70°C with Hg/Se flux ratios between lOO and ISO, and at 160°C between 280 and 450. The electron mobilities of these HgSe epilayers at room temperature decrease from a maximum value of 8.2 x 10^3 cm2 /V' s with increasing electron concentration. The concentration was found to be between 6xlO^17 and 1.6x10^19 cm- 3 at room temperature. Rocking curves from X-ray diffraction measurements of the better epilayers have a full width at half maximum of 5S0 arc sec.
The molecular beam epitaxially growth of (001) Hg\(_{1-x}\) Cd\(_z\) Te-HgTe superlattices has been systematically investigated. The well width as well as the period were determined directly by X-ray diffraction. This was accomphshed for the well width by exploiting the high reflectivity from HgTe and the low reflectivity from CdTe for the (002) Bragg reflection. Knowing the well and barrier thicknesses we have been able to set an upper limit on the aver~ge composition of the barriers, Xl, by annealing the superlattice and then measuring the composition of the. resultmg alloy. Xb was shown to decrease exponentially with decreasing barrier width. Xb is appreciably smaller m. narrow barriers due to the increased significance of interdiffusion in the Hg\(_{1-x}\)Cd\(_x\) Te/HgTe interface in narrow barriers. The experimentally determined optical absorption coefficient for these superlattices is compared WIth theoretical calculations. The absorption coefficient was determined from transmission and reflection spectra at 300, 77 and 5 K. Using the thickness and composition of the barriers and wells, and an interface width due to interdiffusion, the complex refractive index is calculated and compared with the experimental absorption coefficient. The envelope function method based on an 8 x 8 second order k . p band model was used to calculate the superlattice states. These results when inserted into Kubo's formula, yield the dynamic conductivity for interband transitions. The experimental and theoretical values for the absorption coefficient using no adjustable parameters are in good agreement for most of the investigated superlattices. Furthermore the agreement for the higher energetic interband transitions is much worse if values for the barrier composition, which are appreciably different than the experimentally determined values, are used. The infrared photoluminescence was investigated at temperatures from 4.2 to 300 K. Pronounced photoluminescence was observed for all superlattices in this temperature range.
We report on the growth of the compound semiconductor MgTe as weil as the ternary alloy Cd\(_{l-x}\)Mg, Te by molecular hcam cpitaxy. This is to our knowkdgc thc first time that this material has heen grown by any epitaxial technique. Bulk MgTe, which is hygroscopic, has a band gap of 3.0 eV and crystallizcs usually in thc wurtzite structure. Pseudomorphic films were grown on zincblende Cd Te suhstrates for a MgTe thickness helow a critical layer thickncss of approximately 500 nm. In addition, Cd\(_{l_x}\),Mg\(_x\)Te epilayers were grown with a Mg concentration between 0 and 68%, which corresponds to a band gap betwcen 1.5 and 2.5 eV at room temperature. The crystalline quality of thc layers is comparabk to CdTc thin films as long as they are fully strained. The lauice constant of zincblende MgTe is slightly smaller than that of CdTe, and the lattice mismatch is as low as O.7%. In addition highly n-type CdMgTe layers were fabricatcd by hromine doping. The tunability of the band gap as weil as the rather good laUice match with CdTc makes the matcrial interesting for optoelectronic device applications for the entire visible range.
A semiempirical model is presented that correlates the broadening of the absorption edge with both transitions below the energy gap and with transitions by the Kane band model. This model correctly fits both the absorption and luminescence spectra of narrow-gap (Hg,Cd)Te samples that have been grown by the traveling heater method as well as by molecular-beam epitaxy. The accuracy of the band-gap determination is enhanced by this model.
The surface sublimation of Cd and Te atoms from the zinc blende (111)A CdTe surface has been investigated in detail by reflection high energy electron diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These experiments verify that Te is much easier to evaporate than Cd. The experimental value for the Te activation energy from a Te stabilized (111)A CdTe surface is 1.41 ±0.1O eV, which is apparently inconsistent with recent theoretical results.
We have investigated oxygen on CdTe substrates by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). A Te oxide layer that was at least 15 A thick was found on the surface of as-delivered CdTe substrates that were mechanically polished. This oxide is not easily evaporated at temperatures lower than 350°C. Furthermore, heating in air, which further oxidizes the CdTe layer, should be avoided. Etching with HCI acid (15% HCl) for at least 20 s and then rinsing with de-ionized water reduces the Te oxide layer on the surface down to 4% of a monoatomic layer. However, according to XPS measurements of the 0 Is peak, 20%-30% of a monoatomic layer of oxygen remains on the surface, which can be eliminated by heating at temperatures ranging between 300 and 340 cC. The RHEED patterns for a molecular beam epitaxially (MBE)-grown CdTe film on a (lOO) CdTe substrate with approximately one monoatomic layer of oxidized Te on the surface lose the characteristics of the normal RHEED pattems for a MBE-grown CdTe film on an oxygen-free CdTe substrate.
Molecular beam epitaxially grown short period (001) Hg\(_{1_x}\)Cd\(_x\)Te-HgTe superlattices have been systematically investigated. Several narrow well widths were chosen, e.g., 30, 35 and 40 Å, and the barrier widths were varied between 24 and 90 Å for a particular well width. Both the well width and the total period were determined directly by means of x-ray diffraction. The well width was determined by exploiting the high reflectivity from HgTe and the low reflectivity from CdTe for the (002) Bragg reflection. Knowing the well and barrier widths we have been able to set an upper limit on the average Cd concentration of the barriers, \(\overline x_b\), by annealing several superlattices and then measuring the composition of the resulting alloy. \(\overline x_b\) was shown to decrease exponentially with decreasing barrier width. The structure of a very short period superlattice, i.e., 31.4 Å, was also investigated by transmission electron microscopy, corroborating the x-ray diffraction results.
Infrared photoconductor fabricated with HgTe/CdTe superlattice grown by molecular beam epitaxy
(1993)
An infrared photoconductor fabricated with a HgTe/CdTe superlattice grown on a GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy is described here for the first time. The growth procedure, device fabrication, and measurement results are described. The results show that the device has relatively high uniformity and 1000 K black-body detectivity 2.4 X 10\(^9\) cm Hz\(^{1/2}\) W\(^{-1}\) . The photoconductivity decay method was used for determining carrier lifetime of the HgTe/CdTe superlattice, the measured lifetime is 12\(\mu\)s at 77 K, which is the longest lifetime ever reported for HgTe/CdTe superlattices and we believe that the increase of lifetime is mainly due to the reduction of dimensions.
The structural properties of HgSe grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) are investigated for different lattice mismatches to the substrate and various growth conditions. The growth rate is shown to depend strongly on the growth temperature above lOO°C as well as on the Hg/Se flux ratio. It has been found that the crystalline perfection and the electrical properties are mainly determined by the layer thickness, especially for the growth on highly lattice mismatched substrates. Changes in the surface morphology are related to growth parameters. Differences between the electrical behavior of MBE-grown and bulk HgSe are discussed. The electrical properties of HgSe contacts on p-ZnSe are investigated as a function of different annealing procedures.
The selected area epitaxial overgrowth of narrow gap HgTe as well as wide gap CdTe and ZnTe on CdTe/GaAs substrates, which had been structured by dry etching techniques, has been investigated. A plasma etching process using a barrel reactor with CH\(_4\)-CH\(_2\) gases has been employed to prepare stripes with a width of about 1 μm with anisotropic as well as isotropic etching profiles. It has been found, that the selected area HgTe overgrowth takes place with a high local selectivity to the low index planes of the patterned surface. In contrast, the selected area overgrowth of the wide gap CdTe and ZnTe is controlled by anisotropic growth kinetics provided that the substrate temperature is not lower than 220°C and the starting surface consists of well developed low index crystallographic planes.
The sattering characteristics ot the n-VI semiconductors were analyzed by a method which combines the second-order finite-element method with the rigorous mode matching procedure. The method avolds the difficulty of solving the complex transcendental equation introduced in the multimode network method and calculates all the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions simultaneously which are needed for the mode matching treatment in the longitudinal direction. As a result, the whole solution procedure is significantly simplified. A comparison is given between the experimental data and the calculated results obtained with this analysis and tbe network method. Very good agreement has been achieved, the accuracy and efficiency of the present method are thus verified.
This work is investigating the electronic structure of organic thin films. A central question in this respect is the influence of the interaction between the molecules in the condensed phase and the interaction at metal-organic interfaces on the electronic properties. For this purpose the experimental methods Photoelectron Spectroscopy (PES) and Near Edge X-ray Absorption Finestructure Spectroscopy (NEXAFS) were applied with highest energy resolution. In addition, ab initio calculations were performed for the theoretical simulation of NEXFAS spectra. The investigation is mainly focussing on thin, vacuum sublimated films of aromatic model molecules with oxygen-containing functional groups (NTCDA, PTCDA, NDCA, BPDCA and ANQ) and Ag(111) surfaces. Due to their large, delocalised p-systems these molecules have very interesting properties for their application in electronic devices. Due to the high energy resolution of third generation synchrotron sources the vibronic fine structure in the NEXAFS spectra of these large molecules could be resolved for the first time in the condensed phase. A comparison of the data of the different molecules provides interesting insight into the coupling between electronic transition and vibronic excitation. Although for these molecules a variety of different vibronic modes exist, the NEXAFS data show that preferentially only on mode couples to each electronic transition. The high-resolution PES spectra of the molecules NTCDA, PTCDA, NDCA, BPDCA and ANQ show distinct differences thus providing a fingerprint for each investigated substance. A comparative analysis of the spectra enabled us to define the 1s binding energies of all chemically different carbon and oxygen atoms. Additional structures in the spectra can be assigned as shake-up satellites. The five molecules are an ideal model system for the investigation of fundamental aspects of core electron spectroscopy, such as initial and final state effects and satellites, that are influenced by the intra- and intermolecular electron distribution in the ground and core ionized state. An important aspect in this thesis is the spectroscopic investigation of structurally different NTCDA monolayer phases on the Ag(111) surface. Marked differences in the electronic structures of the different phases, that can be assigned to differences in the metal-adsorbate interaction, could be demonstrated by XPS and NEXAFS. The substrate bonding can be characterized as chemisorptive for both, the compressed as well as the relaxed NTCDA monolayer, which can be unambiguously deduced from the analysis of satellite structures in the O 1s and C 1s XPS spectra. These satellites are due to dynamic screening by charge transfer from the substrate. The NEXAFS data show consistently, that the NTCDA LUMO becomes partly occupied upon adsorption. Highly interesting phase transitions into disordered low-temperature phases occur upon cooling to 160 K for both, the compressed and the relaxed NTCDA monolayer. Thereby, the adsorbate-substrate bonding is increased and the NTCDA LUMO becomes completely occupied. This can be observed in the NEXAFS data, where transitions involving LUMO final states are quenched. Simultaneously, the XPS data show a distinctly decreased intensity of unscreened photoemission states due to enhanced charge transfer screening. In addition, a hysteresis behaviour could be demonstrated for the phase transition of the relaxed monolayer by temperature dependent NEXAFS experiments and the hysteresis curve was determined. The hysteresis could be quantified to approx. 20 K. From SPA-LEED experiments the activating energy for the phase transition of the relaxed monolayer upon cooling could be determined to 60 meV. Finally, a NEXAFS investigation of polyethylene samples with different comonomer content is presented. Differences in the absorption spectra between samples with different comonomer content could be unambiguously assigned to the different crystallinities of the samples by heating a highly crystalline sample in situ close to the melting temperature. Ab initio calculations on a model matrix of butane molecules show, that the spectra of crystalline and amorphous polyethylene differ distinctly due to the intermolecular interaction, which can be observed best for resonances with strong Rydberg character. Thus, the differences in the PE spectra can be explained by the superposition of the signatures of crystalline and amorphous moieties, that are mixed according to the respective crystallinity.
The availability of coherent soft x-rays through the nonlinear optical process of high-harmonic generation allows for the monitoring of the fastest events ever observed in the laboratory. The attosecond pulses produced are the fundamental tool for the time-resolved study of electron motion in atoms, molecules, clusters, liquids and solids in the future. However, in order to exploit the full potential of this new tool it is necessary to control the coherent soft x-ray spectra and to enhance the efficiency of conversion from laser light to the soft x-ray region in the harmonic-generation process. This work developed a comprehensive approach towards the optimization of the harmonic generation process. As this process represents a fundamental example of \emph{light}--\emph{matter} interaction there are two ways of controlling it: Shaping the generating laser \emph{light} and designing ideal states of \emph{matter} for the conversion medium. Either of these approaches was closely examined. In addition, going far beyond simply enhancing the conversion process it could be shown that the qualitative spectral response of the process can be modified by shaping the driving laser pulse. This opens the door to a completely new field of research: Optimal quantum control in the attosecond soft x-ray region---the realm of electron dynamics. In the same way as it is possible to control molecular or lattice vibrational dynamics with adaptively shaped femtosecond laser pulses these days, it will now be feasible to perform real-time manipulation of tightly bound electron motion with adaptively shaped attosecond light fields. The last part of this work demonstrated the capability of the herein developed technique of coherent soft-x-ray spectral shaping, where a measured experimental feedback was used to perform a closed-loop optimization of the interaction of shaped soft x-ray light with a sulfur hexafluoride molecule to arrive at different control objectives. For the optimization of the high-harmonic-generation process by engineering the conversion medium, both the gas phase and the liquid phase were explored both in experiment and theory. Molecular media were demonstrated to behave more efficiently than commonly used atomic targets when elliptically polarized driving laser pulses are applied. Theory predicted enhancement of harmonic generation for linearly polarized driving fields when the internuclear distance is increased. Reasons for this are identified as the increased overlap of the returning electron wavefunction due to molecular geometry and the control over the delocalization of the initial electronic state leading to less quantum-mechanical spreading of the electron wavepacket during continuum propagation. A new experimental scheme has been worked out, using the method of molecular wavepacket generation as a tool to enhance the harmonic conversion efficiency in `pump--drive' schemes. The latter was then experimentally implemented in the study of high-harmonic generation from water microdroplets. A transition between the dominant laser--soft-x-ray conversion mechanisms could be observed, identifying plasma-breakdown as the fundamental limit of high-density high-harmonic generation. Harmonics up to the 27th order were observed for optimally laser-prepared water droplets. To control the high-harmonic generation process by the application of shaped laser light fields a laser-pulse shaper based on a deformable membrane mirror was built. Pulse-shape optimization resulted in increased high-harmonic generation efficiency --- but more importantly the qualitative shape of the spectral response could be significantly modified for high-harmonic generation in waveguides. By adaptive optimization employing closed-loop strategies it was possible to selectively generate narrow (single harmonics) and broad bands of harmonic emission. Tunability could be demonstrated both for single harmonic orders and larger regions of several harmonics. Whereas any previous experiment reported to date always produced a plateau of equally intense harmonics, it has been possible to demonstrate ``untypical'' harmonic soft x-ray spectra exhibiting ``switched-off'' harmonic orders. The high degree of controllability paves the way for quantum control experiments in the soft x-ray spectral region. It was also demonstrated that the degree of control over the soft x-ray shape depends on the high-harmonic generation geometry. Experiments performed in the gas jet could not change the relative emission strengths of neighboring harmonic orders. In the waveguide geometry, the relative harmonic yield of neighboring orders could be modified at high contrast ratios. A simulation based solely on the single atom response could not reproduce the experimentally observed contrast ratios, pointing to the importance of propagation (phase matching) effects as a reason for the high degree of controllability observed in capillaries, answering long-standing debates in the field. A prototype experiment was presented demonstrating the versatility of the developed soft x-ray shaping technique for quantum control in this hitherto unexplored wavelength region. Shaped high-harmonic spectra were again used in an adaptive feedback loop experiment to control the gas-phase photodissociation reaction of SF$_6$ molecules. A time-of-flight mass spectrometer was used for the detection of the ionic fragments. The branching ratios of particular fragmentation channels could be varied by optimally shaped soft x-ray light fields. Although in one case only slight changes of the branching ratio were possible, an optimal solution was found, proving the sufficient technical stability of this unique coherent soft-x-ray shaping method for future applications in optimal control. Active shaping of the spectral amplitude in coherent spectral regions of $\sim$10~eV bandwidth was shown to directly correspond to shaping the temporal features of the emerging soft x-ray pulses on sub-femtosecond time scales. This can be understood by the dualism of frequency and time with the Fourier transformation acting as translator. A quantum-mechanical simulation was used to clarify the magnitude of temporal control over the shape of the attosecond pulses produced in the high-harmonic-generation process. In conjunction with the experimental results, the first attosecond time-scale pulse shaper could thus be demonstrated in this work. The availability of femtosecond pulse shapers opened the field of adaptive femtosecond quantum control. The milestone idea of closed-loop feedback control to be implemented experimentally was expressed by Judson and Rabitz in their seminal work titled ``Teaching lasers to control molecules''. This present work extends and turns around this statement. Two fundamentally new achievements can now be added, which are ``Teaching molecules to control laser light conversion'' and ``Teaching lasers to control coherent soft x-ray light''. The original idea thus enabled the leap from femtosecond control of molecular dynamics into the new field of attosecond control of electron motion to be explored in the future. The \emph{closed}-loop approach could really \emph{open} the door towards fascinating new perspectives in science. Coming back to the introduction in order to close the loop, let us reconsider the analogy to the general chemical reaction. Photonic reaction control was presented by designing and engineering effective media (catalysts) and controlling the preparation of educt photons within the shaped laser pulses to selectively produce desired photonic target states in the soft x-ray spectral region. These newly synthesized target states in turn could be shown to be effective in the control of chemical reactions. The next step to be accomplished will be the control of sub-femtosecond time-scale electronic reactions with adaptively controlled coherent soft x-ray photon bunches. To that end a time-of-flight high-energy photoelectron spectrometer has recently been built, which will now allow to directly monitor electronic dynamics in atomic, molecular or solid state systems. Fundamentally new insights and applications of the nonlinear interaction of shaped attosecond soft x-ray pulses with matter can be expected from these experiments.
Summary The nature of the chemical bond is a topic under constant debate. What is known about individual molecular properties and functional groups is often taught and rationalized by explaining Lewis structures, which, in turn, make extensive use of the valence concept. The valence concept distinguishes between electrons, which do not participate in chemical interactions (core electrons) and those, which do (single, double, triple bonds, lone-pair electrons, etc.). Additionally, individual electrons are assigned to atomic centers. The valence concept is of paramount success: It allows the successful planning of chemical syntheses and analyses, it explains the behavior of individual functional groups, and, moreover, it provides the “language” to think of and talk about molecular structure and chemical interactions. The resounding success of the valence concept may be misleading to forget its approximative character. On the other hand, quantum mechanics provide in principle a quantitative description of all chemical phenomena, but there is no discrimination between electrons in quantum mechanics. From the quantum mechanical point of view there are only indistinguishable electrons in the field of the nuclei, i.e., it is impossible to assign a given electron to a particular center or to ascribe a particular purpose to individual electrons. The concept of indistinguishability of micro particles is founded on the Heisenberg uncertainty relation, which states, that wavepackets diverge in the 6N dimensional phase space, such that individual trajectories can not be identified. Hence it is a deep-rooted and approved physical concept. As an introduction to the present work density partitioning schemes were discussed, which divide the total molecular density into chemically meaningful areas. These partitioning schemes are intimately related to either the concepts of bound atoms in a molecule (as in the Atoms In Molecules theory (AIM) according to Bader or as in the Hirshfeld partitioning scheme) or to the concept of chemical structure in the sense of Lewis structures, which divide the total molecular density into core and valence density, where the valence density is split up again into bonding and non-bonding electron densities. Examples are early and recent loge theories, the topological analysis by means of the Electron Localization Function (ELF), and the Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) approach. Of these partitioning schemes, the theories according to Bader (AIM), to Becke and Edgecomb (ELF) and according to Weinhold (NBO and Natural Resonance Theory, NRT), respectively, were reviewed in detail critically. Points of criticism were explicated for each of the mentioned theories. Since theoretically derived electron densities are to be compared to experimentally derived densities, a brief introduction into the theory of X-ray di®raction experiments was given and the multipole formalism was introduced. The procedure of density refinement was briefly discussed. Various suggestions for improvements were developed: One strategy would be the employment of model parameters, which are to a maximum degree mutually orthogonal, with the object of minimizing correlations among the model parameters, e.g., to introduce nodal planes into the radial functions of the multipole model. A further suggestion involves the guidance of the iterative refinement procedure by an extremum principle, which states, that when di®erent solutions to the least squares minimization problem are available with about the same statistical measures of quality and with about the same residual density, then the solution is to prefer, which yields a minimum density at the bond critical point (BCP) and a maximum polarity in terms of the ratio of distances between the BCP and the nuclei. This suggestion is based on the well known fact, that the bond polarity (in terms of the ratio of distances between the BCP and the respective nuclei) is underestimated in the experiment. Another suggestion for including physical constraints is the explicit consideration of the virial theorem, e.g., by evaluating the integration of the Laplacian over the entire atomic basins and comparing this value to zero and to the value obtained from the integration of the electron gradient field over the atomic surface. The next suggestion was to explicitly use the electrostatic theorem of Feynman (often also denoted as Hellmann-Feynman theorem), which states, that the forces onto the nuclei can be calculated from the purely classical electrostatic forces of the electron distribution and the nuclei distribution. For a stationary system, these forces must add to zero. This also provides an internal quality criterion of the density model. This can be performed in an iterative way during the refinement procedure or as a test of the final result. The use of the electrostatic theorem is expected to reduce significantly correlations among static density parameters and parameters describing vibrations, since it is a valuable tool to discriminate between physically reasonable and artificial static electron densities. All of these mentioned suggestions can be applied as internal quality criteria. The last suggestion is based on the idea to initiate the experimental refinement with a set of model parameters, which is, as much as possible close to the final solution. This can be achieved by performing periodic boundary conditions calculations, from which theoretically created files are obtained, which contain the Miller indices (h, k, l) and the respective intensity I. This file is used for a model parameter estimation (refinement), which excludes vibrations. The resulting parameters can be used for the experimental refinement, where, in a first step, the density parameters are fixed to determine the parameters describing vibrations. For a fine tuning, again the electrostatic theorem and the other above mentioned suggestions could be applied. Theoretical predictions should not be biased by the method of computation. Therefore the dependence of the density analyzing tools on the level of calculation (method of calculation/basis set) and on the substituents in complex chemical bonding situations were evaluated in the second part of the present work. A number of compounds containing formal single and double sulfur nitrogen bonds was investigated. For these compounds, experimental data were also available. The calculated data were compared internally and with the experimental results. The internal comparison was drawn with regard to questions of convergency as well as with regard to questions of consistency: The resulting molecular properties from NBO/NRT analyses were found to be very stable, when the geometries were optimized at the respective level of theory. This stability is valid for variations in the methods of calculation as well as for variations in the basis set. Only the individual resonance weights of the contributing Natural Lewis Structures differed considerably depending on the level of calculation and depending on the substituents. However, the deviations were in both cases to a large extent within a limit which preserves the descending order of the leading resonance structure weights. The resulting bond orders, i.e., the total, covalent and ionic bond order from NRT calculations, were not affected by the shift in the resonance weights. The analysis of the bond topological parameters resulted in a discrimination between insensitive parameters and sensitive parameters. The stable parameters do neither depend strongly on the method of calculation nor on the basis set. Only minor variation occurs in the numerical values of these parameters, when the level of calculation is changed or even when other functional groups (H, Me, or tBu) are employed, as long as the methods of calculation do not drop considerably below a standard level. The bond descriptors of the sulfur nitrogen bonds were found to be also stable with respect to the functional groups R = H, R = Me, and R = tBu. Stable parameters are the bond distance, the density at the bond critical point (BCP) and the ratio of distances between the BCP and the nuclei A and B, which varies clearly when considering the formal bond type. For very small basis sets like the 3-21G basis set, this characteristic stability collapses. The sensitive parameters are based on the second derivatives of the density with respect to the coordinates. This is in accordance with the well known fact, that the total second derivative of the density with respect to the coordinates is a strongly oscillating function with positive as well as negative values. A profound deviation has to be anticipated as a consequence of strong oscillations. lambda3, which describes the local charge depletion in the direction of the interaction line, is the most varying parameter. A detailed analysis revealed that the position of the BCP in the rampant edge of the Laplacian distribution is responsible for the sensitivity of the numerical value of lambda3 in formal double bonds. Since the slope of the Laplacian assumes very high values in its rampant edge, a tiny displacement of the BCP leads already to a considerable change in lambda3. This instability is not a failure of the underlying theory, but it yields de facto to a considerable dependence of sensitive bond topological properties on the method of calculation and on the applied basis sets. Since the total second derivative is important to judge on the nature of the bond in the AIM theory (closed shell interactions versus shared interactions), the changes in lambda3 can lead to differing chemical interpretations. The comparison of theoretically derived bond topological properties of various sulfur nitrogen bonds provides the possibility to measure the self consistency of this data set. All data sets clearly exhibit a linear correlation between the bond distances and the density at the BCP on one hand and between the bond distances and the Laplacian values at the BCP on the other hand. These correlations were almost independent of the basis set size. In this context, the linear regression has to be regarded exclusively as a descriptive statistics tool. There is no correlation anticipated a priori. The formal bond type was found to be readily deducible from the theoretically obtained bond topological descriptors of the model systems. In this sense, the bond topological properties are self consistent despite of the numerical sensitivity of the derivatives, as exemplified above. Often, calculations are performed with the experimentally derived equilibrium geometries and not with optimized ones. Applying this approach, the computationally costly geometry optimizations are saved. Following this approach the bond topological properties were calculated using very flexible basis sets and employing the fixed experimental geometry (which, of course, includes the application of tBu groups). Regression coe±cients similar to those from optimized geometries were obtained for correlations between bond distances and the densities at the BCP as well as for the correlation between bond distances and the Laplacian at the BCP, i.e. the approach is valid. However, the data points scattered less and the coe±cient of correlation was clearly increased when geometry optimizations were performed beforehand. The comparison between data obtained from theory and experiment revealed fundamental discrepancies: In the data set of bond topological parameters from the experiment, the behavior of only 2 out of 3 insensitive parameters was comparable to the behavior of the theoretically obtained values, i.e. theoretical and experimental bond distances as well as theoretical and experimental densities at the BCP correlate. From the theoretically obtained data it was easy to deduce the formal bond type from the position of the BCP, since it changed in a systematic manner. The respective experimentally obtained values were almost constant and did not change systematically. For the SN bonds containing compounds, the total second derivative assumes exclusively negative values in the experiment. Due to the different internal behavior, experimentally and theoretically sensitive bond topological values could not be compared directly. The qualitative agreement in the Laplacian distribution, however, was excellent. In the third and last part of this work, the application to chemical systems follows. Formal hypervalent molecules, i.e. molecules where some atoms are considered to hold more than 8 electrons in their valence shell, were investigated. These were compounds containing sulfur nitrogen bonds (H(NtBu)2SMe, H2C{S(NtBu)2(NHtBu)}2, S(NtBu)2 and S(NtBu)3) and a highly coordinated silicon compound. The set of sulfur nitrogen compounds also contained a textbook example for valence expansion, the sulfur triimide. For these molecules, experimental reference values were available from high resolution X-ray experiments. The experimental results were in the case of the sulfur triimide not unique. Furthermore, from the experimental bond topological data no definite conclusion about the formal bonding type could be drawn. The situation of sulfur nitrogen bonds in the above mentioned set of molecules was analyzed in terms of a geometry discussion and by means of a topological analysis. The methyl-substituted isolated molecules served as model compounds. For the interpretation of the bonding situation additional NBO/NRT calculations were preformed for the sulfur nitrogen compounds and an ELF calculation and analysis was performed for the silicon compound. The ELF analysis included not only the presentation and discussion of the ELF-isosurfaces (eta = 0.85), but also the investigation of populations of disynaptic valence basins and the percentage contributions to these populations of the individual atoms when the disynaptic valence basins are split into atomic contributions according to Bader’s partitioning scheme. The question of chemical interest was whether hypervalency is present in the set of molecules or not. In the first case the octet rule would be violated, in the second case Pauling’s verdict would be violated. While the concept of hypervalency is well established in chemistry, the violation of Pauling’s verdict is not. The quantitative numbers of the sensitive bond topological values from theory and experiment were not comparable, since no systematic relationship between the experimentally and theoretically determined sensitive bond descriptors was found. However, the insensitive parameters are in good agreement and the qualitative Laplacian distribution is, with few exceptions, in excellent agreement. The formal bonding type was deduced from experimental and theoretical topological data by considering the number and shape of valence shell charge concentrations in proximity to the sulfur and nitrogen centers. The results from NBO/NRT calculations confirmed the findings. All employed density analyzing tools AIM, ELF and NBO/NRT coincided in describing the bonding situation in the formally hypervalent molecules as highly polar. A comparison and analysis of experimentally and theoretically derived electron densities led consistently to the result, that regarding this set of molecules, hypervalency has to be excluded unequivocally.
Adaptive femtosecond quantum control has proven to be a very successful method in many different scientific fields like physics, chemistry or biology. Numerous quantum systems and in particular molecules undergoing chemical reactions have been controlled using shaped femtosecond laser pulses. This method allows to go beyond simple observation and to obtain active control over quantum--mechanical systems. It uses interference phenomena in the time and/or frequency domain to achieve selectivity. The shaped femtosecond laser pulses employed in this scheme have until recently been purely linearly polarized. Therefore, they only address the scalar properties of light--matter interaction and neglect the vectorial character of both the dipole moment $\vec{\mu}$ and the electric field $\vec{E}(t)$. Especially in the quantum control of chemical reactions the investigated systems ---the molecules--- are three dimensional and exhibit complex spatio--tempo\-ral dynamics. With the help of polarization--shaped laser pulses one is now able to follow these dynamics in both, time and spatial direction, and can therefore reach a new level of control over quantum--mechanical systems. In this work, the generation of polarization--shaped laser pulses has been implemented in an optical setup. It requires no interferometric stability as a result of the identical beam path for both polarization components. Dual--channel spectral interferometry was employed as experimental pulse characterization and a mathematical description of the time--dependent polarization state of these pulses was given. The polarization modulation of the shaped pulses by subsequent optical elements was investigated and some solutions to minimize these modulations were presented. Jones matrix calculus with experimentally calibrated matrices was implemented to account for all polarization distortions from the LCD to the position of the experiment and for full characterization of the generated pulse shapes. Adaptive polarization shaping was demonstrated in a purely optical realization of the learning--loop concept. The learning algorithm was able to find the needed linear polarization in order to maximize second harmonic generation in a nonlinear optical crystal. The closed--loop configuration has proven to be capable to clear up more complicated polarization distortion, which was introduced using a multiple order half--wave plate designed for use at a wavelength of 620~nm. The additional deformation of the spectral phase through dispersion in a 10~cm long SF10 glass rod has also been compensated automatically. After these optical demonstration experiments ultrafast polarization shaping was applied to control a quantum system. Polarization sensitivity was shown in pump--probe measurements of the multiphoton ionization of potassium dimer molecules K$_2$. This sensitivity was exploited in a more general way in a learning--loop experiment with polarization--shaped laser pulses. A qualitatively new level of control was demonstrated using the time--dependent polarization state of laser pulses as an active agent. This polarization control was applicable even in randomly aligned molecules, which is a significant simplification of the experimental setup. In addition to these polarization control experiments, the three dimensional dynamics of molecules were also investigated and controlled. The \textit{cis--trans} photoisomerization of NK88 was studied in the liquid phase by transient absorption spectroscopy. The isomerization reaction efficiency was enhanced as well as reduced using linearly polarized laser pulses at 400~nm shaped in spectral phase and amplitude. This experiment demonstrates the ability to control the large scale motion of complex molecular groups with shaped femtosecond laser pulses. The modification of the molecular geometry can be regarded as a first step towards control of chirality in photochemistry. Especially with the successful demonstration of polarization quantum control, which is required in the theoretical models for the selective conversion of one enantiomer into the other, the way is paved towards coherent control of chirality. Besides these fascinating applications of polarization shaping it should now also be possible to extend the wavelength range of these pulses. Apart from second harmonic generation in order to reach the ultraviolet region intra-pulse difference frequency generation could be an option to open the mid-infrared spectral range for polarization shaping. With these new wavelength regions numerous new perspectives arise for quantum control using polarization--shaped laser pulses. Referring once more to the novel of Edwin A. Abbott presented in the introduction one could say that shaped femtosecond pulses really have left Flatland. Or to put it into the words of the sphere, when it teaches the square about the perception of dimensions: \begin{quote} ``Look yonder [...] in Flatland thou hast lived; of Lineland thou hast received a vision; thou hast soared with me to the heights of Spaceland;'' \hfill Edwin A.~Abbott~\cite{abbott1884}, 1884 \end{quote}
Shadow Mask assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy (SMMBE) is a technique enabling selected area epitaxy of semiconductor heterostructures through shadow masks. The objective of this work was the development of the SMMBE technique for the reliable fabrication of compound semiconductor nanostructures of high structural and optical quality. In order to accomplish this, technological processes have been developed and optimized. This, in combination with model calculations of the basic kinetic growth processes has enabled the fabrication of high quality quantum structures. A high spatial precision and control of the incidence regions of the molecular beams during the SMMBE process are required for the fabrication of nanostructures. One of the technological developments to this effect, which has substantially enhanced the versatility of SMMBE, is the introduction of a new type of freestanding shadow masks: Growth through such a mask with different incidence angles of the molecular beams is equivalent to employing different mechanical masks, but is much more accurate since the precision of mechanical alignment is limited. A consistent model has been developed, which successfully explains the growth dynamics of molecular beam epitaxy through shadow masks. The redistribution of molecular fluxes under shadow masks may affect the growth rates on selected areas of the substrate drastically. In the case of compound semiconductors, reactions between the constituent species play important roles in controlling the growth rates as a function of the growth parameters. The predictions of the model regarding the growth of II-VI and III-V compounds have been tested experimentally and the dependence of the growth rates on the growth parameters has been verified. Moreover, it has been shown, that selected area epitaxy of II-VI and III-V compounds are governed by different surface kinetics. Coexisting secondary fluxes of both constituent species and the apparent non-existence of surface diffusion are characteristic for SMMBE of II-VI compounds. In contrast, III-V SMMBE is governed by the interplay between secondary group-V flux and the surface migration of group-III adatoms. In addition to the basic surface kinetic processes described by the model, the roles of orientation and strain-dependent growth dynamics, partial shadow, and material deposition on the mask (closure of apertures) have been discussed. The resulting advanced understanding of the growth dynamics (model and basic experiments) in combination with the implementation of technical improvements has enabled the development and application of a number of different processes for the fabrication of both II-VI and III-V nanostructures. In addition to specific material properties, various other phenomena have been exploited, e.g., self-organization. It has been shown that, e.g., single quantum dots and quantum wires can be reliably grown. Investigations performed on the SMMBE nanostructures have demonstrated the high positional and dimensional precision of the SMMBE technique. Bright cathodoluminescence demonstrates that the resulting quantum structures are of high structural and optical quality. In addition to these results, which demonstrate SMMBE as a prospective nanofabrication technique, the limitations of the method have also been discussed, and various approaches to overcome them have been suggested. Moreover, propositions for the fabrication of complex quantum devices by the multiple application of a stationary shadow mask have been put forward. In addition to selected area growth, the shadow masks can assist in etching, doping, and in situ contact definition in nanoscale selected areas. Due to the high precision and control over the dimensions and positions of the grown structures, which at the same time are of excellent chemical, crystal, and optical quality, SMMBE provides an interesting perspective for the fabrication of complex quantum devices from II-VI and III-V semiconductors.
Diese Arbeit enthält Untersuchungen von Magnetowiderstandseffekten in (Ga,Mn)As basierten ferromagnetischen Halbleiterdioden. Die Resultate wurden in den folgenden Artikeln veröffentlicht: [1] C. Rüster, T. Borzenko, C. Gould, G. Schmidt, L.W. Molenkamp, X. Liu, T.J.Wojtowicz, J.K. Furdyna, Z.G. Yu and M. Flatt´e, Very Large Magnetoresistance in Lateral Ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As Wires with Nanoconstrictions, Physical Review Letters 91, 216602 (2003). [2] C. Gould, C. Rüster, T. Jungwirth, E. Girgis, G.M. Schott, R. Giraud, K. Brunner, G. Schmidt and L.W. Molenkamp, Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance: A Spin-Valve-Like Tunnel Magnetoresistance Using a Single Magnetic Layer, Physical Review Letters 93, 117203 (2004). [3] C. Rüster, C. Gould, T. Jungwirth, J. Sinova, G.M. Schott, R. Giraud, K. Brunner, G. Schmidt and L.W. Molenkamp, Very Large Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance of a (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As Stack, Physical Review Letters 94, 027203 (2005). [4] C. Rüster and C. Gould, T. Jungwirth, E. Girgis, G.M. Schott, R. Giraud, K. Brunner, G. Schmidt and L.W. Molenkamp, Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance: Creating a spin-valve-like signal using a single ferromagnetic semiconductor layer, Journal of Applied Physics 97, 10C506 (2005).
Although spintronics has aroused increasing interest, much fundamental research has to be done. One important issue is the control over the electronic spin. Therefore, spin and phase coherent transport are very important phenomena. This thesis describes experiments with mercury based quantum well structures. This narrow gap material provides a very good template to study spin related effects. It exhibits large Zeeman spin splitting and Rashba spin-orbit splitting. The latter is at least four to five times larger than in III-V semiconductors. Initially a short review on the transport theory was presented. The main focus as on quantisation effects that are important to understand the related experiments. Thus, Shubnikov-de Haas and the quantum Hall effect have been analysed. Due to the first fabrication of nanostructures on Hg-based quantum well samples, the observation of ballistic transport effects could be expected. Hence, the Landauer-B¨uttiker theory has been introduced which gives the theoretical background to understand such effects. With respect to the main topic of this thesis, phase coherence has been introduced in detail. Experiments, where coherence effects could be observed, have been explained theoretically. Here, possible measurement setups have been discussed, e.g., a ring shaped structure to investigate the Aharonov-Bohm and related effects. Due to the fact, that all experiments, described in this thesis, were performed on Hg-based samples, the exceptional position of such samples among the “classical” semiconductors has been clarified. Hg1-xMnx Te quantum wells are type-III QWs in contrast to the type-I QWs formed by e.g., GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. With a well width of more than 6 nm and a manganese content of less than 7% they exhibit an inverted band alignment. Band structure calculations based on self consistent Hartree calculations have been presented. The common description of a diluted magnetic semiconductor with the Brillouin function has been introduced and the experiments to obtain the empiric parameters T0 and S0 have been presented. Rashba spin-orbit splitting and giant Zeeman splitting have been explained theoretically and the magnetic ordering of a spin glass as well as the relevant interactions therein have been discussed. The next chapter describes the first realisation of nanostructures on Hg-based heterostructures. Several material specific problems have been solved, but the unique features of this material system mentioned above justify the effort. Interesting new insight could be found and will be found with these structures. Onto a series of QW samples, cross-shaped structures with several lead widths have been patterned. With the non-local resistance measurement setup, evidence for quasiballistic transport was demonstrated in cross-shaped structures with lead widths down to 0.45 mm. The non-local bend resistance and a regime of rebound trajectories as well as the anomalous Hall effect could be identified. Monte-Carlo simulations of the classical electron trajectories have been performed. A good agreement with the experimental data has been achieved by taking a random scattering process into account. Encouraged by this success the technology has been improved and ring-shaped structures with radii down to 1 mm have been fabricated. Low temperature (below 100 mK), four terminal resistance measurements exhibit clear Aharonov-Bohm oscillations. The period of the oscillations agrees very well with a calculation that takes only the sample geometry into account. One goal using such a structure is the experimental prove of the spin-orbit Berry phase. Therefore an additional Shottky gate on top of the ring was needed. With this structure evidence for the Aharonov-Casher effect was observed. Here, a perpendicular applied electric field causes analogous oscillations as does the magnetic field in the AB effect. A subsequent change in the Rashba SO splitting due to several applied gate voltages while measuring the AB effect should reveal the SO Berry phase. Although initially evidence of a phase change was detected, a clear proof for the direct measurement of the SO Berry phase could not be found. In the future, with an advanced sample structure, e.g., with an additional Hall bar next to the ring, which permits a synchronous measurement of the Rashba splitting, it might be possible to measure the SO Berry phase directly. In manganese doped HgTe QWs two different effects simultaneously cause spin splitting: the giant Zeeman and the Rashba effect. By analysing the Shubnikovde Haas oscillations and the node positions of their beating pattern, it has been possible to separate these two effects. Whereas the Rashba effect can be identified by its dependence on the structure inversion asymmetry, varied by the applied gate voltage, the giant Zeeman splitting is extracted from its strong temperature dependence, because Rashba splitting is temperature independent. The analysis revealed, that the Rashba splitting is larger than or comparable to the giant Zeeman splitting even at moderately high magnetic fields. In an extraordinary HgMnTe QW sample, that exhibits the n= 1 quantum Hall plateau from less than 1 T up to 28 T, the anomalous Hall effect could be excluded. Intense studies on the temperature dependence of the QHE as well as band structure calculations have revealed this extraordinary behaviour to be an ordinary band structure effect of this system. In a series of mesoscopic structures on nonmagnetic and magnetic QWs, an investigation of the universal conductance uctuations have been carried out. In the
In this work we investigate magnetic resonant tunneling diode (RTD) structures for spin manipulation. All-II-VI semiconductor RTD structures based on [Zn,Be]Se are grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We observe a strong, magnetic field induced, splitting of the resonance peaks in the I-V characteristics of RTDs with [Zn,Mn]Se diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) quantum well. The splitting saturates at high fields and has strong temperature dependence. A phonon replica of the resonance is also observed and has similar behaviour to the peak. We develop a model based on the giant Zeeman splitting of the spin levels in the DMS quantum well in order to explain the magnetic field induced behaviour of the resonance.
Very small, thioglycerol (TG)-capped CdS nanoparticles were synthesized by a wet chemical technique and investigated in the framework of this thesis. Also glutathione-capped particles were investigated for a comparison of the capping agents. High-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy using high-brilliance synchrotron radiation was applied as the major tool for the characterization of these particles. Additionally, the particles were investigated with UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy, XPS using a laboratory source, valence band photoemission spectroscopy (VBPES), near-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (NEXAFS), and micro-Raman spectroscopy to address various aspects of the particles. In the beginning, an overview on size quantization effects is given to create a theoretical background behind the work presented in this thesis. Furthermore, an overview of various conventional techniques for size determination is presented. Exact information about size, shape and size distribution of nanoparticles is not yet achievable because of experimental limitations of the various size determination methods. Nanoparticles, with a range of sizes from 1.1 to 4. 2 nm, were synthesized using non-aqueous preparation and a TG capping. It is demonstrated that the use of the non-aqueous wet chemical synthesis method enables the production of very small particles and prohibits the aging of the particles. Furthermore, TG capping leads to a significant improvement for a narrow size distribution. Moreover, the results are very reproducible with TG capping and non-aqueous synthesis. Monodispersed particles can be produced by a size selective precipitation method, however, the reproducibility is questionable due to the aqueous medium of the synthesis in this case. High-resolution photoemission measurements on the small particles, i.e., 1.1 nm (CdS-A), 1.4 nm (CdS-B), 1.7 nm (CdS-C), and 1.8 nm (CdS-D, glutathione-capped), revealed five components as constituents of the S 2p signal after a careful data evaluation. Furthermore, it was observed that the particles with different sizes and capping show differences in the photoemission spectra and also in the beam damage behaviour. The different components of CdS-B were assigned as S atoms with different Cd neighbors, S atoms from thiol and S atoms in a partially oxidized state, based on the observed intensity changes of these components as a function of photon energy and beam damage, and on previous photoemission work on CdS nanoparticles [23, 45]. Furthermore, it was found that this assignment cannot be directly transferred to other particles. A new approach of structural model-based photoemission intensity calculations in comparison with the experimental data is presented. This enables us to understand subtle features in the photoemission spectra, in particular the intensity changes of the different components as a function of photon energy and beam exposure. This approach is especially applied to CdS-B (as some structural information for this particle is avialable from XRD), using three different structural models. It is found that a structural model with 33 S atoms can explain the experimental intensity changes of CdS-B. Furthermore, it is found that the photoemission spectra can be used to determine the particle size indirectly, as other plausible models show significant deviation from the experimental data. To study the various aspects by calculations, such as the influence of the particle shape and of the value of the mean free path, a program developed with L. Weinhardt and O. Fuchs is used for the intensity calculations. In order to determine a reasonable value of the mean free path for the used photon energies, two different equations from previous reports (Seah et al. and Powell et al.) are applied. As average mean free path values for the two photon energies we chose 5.5 ± 2 Å (254 eV) and 14 ± 2 Å (720 eV). The program calculation confirms the result of simple “manual” calculations of the different models. Moreover, it is tested that the value of , used in the calculations does not produce any significant influence on the calculation results. Another interesting feature is derived from the calculations that a model with a rather round shape produces similar intensity ratios for the different components to those of the data. Thus this new approach of analysis of photoemission spectra offers a way to determine particle sizes and to some extent to give an impression of the approximate particle shape. Furthermore, it is observed that the electronic band gap is larger compared to the optical band gap, which was attributed to an enhanced electron-hole correlation for optical absorption in small particles. The XPS experiments performed in the laboratory using an x-ray tube, show that the thin films produced from a freshly synthesized nanoparticle solution are fairly homogeneous and non-charging. Moreover, annealing experiments indicated that TG-capped particles posses less thermal stability as compared to MPA-capped particles. It was demonstrated that beam-induced effects play a major role. However, the knowledge of the time scale for such effects gives the possibility to record photoemission spectra with fairly good signal quality and to extrapolate to zero radiation damage. Further, particles with different sizes and capping show different beam damage behaviour. The thin film preparation by electrophoresis results in significant changes in the spectrum indicating agglomeration, while the drop-deposition technique points towards spectral changes on the rim of the sample, which can be avoided by focusing the radiation to the centre of the deposited dried drop. Micro-Raman experiments carried out in collaboration with C. Dem, Dr. M. Schmitt and Prof. W. Kiefer exhibited major differences in the spectra of nanoparticles as compared to those of the capping molecule thioglycerol. For instance, the absence of the S-H vibrational modes indicates the consumption or removal of all unreacted capping molecules. There is definitely a need for further detailed investigations concerning various interesting aspects of this work. For instance, it would be of significance to extend the program calculations to more models. Also more information about the band gap opening has to be gathered in order to find out the reason for the larger electronic band gap as compared to the optical band gap. The photoemission analysis approach using a model calculation has to be extended to differently prepared nanoparticles, in particular, to address the differences in the location of the various species in the particle as a function of preparation. The efforts of XRD simulations by C. Kumpf et al. [50] may reveal significant new information about the particle size and the size distribution. It can be expected that the program calculations, if extended to more models, can prove the potential of photoelectron spectroscopy to serve as a tool for size and shape determination of nanoparticles, which is a new contribution to the investigation of nanoparticles.
In a first aspect of this work, the development of photonic crystal based widely tunable laser diodes and their monolithic integration with photonic crystal based passive waveguide and coupler structures is explored theoretically and experimentally. In these devices, the photonic crystal is operated in the photonic bandgap which can be used for the realization of effective reflectors and waveguide structures. Such tunable light sources are of great interest for the development of optical network systems that are based on wavelength division multiplexing. In a second aspect of this work, the operation of a photonic crystal block near the photonic band edge is investigated with respect to the so-called superprism effect. After a few introductory remarks that serve to motivate this work, chapter 3 recapitulates some aspects of semiconductor lasers and photonic crystals that are essential for the understanding of this work so that the reader should be readily equipped with the tools to appreciate the results presented in this work.
The subject of this work has been the investigation of dynamical processes that occur during and after the interaction of matter with pulses of femtosecond laser radiation. The experiments presented here were performed in the gas phase and involve one atomic and several model molecular systems. Absorption of femtosecond laser radiation by these systems induces an electronic excitation, and subsequently their ionization, photofragmentation or isomerization. The specific adjustment of the excitation laser field properties offers the possibility to manipulate the induced electronic excitation and to influence the formation of the associated photoproducts. From the perspective of the employed spectroscopic methods, the development of photoelectron spectroscopy and its implementation in laser control experiments has been of particular interest in this thesis. This technique allows for a most direct and intuitive observation of electronic excitation dynamics in atomic as well as in complex polyatomic molecular systems. The propagation of an intermediate electronic transient state, associated to the formation of a particular photoproduct, can be interrogated by means of its correlation to a specific state of the atomic or molecular continuum. Such correlations involve the autoionization of the transient state, or by means of a second probe laser field, a structural correlation, as summarized by the Koopman's theorem (section 2.4.1). The technique of adaptive femtosecond quantum control has been the subject of development in our group for many years. The basic method, by which the temporal profile of near-infrared laser pulses at a central wavelength of 800 nm, can be adjusted, is a programmable femtosecond pulse-shaper that comprises of a zero dispersion compressor and a commercial liquid crystal modulator (LCD). This experimental arrangement was realized prior to this thesis and served as a starting point to extend the pulse-shaping technique to the ultraviolet spectral region. This technological development was realized for the purposes of the experiments presented in Chapter 5. It involves a combination of the LCD-pulse-shaper with frequency up-conversion techniques on the basis of producing specifically modulated laser pulses of central wavelength 266 nm. Furthermore, the optical method X-FROG had to be developed in order to characterize the often complex structure of generated ultraviolet pulses. In the adaptive control experiments presented in this work, the generated femtosecond laser pulses could be automatically adjusted by means of specifically addressing the 128 independent voltage parameters of the programmable liquid-crystal modulator. Additionally a machine learning algorithm was employed for the cause of defining laser pulse-shapes that delivered the desired (optimal) outcome in the investigated laser interaction processes. In Chapter 4, the technique of feedback-controlled femtosecond pulse shaping was combined with time-of-flight mass spectroscopy as well as photoelectron spectroscopy in order to investigate the multiphoton double ionization of atomic calcium. A pronounced absolute enhancement of the double ionization yield was obtained with optimized femtosecond laser pulses. On the basis of the measured photoelectron spectra and of the electron optimization experiments, a non-sequential process was found, which plays an important role in the formation of doubly charged Calcium ions. Then in Chapter 5, the dynamics following the pp* excitation of ethylene-like molecules were investigated. In this context, the model molecule stilbene was studied by means of femtosecond photoelectron spectroscopy. Due to the simplicity of its chemical structure, stilebene is one of the most famous models used in experimental as well as theoretical studies of isomerization dynamics. From the time-resolved experiments described in that chapter, new spectroscopic data involving the second excited electronic state S2 of the molecule were acquired. The second ethylenic product was the molecule tetrakis (dimethylamino) ethylene (TDMAE). Due to the presence of numerous lone pair electrons on the four dimethylamino groups, TDMAE exhibits a much more complex structure than stilbene. Nevertheless, previously reported studies on the dynamics of TDMAE provided vital information for planning and conducting a successful optimisation control experiment of the wavepacket propagation upon the (pp*) S1 excited potential surface of the molecule. Finally, in Chapter 6 the possibility of employing femtosecond laser pulses as an alternative method for activating a metallocene molecular catalyst was addressed. By means of an adaptive laser control scheme, an optimization experiment was realized. There, the target was the selective cleavage of one methyl-ligand of the model catalyst (Cp)^2Zr(CH3)^2, which induces a catalytic coordination position on the molecule. The spectroscopic studies presented in that chapter were performed in collaboration to the company BASF A.G. and constitute a proof-of principle attempt for a commercial application of the adaptive femtosecond quantum control technique.
High-harmonic generation provides a powerful source of ultrashort coherent radiation in the XUV and soft-x-ray range, which also allows for the production of attosecond light pulses. Based on the unique properties of this new radiation it is now possible to perform time-resolved spectroscopy at high excitation energies, from which a wide field of seminal discoveries can be expected. Since the exploration and observation of the corresponding processes in turn are accompanied by the desire to control them, this work deals with new ways to manipulate and characterize the properties of these high-harmonic-based soft-x-ray pulses. After introductory remarks this work first presents a comprehensive overview over recent developments and achievements on the field of the control of high-harmonic radiation in order to classify the experimental results obtained in this work. These results include the control of high-harmonic radiation both by temporally shaping and by manipulating the spatial properties of the fundamental laser pulses. In addition, the influence of the conversion medium and of the setup geometry (gas jet, gas-filled hollow fiber) was investigated. Using adaptive temporal pulse shaping of the driving laser pulse by a deformable mirror, this work demonstrates the complete control over the XUV spectrum of high harmonics. Based on a closed-loop optimization setup incorporating an evolutionary algorithm, it is possible to generate arbitrarily shaped spectra of coherent soft-x-ray radiation in a gas-filled hollow fiber. Both the enhancement and suppression of narrowband high-harmonic emission in a selected wavelength region as well as the enhancement of coherent soft-x-ray radiation over a selectable extended range of harmonics (multiple harmonics) can be achieved. Since simulations that do not take into account spatial properties such as propagation effects inside a hollow fiber cannot reproduce the experimentally observed high contrast ratios between adjacent harmonics, a feedback-controlled adaptive two-dimensional spatial pulse shaper was set up to examine selective fiber mode excitation and the optimization of high-harmonic radiation in such a geometry. It is demonstrated that different fiber modes contribute to harmonic generation and make the high extent of control possible. These results resolve the long-standing issue about the controllability of high-harmonic generation in free-focusing geometries such as gas jets as compared to geometries where the laser is guided. Temporal pulse shaping alone is not sufficient. It was possible to extend the cutoff position of harmonics generated in a gas jet, however, selectivity cannot be achieved. The modifications of the high-harmonic spectrum have direct implications for the time structure of the harmonic radiation, including the possibility for temporal pulse shaping on an attosecond time scale. To this end, known methods for the temporal characterization of optical pulses and high-harmonic pulses (determination of the harmonic chirp on femtosecond and attosecond time scales) were introduced. The experimental progress in this work comprises the demonstration of different setups that are in principle suitable to determine the time structure of shaped harmonic pulses based on two-photon two-color ionization cross-correlation techniques. Photoelectron spectra of different noble gases generated by photoionization with high-harmonic radiation reproduce the spin-orbit splitting of the valence electrons and prove the satisfactory resolution of our electron time-of-flight spectrometer for the temporal characterization of high harmonics. Unfortunately no positive results for this part could be achieved so far, which can probably be attributed mainly to the lack of the focusability of the high harmonics and to the low available power of our laser system. However, we have shown that shaping the high-harmonic radiation in the spectral domain must result in modifications of the time structure on an attosecond time scale. Therefore this constitutes the first steps towards building an attosecond pulse shaper in the soft-x-ray domain. Together with the ultrashort time resolution, high harmonics open great possibilities in the field of time-resolved soft-x-ray spectroscopy, for example of inner-shell transitions. Tailored high-harmonic spectra as generated in this work and shaped attosecond pulses will represent a multifunctional toolbox for this kind of research.
In this work heterostructures based on the half-Heusler alloy NiMnSb have been fabricated and characterized. NiMnSb is a member of the half-metallic ferromagnets, which exhibit an electron spin-polarization of 100% at the Fermi-level. For fabrication of these structures InP substrates with surface orientations of (001),(111)A and (111)B have been used. The small lattice mismatch of NiMnSb to InP allows for pseudomorphic layers, the (111) orientation additionally makes the formation of a half-metallic interface possible. For the growth on InP(001), procedures for the substrate preparation, growth of the lattice matched (In,Ga)As buffer layer and of the NiMnSb layer have been developed. The effect of flux-ratios and substrate temperatures on the MBE growth of the buffer as well as of the NiMnSb layer have been investigated and the optimum conditions have been pointed out. NiMnSb grows in the layer-by-layer Frank-van der Merwe growth mode, which can be seen by the intensity oscillations of the RHEED specular spot during growth. RHEED and LEED measurements show a flat surface and a well-defined surface reconstruction. High resolution x-ray measurements support this statement, additionally they show a high crystalline quality. Measurements of the lateral and the vertical lattice constant of NiMnSb films on (001) oriented substrates show that layers above a thickness of 20nm exhibit a pseudomorphic as well as a relaxed part in the same layer. Whereas layers around 40nm show partly relaxed partitions, these partitions are totally relaxed for layers above 100nm. However, even these layers still have a pseudomorphic part. Depth-dependent x-ray diffraction experiments prove that the relaxed part of the samples is always on top of the pseudomorphic part. The formation and propagation of defects in these layers has been investigated by TEM. The defects nucleate early during growth and spread until they form a defect network at a thickness of about 40nm. These defects are not typical misfit dislocations but rather antiphase boundaries which evolve in the Mn/Sb sublattice of the NiMnSb system. Dependent on the thickness of the NiMnSb films different magnetic anisotropies can be found. For layers up to 15nm and above 25nm a clear uniaxial anisotropy can be determined, while the layers with thicknesses in between show a fourfold anisotropy. Notably the easy axis for the thin layers is perpendicular to the easy axis observed for the thick layers. Thin NiMnSb layers show a very good magnetic homogeneity, as can be seen by the very small FMR linewidth of 20Oe at 24GHz. However, the increase of the linewidth with increasing thickness shows that the extrinsic damping gets larger for thicker samples which is a clear indication for magnetic inhomogeneities introduced by crystalline defects. Also, the magnetic moment of thick NiMnSb is reduced compared to the theoretically expected value. If a antiferromagnetic material is deposited on top of the NiMnSb, a clear exchange biasing of the NiMnSb layer can be observed. In a further step the epitaxial layers of the semiconductor ZnTe have been grown on these NiMnSb layers, which enables the fabrication of NiMnSb/ZnTe/NiMnSb TMR structures. These heterostructures are single crystalline and exhibit a low surface and interface roughness as measured by x-ray reflectivity. Magnetic measurements of the hysteresis curves prove that both NiMnSb layers in these heterostructures can switch separately, which is a necessary requirement for TMR applications. If a NiMn antiferromagnet is deposited on top of this structure, the upper NiMnSb layer is exchange biased by the antiferromagnet, while the lower one is left unaffected. Furthermore the growth of NiMnSb on (111) oriented substrates has been investigated. For these experiments, InP substrates with a surface orientation of (111)A and (111)B were used, which were miscut by 1 to 2° from the exact orientation to allow for smoother surfaces during growth. Both the (In, Ga)As buffer as well as the NiMnSb layer show well defined surface reconstructions during growth. X-ray diffraction experiments prove the single crystalline structure of the samples. However, neither for the growth on (111)A nor on (111)B a perfectly smooth surface could be obtained during growth, which can be attributed to the formation of pyramid-like facets evolving as a result of the atomic configuration at the surface. A similar relaxation behavior as NiMnSb layers on (001) oriented InP could not be observed. RHEED and x-ray diffraction measurements show that above a thickness of about 10nm the NiMnSb layer begins to relax, but remnants of pseudomorphic parts could not be found. Magnetic measurements show that the misorientation of the substrate crystal has a strong influence on the magnetic anisotropies of NiMnSb(111) samples. In all cases a uniaxial anisotropy could be observed. The easy axis is always aligned parallel to the direction of the miscut of the substrate.
In pursuit of a novel generation of devices, exploration of spin properties of the particles is needed. Spintronics is a modern field in physics which exploits spin properties to be used in addition to the charge degree of freedom. Since the conductivity mismatch problem presents a fundamental obstacle for electrical spin injection from a ferromagnetic metal into a diffusive semiconductor [SFM+00], other means for injecting spin-polarized carriers must be used. With a tunnel contact, it is possible to achieve a highly spin-polarized room-temperature tunnel injection [JWS+05]. We used a novel approach and applied magnetic RTDs for spin manipulation. In this work, properties of all-II-VI magnetic resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs), as applied to spintronics, were reported. Growth conditions were optimized to increase the peak-to-valley ratio, and the design of the RTDs was optimized for observation of spin related transport effects. When an external magnetic field was applied, spin manipulation became possible. Selforganized CdSe quantum structures were grown and investigated using optical means. After embedding them into a (Zn,Be)Se tunneling barrier, the properties were assessed by the resonant tunneling.
The generation of high harmonics is an ideal method to convert frequencies of the infrared- or visible range into the soft x-ray range. This process demands high laser intensities that are nowadays supplied by femtosecond laser systems. As the temporal and spatial coherence properties of the laser are transferred during the conversion process, the generated high harmonics will propagate as a beam with high peak-brightness. Under ideal conditions the generation of soft-x-ray pulses shorter than one femtosecond is possible. These properties are exploited in many applications like time-resolved x-ray spectroscopy. The topic of this thesis is the generation and optimization of high harmonics. A variety of conversion setups is investigated (jet of noble gas atoms, gas-filled hollow-fiber, water microdroplets) and theoretical models present ideas to further enhance the conversion efficiency (using excited atoms or aligned molecules). In different setups the peak intensity of the fundamental laser pulses is increased by spectral broadening and subsequent temporal compression. This is achieved with the help of pulse shaping devices that can modify the spectral phase and therefore also the temporal intensity distribution of laser pulses. These pulse shaping devices are controlled by an evolutionary algorithm. With this setup not only adaptive compression of laser pulses is possible, but also the engineering of specific laser pulse shapes to optimize an experimental output. This setup was used to influence the process of high harmonic generation. It is demonstrated that the spectral distribution of the generated soft-x-ray radiation can be controlled by temporal pulse shaping. This method to tailor high harmonics is complemented by spatial shaping techniques. These findings demonstrate the realization of a tunable source of soft-x-ray radiation.
Virtually all existing MRI applications require both a high spatial and high temporal resolution for optimum detection and classification of the state of disease. The main strategy to meet the increasing demands of advanced diagnostic imaging applications has been the steady improvement of gradient systems, which provide increased gradient strengths and faster switching times. Rapid imaging techniques and the advances in gradient performance have significantly reduced acquisition times from about an hour to several minutes or seconds. In order to further increase imaging speed, much higher gradient strengths and much faster switching times are required which are technically challenging to provide. In addition to significant hardware costs, peripheral neuro-stimulations and the surpassing of admissable acoustic noise levels may occur. Today’s whole body gradient systems already operate just below the allowed safety levels. For these reasons, alternative strategies are needed to bypass these limitations. The greatest progress in further increasing imaging speed has been the development of multi-coil arrays and the advent of partially parallel acquisition (PPA) techniques in the late 1990’s. Within the last years, parallel imaging methods have become commercially available,and are therefore ready for broad clinical use. The basic feature of parallel imaging is a scan time reduction, applicable to nearly any available MRI method, while maintaining the contrast behavior without requiring higher gradient system performance. PPA operates by allowing an array of receiver surface coils, positioned around the object under investigation, to partially replace time-consuming spatial encoding which normally is performed by switching magnetic field gradients. Using this strategy, spatial resolution can be improved given a specific imaging time, or scan times can be reduced at a given spatial resolution. Furthermore, in some cases, PPA can even be used to reduce image artifacts. Unfortunately, parallel imaging is associated with a loss in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and therefore is limited to applications which do not already operate at the SNR limit. An additional limitation is the fact that the coil array must provide sufficient sensitivity variations throughout the object under investigation in order to offer enough spatial encoding capacity. This doctoral thesis exhibits an overview of my research on the topic of efficient parallel imaging strategies. Based on existing parallel acquisition and reconstruction strategies, such as SENSE and GRAPPA, new concepts have been developed and transferred to potential clinical applications.
Adaptive Polarization Pulse Shaping and Modeling of Light-Matter Interactions with Neural Networks
(2007)
The technique of ultrafast polarization shaping is applied to a model quantum system, the potassium dimer. The polarization dependence of the multiphoton ionization dynamics in this molecule is first investigated in pump–probe experiments, and it is then more generally addressed and exploited in an adaptive quantum control experiment utilizing near–IR polarization–shaped laser pulses. The extension of these polarization shaping techniques to the UV spectral range is presented, and methods for the generation and characterization of polarization–shaped laser pulses in the UV are introduced. Systematic scans of double–pulse sequences are introduced for the investigation and interpretation of control mechanisms. This concept is first introduced and illustrated for an optical demonstration experiment, and it is then applied for the analysis of the intrapulse dumping mechanism that is observed in the excitation of a large dye molecule in solution with ultrashort laser pulses. Shaped laser pulses are employed as a means for obtaining copious amounts of data on light–matter interactions. Neural networks are introduced as a novel tool for generating computer–based models for these interactions from the accumulated data. The viability of this approach is first tested for second harmonic generation (SHG) and molecular fluorescence processes. Neural networks are then utilized for modeling the far more complex coherent strong–field dynamics of potassium atoms.
Albeit of high technological import, epitaxial self-assembly of CdSe/ZnSe QDs is non-trivial and still not clearly understood. The origin and attributes of these QDs are significantly different from those of their III-V and group-IV counterparts. For III-V and group-IV heterosystems, QD-formation is assigned to the Stranski Krastanow (SK) transition, wherein elastic relaxation of misfit strain leads to the formation of coherent three-dimensional (3D) islands, from a supercritically strained two-dimensional (2D) epilayer. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is inconspicuous for the CdSe/ZnSe heterosystem. Well-defined 3D islands are not readily formed in conventional molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of CdSe on ZnSe. Consequently, several alternative approaches have been adopted to induce/enhance formation of QDs. This thesis systematically investigates three such alternative approaches, along with conventional MBE, with emphasis on the formation-mechanism of QDs, and optimization of their morphological and optical attributes. It is shown here that no distinct 3D islands are formed in MBE growth of CdSe on ZnSe. The surface of the CdSe layer represents a rough 2D layer, characterized by a dense array of shallow (<1nm) abutting mounds. In capped samples, the CdSe deposit forms an inhomogeneous CdZnSe quantum well (QW)-like structure. This ternary QW consists of local Cd-rich inclusions, which confine excitons three-dimensionally, and act as QDs. The density of such QDs is very high (~ 1012 cm-2). The QDs defined by the composition inhomogeneities of the CdZnSe QW presumably originate from the shallow mounds of the uncapped CdSe surface. By a technique wherein a CdSe layer is grown at a low temperature (TG = 230 °C) and subsequently annealed at a significantly higher temperature (TA =310 °C), tiny but distinct 3D islands are formed. In this work, the mechanism underlying the formation of these islands is reported. While the CdSe deposit forms a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) layer at TG = 230 °C, subsequent annealing at TA = 310 °C results in a thermally activated “up-climb” of adatoms onto two-dimensional clusters (or precursors) and concomitant nucleation of 3D islands. The areal density of QDs, achieved by this technique, is at least a decade lower than that typical for conventional MBE growth. It is demonstrated that further reduction is possible by delaying the temperature ramp-up to TA. In the second technique, formation of distinct islands is demonstrated by deposition of amorphous selenium (a-Se) onto a 2D CdSe epilayer at room temperature and its subsequent desorption at a higher temperature (TD = 230 °C). Albeit the self-assembled islands are large, they are severely truncated during subsequent capping with ZnSe, presumably due to segregation of Cd and Zn-alloying of the islands. The segregation phenomenon is analyzed in this work and correlated to the optical properties of the QDs. Additionally, very distinct vertical correlation of QDs in QD-superlattices, wherein the first QD-layer is grown by this technique and the subsequent ones by migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE), is reported. The process steps of the third variant technique, developed in course of this work, are very similar to those of the previous one-the only alteration being the substitution of selenium with tellurium as the cap-forming-material. This leads not only to large alteration of the morphological and optical attributes of the QDs, but also to formation of unique self-assembled island-patterns. Oriented dashes, straight and buckled chains of islands, and aligned island-pairs are formed, depending on the thickness of the Te-cap layer. The islands are partially alloyed with Te and emit luminescence at very low energies (down to 1.7 eV at room temperature). The Te cap layer undergoes (poly)crystallization during temperature ramp-up (from room temperature to TD) for desorption. Here, it is shown that the self-assembled patterns of the island-ensembles are determined by the pattern of the grain boundaries of the polycrystalline Te layer. Based on an understanding of the mechanism of pattern formation, a simple and “clean” method for controlled positioning of individual QDs and QD-based extended nanostructures, is proposed in this work. The studies carried out in the framework of this thesis provide not only a deeper insight into the microscopic processes governing the heteroepitaxial self-assembly of CdSe/ZnSe(001) QDs, but also concrete approaches to achieve, optimize, and control several technologically-important features of QD-ensembles. Reduction and control of QD-areal-density, pronounced vertical correlation of distinctly-defined QDs in QD-superlattices, and self-assembly of QD-based extended structures, as demonstrated in this work, might turn out to be beneficial for envisioned applications in information-, and communication-technologies.
This thesis presents an experimental study of the thermoelectrical properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QD). The measurements give information about the interplay between first order tunneling and macroscopic quantum tunneling transport effects in the presence of thermal gradients by the direct comparison of the thermoelectric response and the energy spectrum of the QD. The aim of the thesis is to contribute to the understanding of the charge and spin transport in few-electron quantum dots with respect to potential applications in future quantum computing devices. It also gives new insight into the field of low temperature thermoelectricity. The investigated QDs were defined electrostatically in a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed with a GaAs/(Al,Ga)As heterostructure by means of metallic gate electrodes on top of the heterostructure. Negative voltages with respect to the potential of the 2DEG applied to the gate electrodes were used to deplete the electron gas below them and to form an isolated island of electron gas in the 2DEG which contains a few ten electrons. This QD was electrically connected to the 2DEG via two tunneling barriers. A special electron heating technique was used to create a temperature difference between the two connecting reservoirs across the QD. The resulting thermoelectric voltage was used to study the charge and spin transport processes with respect to the discrete energy spectrum and the magnetic properties of the QD. Such a two dimensional island usually exhibits a discrete energy spectrum, which is comparable to that of atoms. At temperatures below a few degrees Kelvin, the electrostatic charging energy of the QDs exceeds the thermal activation energy of the electrons in the leads, and the transport of electrons through the QD is dominated by electron-electron interaction effects. The measurements clarify the overall line shape of thermopower oscillations and the observed fine structure as well as additional spin effects in the thermoelectrical transport. The observations demonstrate that it is possible to control and optimize the strength and direction of the electronic heat flow on the scale of a single impurity and create spin-correlated thermoelectric transport in nanostructures, where the experimenter has a close control of the exact transport conditions. The results support the assumption that the performance of thermoelectric devices can be enhanced by the adjustment of the QD energy levels and by exploiting the properties of the spin-correlated charge transport via localized, spin-degenerate impurity states. Within this context, spin entropy has been identified as a driving force for the thermoelectric transport in the spin-correlated transport regime in addition to the kinetic contributions. Fundamental considerations, which are based on simple model assumptions, suggest that spin entropy plays an important role in the presence of charge valence fluctuations in the QD. The presented model gives an adequate starting point for future quantitative analysis of the thermoelectricity in the spin-correlated transport regime. These future studies might cover the physics in the limit of single electron QDs or the physics of more complex structures such as QD molecules as well as QD chains. In particular, it should be noted that the experimental investigations of the thermopower of few-electron QDs address questions concerning the entropy transport and entropy production with respect to single-bit information processing operations. These questions are of fundamental physical interest due to their close connection to the problem of minimal energy requirements in communication, and thus ultimately to the so called "Maxwell's demon" with respect to the second law of thermodynamics.
Ferromagnetic semiconductors (FS) promise the integration of magnetic memory functionalities and semiconductor information processing into the same material system. The prototypical FS (Ga,Mn)As has become the focus of semiconductor spintronics research over the past years. The spin-orbit mediated coupling of magnetic and semiconductor properties in this material gives rise to many novel transport-related phenomena which can be harnessed for device applications. In this thesis we address challenges faced in the development of an all-semiconductor memory architecture. A starting point for information storage in FS is the knowledge of their detailed magnetic anisotropy. The first part of this thesis concentrates on the investigation of the magnetization behaviour in compressively strained (Ga,Mn)As by electrical means. The angle between current and magnetization is monitored in magnetoresistance(MR) measurements along many in-plane directions using the Anisotropic MR(AMR) or Planar Hall effect(PHE). It is shown, that a full angular set of such measurements displayed in a color coded resistance polar plot can be used to identify and quantitatively determine the symmetry components of the magnetic anisotropy of (Ga,Mn)As at 4 K. We compile such "anisotropy fingerprints" for many (Ga,Mn)As layers from Wuerzburg and other laboratories and find the presence of three symmetry terms in all layers. The biaxial anisotropy term with easy axes along the [100] and [010] crystal direction dominates the magnetic behaviour. An additional uniaxial term with an anisotropy constant of ~10% of the biaxial one has its easy axis along either of the two <110> directions. A second contribution of uniaxial symmetry with easy axis along one of the biaxial easy axes has a strength of only ~1% of the biaxial anisotropy and is therefore barely visible in standard SQUID measurements. An all-electrical writing scheme would be desirable for commercialization. We report on a current assisted magnetization manipulation experiment in a lateral (Ga,Mn)As nanodevice at 4 K (far below Tc). Reading out the large resistance signal from DW that are confined in nanoconstrictions, we demonstrate the current assisted magnetization switching of a small central island through a hole mediated spin transfer from the adjacent leads. One possible non-perturbative read-out scheme for FS memory devices could be the recently discovered Tunneling Anisotropic MagnetoResistance (TAMR) effect. Here we clarify the origin of the large amplification of the TAMR amplitude in a device with an epitaxial GaAs tunnel barrier at low temperatures. We prove with the help of density of states spectroscopy that a thin (Ga,Mn)As injector layer undergoes a metal insulator transition upon a change of the magnetization direction in the layer plane. The two states can be distinguished by their typical power law behaviour in the measured conductance vs voltage tunneling spectra. While all hereto demonstrated (Ga,Mn)As devices inherited their anisotropic magnetic properties from their parent FS layer, more sophisticated FS architectures will require locally defined FS elements of different magnetic anisotropy on the same wafer. We show that shape anisotropy is not applicable in FS because of their low volume magnetization. We present a method to lithographically engineer the magnetic anisotropy of (Ga,Mn)As by submicron patterning. Anisotropic strain relaxation in submicron bar structures (nanobars) and the related deformation of the crystal lattice introduce a new uniaxial anisotropy term in the energy equation. We demonstrate by both SQUID and transport investigations that this lithographically induced uniaxial anisotropy overwrites the intrinsic biaxial anisotropy at all temperatures up to Tc. The final section of the thesis combines all the above into a novel device scheme. We use anisotropy engineering to fabricate two orthogonal, magnetically uniaxial, nanobars which are electrically connected through a constriction. We find that the constriction resistance depends on the relative orientation of the nanobar magnetizations, which can be written by an in-plane magnetic field. This effect can be explained with the AMR effect in connection with the field line patterns in the respective states. The device offers a novel non-volatile information storage scheme and a corresponding non-perturbative read-out method. The read out signal is shown to increase drastically in samples with partly depleted constriction region. This could be shown to originate in a magnetization direction driven metal insulator transition of the material in the constriction region.
Within the scope of this thesis, spin related transport phenomena have been investigated in HgTe/HgCdTe quantum well structures. This material exhibits peculiar band structure properties, which result in a strong spin-orbit interaction of the Rashba type. An inverted band structure, i.e., a reversed ordering of the energy states in comparison to common semiconductors, is obtained for quantum well layers above a critical thickness. Furthermore, the band structure properties can be controlled in the experiments by moderate gate voltages. Most prominently, the type of carriers in HgTe quantum wells can be changed from n to p due to the narrow energy gap. Along with the inverted band structure, this unique transition is the basis for the demonstration of the Quantum Spin Hall state, which is characterized by the existence of two one-dimensional spin-polarized edge states propagating in opposite directions, while the Fermi level in the bulk is in the energy gap. Since elastic scattering is suppressed by time reversal symmetry, a quantized conductance for charge and spin transport is predicted. Our experiments provide the first experimental demonstration of the QSH state. For samples with characteristic dimensions below the inelastic mean free path, charge conductance close to the expected value of 2e^2/h has been observed. Strong indication for the edge state transport was found in the experiments as well. For large samples, potential fluctuations lead to the appearance of local n-conducting regions which are considered to be the dominant source of backscattering. When time reversal symmetry is broken in a magnetic field, elastic scattering becomes possible and conductance is significantly suppressed. The suppression relies on a dominant orbital effect in a perpendicular field and a smaller Zeeman-like effect present for any field direction. For large perpendicular fields, a re-entrant quantum Hall state appears. This unique property is directly related to the non-trivial QSH insulator state. While clear evidence for the properties of charge transport was provided, the spin properties could not be addressed. This might be the goal of future experiments. In another set of experiments, the intrinsic spin Hall effect was studied. Its investigation was motivated by the possibility to create and to detect pure spin currents and spin accumulation. A non-local charging attributed to the SHE has been observed in a p-type H-shaped structure with large SO interaction, providing the first purely electrical demonstration of the SHE in a semiconductor system. A possibly more direct way to study the spin Hall effects opens up when the spin properties of the QSH edge states are taken into account. Then, the QSH edge states can be used either as an injector or a detector of spin polarization, depending on the actual configuration of the device. The experimental results indicate the existence of both intrinsic SHE and the inverse SHE independently of each other. If a spin-polarized current is injected from the QSH states into a region with Rashba SO interaction, the precession of the spin can been observed via the SHE. Both the spin injection and precession might be used for the realization of a spin-FET similar to the one proposed by Datta and Das. Another approach for the realization of a spin-based FET relies on a spin-interference device, in which the transmission is controlled via the Aharonov-Casher phase and the Berry phase, both due to the SO interaction. In the presented experiments, ring structures with tuneable SO coupling were studied. A complex interference pattern is observed as a function of external magnetic field and gate voltage. The dependence on the Rashba splitting is attributed to the Aharonov-Casher phase, whereas effects due to the Berry phase remain unresolved. This interpretation is confirmed by theoretical calculations, where multi-channel transport through the device has been assumed in agreement with the experimental results. Thus, our experiments provide the first direct observation of the AC effect in semiconductor structures. In conclusion, HgTe quantum well structures have proven to be an excellent template for studying spin-related transport phenomena: The QSHE relies on the peculiar band structure of the material and the existence of both the SHE and the AC effect is a consequence of the substantial spin-orbit interaction. While convincing results have been obtained for the various effects, several questions can not be fully answered yet. Some of them may be addressed by more extensive studies on devices already available. Other issues, however, ask, e.g., for further advances in sample fabrication or new approaches by different measurements techniques. Thus, future experiments may provide new, compelling insights for both the effects discussed in this thesis and, more generally, other spin-orbit related transport properties.
The goal of the work presented in this thesis was to explore the possibilities and limitations of MRI / MRS using an ultra high field of 17.6 tesla. A broad range of specific applications and MR methods, from MRI to MRSI and MRS were investigated. The main foci were on sodium magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of rodents, magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the mouse brain, and the detection of small amounts of iron labeled stem cells in the rat brain using MRI Sodium spectroscopic imaging was explored since it benefits tremendously from the high magnetic field. Due to the intrinsically low signal in vivo, originating from the low concentrations and short transverse relaxation times, only limited results have been achieved by other researchers until now. Results in the literature include studies conducted on large animals such as dogs to animals as small as rats. No studies performed on mice have been reported, despite the fact that the mouse is the most important laboratory animal due to the ready availability of transgenic strains. Hence, this study concentrated on sodium MRSI of small rodents, mostly mice (brain, heart, and kidney), and in the case of the brain on young rats. The second part of this work concentrated on proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the rodent brain. Due to the high magnetic field strength not only the increasing signal but also the extended spectral resolution was advantageous for such kind of studies. The difficulties/limitations of ultra high field MRS were also investigated. In the last part of the presented work detection limits of iron labeled stem cells in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging were explored. The studies provided very useful benchmarks for future researchers in terms of the number of labeled stem cells that are required for high-field MRI studies. Overall this work has shown many of the benefits and the areas that need special attention of ultra high fields in MR. Three topics in MRI, MRS and MRSI were presented in detail. Although there are significant additional difficulties that have to be overcome compared to lower frequencies, none of the work presented here would have been possible at lower field strengths.
ZnO-based semiconductors were studied by Raman spectroscopy and complementary methods (e.g. XRD, EPS) with focus on semimagnetic alloying with transition metal ions, doping (especially p-type doping with nitrogen as acceptor), and nanostructures (especially wet-chemically synthesized nanoparticles).
The role of elastic interactions, particularly for the self-organized formation of periodically faceted interfaces, was investigated in this thesis for archetype organic-metal interfaces. The cantilever bending technique was applied to study the change of surface stress upon formation of the interface between 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-dianhydride (PTCDA) and Ag(111). This system is known to form a chemisorptive bonding. Indeed, the sign and the coverage-dependence of the surface stress change are in agreement to models and previous measurements of chemisorptive systems in literature. While the adsorption of molecules into the large domains is associated with a negative, i.e. compressive stress change, the formation of domain boundaries in the molecular layer induces a stress change of opposite sign, increasing the surface stress. The magnitude of the surface stress change of (-0.30 +- 0.10} N/m reflects a relatively weak binding of a PTCDA molecule to each individual single silver atom. It is emphasized, however, that if normalized to the surface stress change per molecule, this value corresponds to a stress change of (-2.2 +- 0.2) eV per molecule which is in the order of the suspected binding energy of this system. Therefore, these experiments reveal elastic interactions to be of significant order of magnitude for this system class. Thereby, they add a new point of view to the understanding of these interfaces. Besides, since the results are in agreement with the well-known properties of this interface, they establish the cantilever bending technique in the field of organic-metal interfaces. The mere existence of a bending of the sample implies an interesting detail for the PTCDA/Ag(111) interface in particular. It is the first experimental evidence for a structural change in the topmost substrate layers upon adsorption of PTCDA on Ag(111). Since such a modification has significant implications for the interpretation of other experimental results, a further investigation with more quantitative structural methods appears necessary. The main focus of this work, however, was on the investigation of the formation of the long-range ordered, self-organized faceted PTCDA/Ag(10 8 7) interface. Reciprocal space maps of this interface were recorded both by spot profile analysis low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) and low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) in selected area LEED mode. Complementary to the reciprocal data, also microscopic real-space LEEM data were used to characterize the morphology of this interface. Six different facet faces ((111), (532), (743), (954), (13 9 5), and (542)) were observed for the preparation path of molecular adsorption on the substrate kept at 550 K. Facet-sensitive dark-field LEEM localized these facets to grow in homogeneous areas of microscopic extensions. If the pristine mesoscopic orientation locally deviates from the average orientation, e.g. in pristine step density, locally different facet types are formed, distorting the otherwise regular mesoscopic pattern. Hence, the original mesoscopic orientation of the substrate strongly determines the degree of order of the faceted surface and the facet species formed. The temperature-dependence of the interface formation was studied in a range between 418 K and 612 K in order to learn more about the kinetics of the process. Additional steeper facets of 27° inclination with respect to the (111) surface were observed in the low temperature regime. Furthermore, using facet-sensitive dark-field LEEM, spatial and size distributions of specific facets were studied for the different temperatures. The nucleation density of the facets did not depend on temperature and can therefore be concluded not to be limited by diffusion. Moreover, the facet dimensions were statistically analyzed. The total island size of the facets follows an exponential distribution, indicating a random growth mode in absence of any mutual facet interactions. While the length distribution of the facets also follows an exponential distribution, the width distribution is peaked, reflecting the high degree of lateral order. This anisotropy is temperature-dependent and occurs starting above 478 K substrate temperature during growth. The peaked distribution indicates the presence of a long-range interaction which leads to the structural order of the self-organized grating. The origin of this long-range interaction was investigated combining three complementary in-situ methods, all providing new insights into the formation of faceted organic-metal interfaces: the cantilever bending technique, high-resolution low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED), and microscopy (LEEM). The cantilever bending technique was applied for the first time to a faceting system at all. Below the faceting transition temperature the surface stress change associated with the formation of the PTCDA/Ag(10 8 7) interface resembles in shape and magnitude the one observed for the reference interface PTCDA/Ag(111). But above the transition temperature the absolute surface stress change of (-0.67 +- 0.10) N/m observed for the faceted PTCDA/Ag(10 8 7) interface is considerably larger than for the previous cases. Moreover, the stress change happens in distinguishable stages with a clearly resolvable fine structure of regimes of positive and negative stress changes. These different regimes of surface stress change can be correlated to different stages of the structural phase transition observed by the structural in-situ methods. Thereby, morphological objects (i.e. the facets) are assigned to a specific stress character. Thus, domains of different stress character can be identified on the surface. These stress domains are the prerequisite to apply continuum descriptions of the self-ordering process based on elastic interactions. Hence, the results are the first experimental verification that these continuum descriptions are indeed also applicable to the whole system class of faceting organic-metal interfaces. In conclusion, the results provide strong evidence for elastic interactions being the physical origin of long-range order for this system. In addition, the clear correlation of structural phase transition and surface stress change regimes suggests surface stress to play also an important role for the kinetics of the system. Indeed, the system seems to try to limit the overall stress change during the interface formation by forming facets of positive and negative stress character. Hence, the selection of specific facets could depend on the corresponding stress character. Furthermore, the system seems willing to re-facet at high coverages in order to prevent imperfect domain boundaries which are associated with an increase of surface stress. Finally, template-assisted growth of lateral, heterorganic nanostructures has been explored. Therefore, self-assembled monolayers as a second archetype class of molecules were grown on partially covered PTCDA/Ag(10 8 7) interfaces. Indeed, using standard surface science techniques, the basic principle of this growth scheme was confirmed to be successful.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging is a well-established imaging technique. If the achieved spatial resolution is below 100 um, it is usually denoted as magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM). The spatial resolution limit is on the order of a few um. As a downside, high resolution imaging is usually time-consuming and technological requirements are very sumptuous. Furthermore, miniaturization of the radiofrequency (RF) coil leading to a so-called microcoil is necessary; it also brings along detrimental effects. Therefore, there is a high potential for optimizing present MRM methods. Hence it is the aim of this work to improve and further develop present methods in MRM with focus on the RF coil and to apply those methods on new biological applications. All experiments were conducted on a Bruker 17.6 T system with a maximum gradient strength of 1 T/m and four RF receiver channels. Minimizing the RF coil dimensions, leads to increased artefacts due to differences in magnetic susceptibility of the coil wire and surrounding air. Susceptibility matching by immersing the coil in FC-43 is the most common approach that fulfills the requirements of most applications. However, hardly any alternatives are known for cases where usage of FC-43 is not feasible due to its specific disadvantages. Two alternative substances (bromotricholoromethane and Fomblin Y25) were presented and their usability was checked by susceptibility determination and demonstration experiments after shimming under practical conditions. In a typical MRM microcoil experiment, the sample volume is significantly smaller than the maximum volume usable for imaging. This mismatch has been optimized in order to increase the experiment efficiency by increasing the number of probe coils and samples used. A four-channel probehead consisting of four individual solenoid coils suited for cellular imaging of Xenopus laevis oocytes was designed, allowing simultaneous acquisition from four samples. All coils were well isolated and allowed quantitative image acquisition with the same spatial resolution as in single coil operation. This method has also been applied in other studies for increased efficiency: using X. laevis oocytes as a single cell model, the effect of chemical fixation on intracellular NMR relaxation times T1 and T2 and on diffusion was studied for the first time. Significant reduction of relaxation times was found in all cell compartments; after reimmersion in buffer, values return close to the initial values, but there were small but statistically significant differences due to residual formaldehyde. Embryos of the same species have been studied morphologically in different developmental stages. Wild type embryos were compared to embryos that had experienced variations in protein levels of chromosomal proteins HMGN and H1A. Significant differences were found between wild type and HMGN-modified embryos, while no difference was observed between wild type and H1-modified embryos. These results were concordant with results obtained from light microscopy and histology. The technique of molecular imaging was also performed on X. laevis embryos. Commercially available antibodies coupled to ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) dextrane coated particles (MACS) served as a specific probe detectable by MRM, the aim being the detection of tissue specific contrast variations. Initially, the relaxivity of MACS was studied and compared to Resovist and VSOP particles. The iron concentration was determined quantitatively by using a general theoretical approach and results were compared to values obtained from mass spectroscopy. After incubation with MACS antibodies, intraembryonal relaxation times were determined in different regions of the embryo. These values allowed determination of local iron oxide particle concentrations, and specific binding could be distinguished from unspecific binding. Although applications in this work were focused on X. laevis oocytes and embryos, 3D-imaging on a beewolf head was also carried out in order to visualize the postpharyngeal gland. Additionally, an isolated beewolf antenna was imaged with a spatial resolution of (8 um)^3 for depiction of the antennal glands by using a microcoil that was specially designed for this sample. The experiments carried out in this work show that commercially available MRM systems can be significantly optimized by using small sample-adapted RF coils and by parallel operation of multiple coils, by which the sample throughput and thus time-efficiency is increased. With this optimized setup, practical use was demonstrated in a number of new biological applications.
Besides image contrast, imaging speed is probably the most important consideration in clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MR scanners currently operate at the limits of potential imaging speed, due to technical and physiological problems associated with rapidly switched gradient systems. Parallel imaging (parallel MRI or pMRI) is a method which allows one to significantly shorten the acquisition time of MR images without changing the contrast behavior of the underlying MR sequence. The accelerated image acquisition in pMRI is accomplished without relying on more powerful technical equipment or exceeding physiological boundaries. Because of these properties, pMRI is currently employed in many clinical routines, and the number of applications where pMRI can be used to accelerate imaging is increasing. However, there is also growing criticism of parallel imaging in certain applications. The primary reason for this is the intrinsic loss in the SNR due to the accelerated acquisition. In addition, other effects can also lead to a reduced image quality. Due to unavoidable inaccuracies in the pMRI reconstruction process, local and global errors may appear in the final reconstructed image. The local errors are visible as noise enhancement, while the global errors result in the so-called fold-over artifacts. The appearance and strength of these negative effects, and thus the image quality, depend upon different factors, such as the parallel imaging method chosen, specific parameters in the method, the sequence chosen, as well as specific sequence parameters. In general, it is not possible to optimize all of these parameters simultaneously for all applications. The application of parallel imaging in can lead to very pronounced image artifacts, i.e. parallel imaging can amplify errors. On the other hand, there are applications such as abdominal MR or MR angiography, in which parallel imaging does not reconstruct images robustly. Thus, the application of parallel imaging leads to errors. In general, the original euphoria surrounding parallel imaging in the clinic has been dampened by these problems. The reliability of the pMRI methods currently implemented is the main criticism. Furthermore, it has not been possible to significantly increase the maximum achievable acceleration with parallel imaging despite major technical advances. An acceleration factor of two is still standard in clinical routine, although the number of independent receiver channels available on most MR systems (which are a basic requirement for the application of pMRI) has increased by a factor of 3-6 in recent years. In this work, a novel and elegant method to address this problem has been demonstrated. The idea behind the work is to combine two methods in a synergistic way, namely non-Cartesian acquisition schemes and parallel imaging. The so-called non-Cartesian acquisition schemes have several advantages over standard Cartesian acquisitions, in that they are often faster and less sensitive to physiological noise. In addition, such acquisition schemes are very robust against fold-over artifacts even in the case of vast undersampling of k-space. Despite the advantages described above, non-Cartesian acquisition schemes are not commonly employed in clinical routines. A reason for that is the complicated reconstruction techniques which are required to convert the non-Cartesian data to a Cartesian grid before the fast Fourier transformation can be employed to arrive at the final MR image. Another reason is that Cartesian acquisitions are routinely accelerated with parallel imaging, which is not applicable for non-Cartesian MR acquisitions due to the long reconstruction times. This negates the speed advantage of non-Cartesian acquisition methods. Through the development of the methods presented in this thesis, reconstruction times for accelerated non-Cartesian acquisitions using parallel imaging now approach those of Cartesian images. In this work, the reliability of such methods has been demonstrated. In addition, it has been shown that higher acceleration factors can be achieved with such techniques than possible with Cartesian imaging. These properties of the techniques presented here lead the way for an implementation of such methods on MR scanners, and thus also offer the possibility for their use in clinical routine. This will lead to shorter examination times for patients as well as more reliable diagnoses.
This work studies the fundamental connection between lattice strain and magnetic anisotropy in the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. The first chapters provide a general introduction into the material system and a detailed description of the growth process by molecular beam epitaxy. A finite element simulation formalism is developed to model the strain distribution in (Ga,Mn)As nanostructures is introduced and its predictions verified by high-resolution x-ray diffraction methods. The influence of lattice strain on the magnetic anisotropy is explained by an magnetostatic model. A possible device application is described in the closing chapter.
The control of quantum mechanical processes, especially the selective manipulation of photochemical reactions by shaped fs laser pulses was successfully demonstrated in many experiments in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology. In this work, attention is directed to the control of two systems that mark a bridge to real synthetic chemistry. In a liquid phase environment the outcome of the photo-induced Wolff rearrangement of an industrially relevant diazonaphthoquinone compound, normally used in photoresists (e.g. Novolak) was optimized using shaped fs laser pulses. In the second series of experiments chemical reactions on a catalyst metal surface which comprise laser induced molecular bond formation channels were selectively manipulated for the first time. The control of liquid phase reactions necessitates adequate spectroscopic signals that are characteristic for the formed product species. Therefore, a pump-probe setup for transient absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared for the purpose of investigating ultrafast structural changes of molecules during photoreactions was constructed. This versatile setup enables to monitor structural changes of molecules in the liquid phase and to find appropriate feedback signals for the control of these processes. Prior to quantum control experiments, the photoinduced Wolff-rearrangement reaction of 2-diazo-1-naphthoquinone (DNQ) dissolved in water and methanol was thoroughly investigated. Steady state absorption measurements in the mid-infrared in combination with quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed the characteristic vibrational bands of DNQ and of possible products. A mid-infrared transient absorption study was performed, to illuminate the structural dynamics of the ultrafast rearrangement reaction of DNQ. The experimental observations indicate, that the Wolff rearrangement reaction of DNQ proceeds within 300 fs. A model for the relaxation dynamics of the ketene photoproduct and DNQ after photoexcitation can be deduced that fits the measured data very well. The object of the quantum control experiments on DNQ was the improvement of the ketene yield. It was shown that the ketene formation after Wolff rearrangement of DNQ is very sensitive to the shape of the applied excitation laser pulses. The variation of single parameters, like the linear chirp as well as the pulse separation of colored double pulses lead to the conclusion that the well known intrapulse dumping mechanism is responsible for the impact of the frequency ordering within the excitation pulse on the photoproduct yield. Adaptive optimizations using a closed learning loop basically lead to the same result. Adaptive fs quantum control was also applied to surface reactions on a catalyst metal surface for the first time. Therefore, the laser-induced catalytic reactions of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) on a Pd(100) single crystal surface were studied. This photochemical reaction initiated with fs laser pulses has not been observed before. Several product molecules could be synthesized, among them also species (e.g. CH^3+) for whose formation three particles are involved. The systematic variation of different parameters showed that the reactions are sensitive to the catalyst surface, the composition of the adsorbate and to the laser properties. A pump-probe study revealed that they occur on an ultrafast time scale. These catalytic surface reactions were then investigated and improved with phaseshaped fs laser pulses. By applying a feedback optimal control scheme, the reaction outcome could be successfully manipulated and the ratio of different reaction channels could be selectively controlled. Evidence has been found that the underlying control mechanism is nontrivial and sensitive to the specific conditions on the surface. The experiments shown here represent the first successful experiment on adaptive fs quantum control of a chemical reaction between adsorbate molecules on a surface. In contrast to previous quantum control experiments, reaction channels comprising the formation of new molecular bonds rather than the cleavage of already existing bonds are controlled. This work successfully showed that quantum control can be extended to systems closer to situations encountered in synthetic chemistry as was demonstrated in the two examples of the optimization of a complicated rearrangement reaction and the selective formation of chemical bonds with shaped fs laser pulses.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an imaging modality which provides anatomical or functional images of the human body with variable contrasts in an arbitrarily positioned slice without the need for ionizing radiation. In MRI, data are not acquired directly, but in the reciprocal image space (otherwise known as k-space) through the application of spatially variable magnetic field gradients. The k-space is made up of a grid of data points which are generally acquired in a line-by-line fashion (Cartesian imaging). After the acquisition, the k-space data are transformed into the image domain using the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT). However, the acquisition of data is not limited to the rectilinear Cartesian sampling scheme described above. Non-Cartesian acquisitions, where the data are collected along exotic trajectories, such as radial and spiral, have been shown to be beneficial in a number of applications. However, despite their additional properties and potential advantages, working with non-Cartesian data can be complicated. The primary difficulty is that non-Cartesian trajectories are made up of points which do not fall on a Cartesian grid, and a simple and fast FFT algorithm cannot be employed to reconstruct images from non-Cartesian data. In order to create an image, the non-Cartesian data are generally resampled on a Cartesian grid, an operation known as gridding, before the FFT is performed. Another challenge for non-Cartesian imaging is the combination of unusual trajectories with parallel imaging. This thesis has presented several new non-Cartesian parallel imaging methods which simplify both gridding and the reconstruction of images from undersampled data. In Chapter 4, a novel approach which uses the concepts of parallel imaging to grid data sampled along a non-Cartesian trajectory called GRAPPA Operator Gridding (GROG) is described. GROG shifts any acquired k-space data point to its nearest Cartesian location, thereby converting non-Cartesian to Cartesian data. The only requirements for GROG are a multi-channel acquisition and a calibration dataset for the determination of the GROG weights. Chapter 5 discusses an extension of GRAPPA Operator Gridding, namely Self-Calibrating GRAPPA Operator Gridding (SC-GROG). SC-GROG is a method by which non-Cartesian data can be gridded using spatial information from a multi-channel coil array without the need for an additional calibration dataset, as required in standard GROG. Although GROG can be used to grid undersampled datasets, it is important to note that this method uses parallel imaging only for gridding, and not to reconstruct artifact-free images from undersampled data. Chapter 6 introduces a simple, novel method for performing modified Cartesian GRAPPA reconstructions on undersampled non-Cartesian k-space data gridded using GROG to arrive at a non-aliased image. Because the undersampled non-Cartesian data cannot be reconstructed using a single GRAPPA kernel, several Cartesian patterns are selected for the reconstruction. Finally, Chapter 7 discusses a novel method of using GROG to mimic the bunched phase encoding acquisition (BPE) scheme. In MRI, it is generally assumed that an artifact-free image can be reconstructed only from sampled points which fulfill the Nyquist criterion. However, the BPE reconstruction is based on the Generalized Sampling Theorem of Papoulis, which states that a continuous signal can be reconstructed from sampled points as long as the points are on average sampled at the Nyquist frequency. A novel method of generating the “bunched” data using GRAPPA Operator Gridding (GROG), which shifts datapoints by small distances in k-space using the GRAPPA Operator instead of employing zig-zag shaped gradients, is presented in this chapter. With the conjugate gradient reconstruction method, these additional “bunched” points can then be used to reconstruct an artifact-free image from undersampled data. This method is referred to as GROG-facilitated Bunched Phase Encoding, or GROG-BPE.
The scope of this work is to develop a novel single-molecule imaging technique by combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical fluorescence microscopy. The technique is used for characterizing the structural properties of multi-protein complexes. The high-resolution fluorescence microscopy and AFM are combined (FIONA-AFM) to allow for the identification of individual proteins in such complexes. This is achieved by labeling single proteins with fluorescent dyes and determining the positions of these fluorophores with high precision in an optical image. The same area of the sample is subsequently scanned by AFM. Finally, the two images are aligned and the positions of the fluorophores are displayed on top of the topographical data. Using quantum dots as fiducial markers in addition to fluorescently labeled proteins, fluorescence and AFM information can be aligned with an accuracy better than 10 nm, which is sufficient to identify single fluorescently labeled proteins in most multi-protein complexes. The limitations of localization precision and accuracy in fluorescence and AFM images are investigated, including their effects on the overall registration accuracy of FIONA-AFM hybrid images. This combination of the two complementary techniques opens a wide spectrum of possible applications to the study of protein interactions, because AFM can yield high resolution (5–10 nm) information about the conformational properties of multi-protein complexes while the fluorescence can indicate spatial relationships of the proteins within the complexes. Additionally, computer simulations are performed in order to validate the accuracy of the registration algorithm.
In this thesis, soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) studies of the electronic structure of selected organic molecules and liquids were carried out. The first part focuses on the used experimental techniques and the development of the instrumentation necessary for these studies, namely a soft x-ray spectrometer, and a temperature-controlled flow-through liquid cell. The former was optimized by a special analytical ray tracing method developed exclusively for this purpose. Due to its high transmission, the spectrometer facilitates a novel experimental approach of recording comprehensive 'RIXS maps', which are 2-dimensional plots of x-ray scattering intensities as a function of both, excitation and emission photon energy. The liquid cell extends these possibilities to the study of liquids, especially the interaction of molecules in liquids and their chemical reactions under well-controlled conditions. Organic molecules have attracted considerable attention in the last decade. The intense research activities related to these materials have two main motivations: on the one hand, organic molecules have a technological application as building blocks of organic semiconductors, while, on the other hand, organic molecules are the functional elements in biological systems. In order to cost-effectively produce optimized organic electronic devices, a fundamental knowledge of the electronic properties of the organic molecules interface is necessary. Therefore, many studies of the electronic structure of potential candidates for organic electronics exist. Two of these candidates, namely C60 and well-ordered multilayers PTCDA on a Ag(111) surface are investigated in this thesis. For the study of C60 molecules, a comprehensive 'RIXS map' was recorded and analyzed. The RIXS map taken in only 25 minutes allows a quantitative analysis of energy losses, yielding for example the HOMO-LUMO distance. It also identifies a core-excitonic state and facilitates a quantitative comparison of its binding energy with that of valence excitons in C60. Furthermore, decay channel-selective partial fluorescence yield XAS spectra can be extracted from the RIXS map, yielding information on the population of the core-excitonic state as a function of excitation energy. As a second model system of organic molecules relevant for organic electronics, PTCDA was chosen. The complex electronic structure of the occupied states of a highly ordered, flat-lying PTCDA multilayer on a Ag(111) surface was investigated by symmetry-resolved resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy. The rapidly occurring beam damage effects were characterized on the basis of irradiation-time dependent series of C and O x-ray emission spectra. Upon varying the excitation energy and emission geometry, atom- and symmetry-specific carbon K emission spectra with negligible beam damage effects were obtained that allow to distinguish between electronic states with sigma and pi symmetry. A density functional theory calculation of the PTCDA molecule reproduces the energy positions of the most prominent emission features remarkably well. In addition, the energy positions of the sigma and pi emissions agree well with the calculated energies of the respective orbitals. In order to shed light on the second aspect of organic molecules, namely their role in biological systems, first a detailed investigation of the electronic structure and proton dynamics of liquid water as the medium of most chemical and biochemical reactions was carried out. Therefore, a comprehensive oxygen K RIXS map of liquid water was recorded and analyzed in great detail. A temperature-dependent comparison with XAS and RIXS data of D2O, NaOH, and NaOD leads to the conclusion, that ultra-fast dissociation takes place in liquid water on the timescale of the oxygen 1s core hole lifetime, resulting in a characteristic spectral contribution in the RIXS spectra. The dissociation is promoted by intact hydrogen bonds with neighboring molecules. In consequence, the rate of dissociation directly depends on the initial hydrogen bond configuration. In the next step towards biologically relevant systems, the nitrogen K edges of the amino acids glycine and histidine were investigated in powderous form as well as in their native environment, namely in aqueous solution. X-ray absorption and emission spectra of the aqueous solutions were analyzed at pH-values of 6 and for glycine also at pH 12 and compared to the spectra of powders. A pH-value of 12 causes deprotonation of the amino group, leading to significant changes in the nitrogen spectra as compared to pH 6. The results from these four examples demonstrate that a wealth of novel information can be obtained by using the new experimental tools developed in this thesis, namely a highly sensitive x-ray spectrometer and a flow-through liquid cell.
Nuclear magnetic resonance has numerous applications for in vivo diagnostics. However, methods requiring homogeneous magnetic fields, particularly magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques, have limited applicability in regions near or on anatomical boundaries that cause strong inhomogeneities. In cases where the shim system can not or just partly correct for these inhomogeneities, methods based on intermolecular multiple quantum coherence (iMQC) detection can provide an alternative solution for in vivo MRS. This dissertation presented the development, validation and application potential of a novel MRS pulse sequence detecting intermolecular zero-quantum coherences (iZQC) with special emphasis on in vivo experiments. In addition, the detection limit and spectral behaviour of iZQC-MRS under modelled realistic conditions were systematically approached for the first time. Based on the original sequence used to detect two dimensional (2D) iZQC-spectra, dubbed HOMOGENIZED, methodological development led to increased sensitivity and water suppression, and decreased T2-relaxation effects through the application of a frequency selective 90° RF-pulse in place of a non selective beta-pulse. Best water suppression was achieved by placing a pair of selective refocusing units immediately prior to the acquisition window. The same placement was found to be optimal also for single voxel localization units based on slice selective spin echo refocusing. By voxel selection before the iZQC-MRS sequence, the chemical shift artefact could be avoided. However, this led to significant residual signal from outside the voxel. Analytical derivations of signal evolution for several sequences presented in this dissertation provide useful additions to the iZQC MRS theory. In vivo applications of the developed sequence provided high quality spectra in the central nervous system of the rat, the mouse brain and in subcutaneous xenograft tumor grown on the thigh of the mouse. In all these 2D spectra, the limiting factor of the resolution in the indirect dimension was the digital sampling rate, rather than inhomogeneous line broadening. Nevertheless, linewidths of the cross-peaks were similar or narrower than along the direct axis, where the sampling rate was about ten times higher. The first MR spectroscopic investigation of the rat spinal cord at 17.6 T was performed. Through its insensitivity to macroscopic field inhomogeneities, the localized iZQC method allowed for the selection of larger voxels than conventional methods and still provided the same spectral resolution. This property was used also in tumor tissue to propel the relative signal to noise (SNR) efficiency of the iZQC spectroscopy for the first time above the SNR efficiency of a conventional sequence. Future applications for fast metabolite count in large inhomogeneous organs, like a tumor, are thinkable. Extensive simulations and phantom experiments assessed the limit of iZQC cross-peak detection in presence of local field distortions. The order of maximum volume ratio between dipole source and voxel was found to be between 0.1 % and 1 %. It is an essential conclusion of this study that the dominant effect of microscopic to mesoscopic inhomogeneities on iZQC spectra under general in vivo conditions, like for voxels greater than (1 mm)³ and metabolite concentrations in the millimolar range, is a cross-peak intensity reduction and not line broadening. The iZQC method provided resolution enhancement in comparison to conventional MRS even in the presence of clustered paramagnetic microparticles. However, the vision of iZQC spectroscopy in green leafs or the lung epithelium has to be, unfortunately, abandoned, because cross-peaks can be observed until the volume of the separating medium is much larger than the volume of local dipole sources. Intermolecular zero-quantum coherence spectroscopy remains an exciting field in NMR research on living organisms. It provides access to the monitoring of relative metabolite concentration changes in the presence of microscopic iron particles, which raises realistic hopes for new applications in studies using stained stem cells.
Contents List of Publications 1 Introduction 2 Basic concepts and instrumentation 2.1 Mathematical description of femtosecond laser pulses 2.2 Optical quantities and measurements 2.2.1 Intensity 2.2.2 Absorbance and Beer-Lambert law 2.3 Laser system 2.4 General software framework for scientific data acquisition and simulation 2.4.1 Core components 2.4.2 Program for executing a single measurement sequence 2.4.3 Scan program 2.4.4 Evolutionary algorithm optimization program 2.4.5 Applications of the software framework 2.5 Summary 3 Generation of ultrabroadband femtosecond pulses in the visible 3.1 Nonlinear optics 3.1.1 Nonlinear polarization and frequency conversion 3.1.2 Phase matching 3.2 Optical parametric amplification 3.3 Noncollinear optical parametric amplifier 3.4 Considerations and experimental design of NOPA 3.4.1 Options for broadening the NOPA bandwidth 3.4.2 Experimental setup 3.5 NOPA pulse characterization 3.5.1 Second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating 3.5.2 Transient grating frequency-resolved optical gating 3.6 Compression and shaping methods for NOPA pulses 3.6.1 Grating compressor 3.6.2 Prism compressor 3.6.3 Chirped mirrors 3.6.4 Detuned zero dispersion compressor 3.6.5 Deformable mirror pulse shaper 3.6.6 Liquid crystal pulse shaper 3.7 Liquid crystal pulse shaper 3.7.1 Femtosecond pulse shapers 3.7.2 Experimental design and parameters 3.7.3 Optical setup of the LC pulse shaper 3.7.4 Calibrations of the pulse shaper 3.8 Adaptive pulse compression 3.8.1 Closed loop pulse compression 3.8.2 Open loop pulse compression 3.9 Conclusions 4 Coherent optical two-dimensional spectroscopy 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Theory of third order nonlinear optical spectroscopies 4.2.1 Response function, electric fields, and signal field 4.2.2 Signal detection with spectral interferometry 4.2.3 Evaluation of two-dimensional spectra and phasing 4.2.4 Selection and classification of terms in induced nonlinear polarization 4.2.5 Oscillatory character of measured signal 4.3 Previous experimental implementations 4.4 Inherently phase-stable setup using conventional optics only 4.4.1 Manipulation of pulse pairs as a basis for stability 4.4.2 Experimental setup 4.4.3 Measurement procedure 4.4.4 Data evaluation 4.5 First experimental results 4.5.1 Demonstration of phase stability 4.5.2 2D spectrum of Nile Blue at room temperature 4.6 Summary and outlook 5 Product accumulation for ultrasensitive femtochemistry 5.1 The problem of sensitivity in femtochemistry 5.2 Accumulation for increased sensitivity 5.2.1 Comparison of conventional and accumulative sensitivity 5.2.2 Schematics and illustrative example 5.3 Experimental setup 5.4 Calibration and modeling of accumulation 5.5 Experiments on indocyanine green 5.5.1 Calibration of the setup 5.5.2 Chirped pulse excitation 5.5.3 Adaptive pulse shaping 5.6 Conclusions 6 Ultrafast photoconversion of the green fluorescent protein 6.1 Green fluorescent protein 6.2 Experimental setup for photoconversion of GFP 6.3 Calibration of the setup for GFP 6.3.1 Model for concentration dynamics of involved GFP species 6.3.2 Estimate of sensitivity 6.4 Excitation power study 6.5 Time-resolved two-color experiment 6.6 Time-delayed unshaped 400 nm – shaped 800 nm pulse excitation 6.6.1 Inducing photoconversion with chirped pulses 6.6.2 Photoconversion using third order phase pulses 6.7 Conclusions 7 Applications of the accumulative method to chiral systems 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Chiral asymmetric photochemistry 7.2.1 Continuous-wave circularly polarized light 7.2.2 Controlled asymmetric photochemistry using femtosecond laser pulses 7.3 Sensitive and fast polarimeter 7.3.1 Polarimeter setup 7.3.2 Detected signal I(t) 7.3.3 Angular amplification 7.3.4 Performance of the polarimeter 7.4 Molecular systems and mechanisms for enantioselective quantum control 7.4.1 Binaphthalene derivatives 7.4.2 Photochemical helicene formation 7.4.3 Spiropyran/merocyanine chiroptical molecular switches 7.5 Summary 8 Summary Zusammenfassung Bibliography Acknowledgements
The approach of using the combination of Ultraviolet (UPS) and Inverse Photoemission (IPS) to determine the transport levels in thin films of organic semiconductors is the scope of this work. For this matter all influences on the peak position and width in Photoelectron Spectroscopy are discussed with a special focus on organic semiconductors. Many of these influences are shown with experimental results of the investigation of diindenoperylene on Ag(111). These findings are applied to inorganic semiconductors silicon in order to establish the use of UPS and IPS on a well-understood system. Finally, the method is used to determine the transport level of several organic semiconductors (PTCDA, Alq3, CuPc, DIP, PBI-H4) and the corresponding exciton binding energies are calculated by comparison to optical absorption data.
Semiconductor Quantum Dots (QDs) have been attracting immense interest over the last decade from both basic and application-orientated research because of their envisioned use as fundamental building blocks in non-classical device architectures. Their presumable ease of integration into existing semiconductor technology has bought them the reputation of being cost-efficiently scalable and renders them a place among the top candidates in a wide range of proposed quantum logic and quantum information processing schemes. These include the highly acclaimed use of QD as triggered sources of single pairs of entangled photons, which is a key ingredient of most of the intensivly investigated optical quantum cryptography operations. A big obstacle towards these goals are the pronounced asymmetries that are intrinsically present in all currently availabe semiconductor QD systems. They are a natural by-product that stems from the employed self-assembled growth methods and manifest in various forms such as shape-asymmetry, inhomogeneous strain distribution within the QD and concomittant piezo-elecric fields. These asymmetries in return give rise to distinct anisotropies in the optical properties of QDs, which in fact render their optical response classic. For device oriented research these anisotropies are therefore typically considered unwanted and actively researched to be controlled. They are, however, interesting from a fundamental point of view, as anisotropic QDs basically provide a testbed system for fundamental atom-like quantum physics with non-centrosymmetric potentials. As shall be shown in the current work, this gives rise to novel and interesting physics in its own right. Employing photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) we investigate the optical anisotropy of the radiative recombination of excitons confined to CdSe/ZnSe QDs. This is done by angle-dependent polarization-resolved PL. We demonstrate experimentally that the electron-hole exchange interaction in asymmetric QDs gives rise to an effective conversion of the optical polarization from linear to circular and vice versa. The experiment is succesfully modeled in the frame of an exciton pseudospin-formalism that is based on the exchange induced finestructure splitting of the radiative excitonic states and unambiguously proves that the observed polarization conversion is the continuous-wave equivalent to quantum beats between the exchange split states in the time domain. These results indicate that QDs may offer extended functionality beyond non-classical light sources in highly integrated all-optical device schemes, such as polarization converters or modulators. In a further extension we apply the exciton pseudospin-formalism to optical alignment studies and demonstrate how these can be used to directly measure the otherwise hidden symmetry distribution over an ensemble of QDs. This kind of measurement may be used on future optical studies in order to link optical data more directly to structural investigations, as it yields valuable information on capped QDs that cannot be looked at directly by topological methods. In the last part of this work we study the influence of an in-plane magnetic field on the optical anisotropy. We find that the optical axis of the linear polarization component of the photoluminescence signal either rotates in the opposite direction to that of the magnetic field or remains fixed to a given crystalline direction. A qualitative theoretical analysis based on the exciton pseudospin Hamiltonian unambiguously demonstrates that these effects are induced by isotropic and anisotropic contributions to the heavy-hole Zeeman term, respectively. The latter is shown to be compensated by a built-in uniaxial anisotropy in a magnetic field B=0.4 T, resulting in an optical response that would be expected for highly symmetric QDs. For a comprehensive quantitative analysis the full heavy-hole exciton k.p-Hamiltonian is numerically calculated and the resulting optical polarization is modeled. The model is able to quantitatively describe all experimental results using a single set of parameters. From this model it is explicitly seen that a optical response characteristic for high symmetry QDs may be obtained from an ensemble of asymmetric QDs without a crossing of the zero-field bright exciton states, which was required for application of QDs in non-classical light sources. It is clearly demonstrated that any scheme using in-plane magnetic fields to symmetrize the optical response has to take into account at least four optically active states instead of the two observed in the absence of magnetic fields. These findings may explain some of the major disagreement on recent entanglement studies in asymmetric QDs, as models that do not take the above result into account cannot be a priori expected to provide reliable results on excitonic Bell states.
Investigation of Intermolecular Interaction in Organic Thin Films by means of NEXAFS Spectroscopy
(2009)
The present work reports on the electron–vibron coupling in large organic molecules and particularly on the intermolecular interaction in molecular condensates. The optical and electrical properties of these organic systems are in the focus of attention due to their crucial importance for the development of (hybrid) organic electronic devices. In particular, the charge transport mechanism and hence the interaction between condensed molecules is a matter of debate [1–4]. In order to shed light on this interaction, the spectroscopic signatures of isolated molecules in the gas phase and their condensed counterparts have been studied. The applied technique, near–edge x–ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, is a local probe with high chemical selectivity, well suited for the investigation of the electronic structure of molecular valence levels [5]. In the experimental part, the experimental set–up developed in this work is described with special attention to the characteristic issues of gas phase measurements, energy calibration and the subsequent data evaluation. The high quality gas phase and solid state NEXAFS spectra are analysed with respect to energy positions, shape and intensity of the sharp pi*–resonances characteristic for these aromatic molecules. Where applicable, a detailed Franck–Condon (FC) analysis of the vibronic fine structure has been performed, yielding additional information on the changes that occur upon solid state formation. Together with former results on vibrational features in large organic molecules, this information has been used to investigate the correlation of vibrational energies in the ground and electronically excited state. We find a relatively good agreement with other empirical studies on vibronic structures in photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) spectra of small molecules [6]. The molecular compounds investigated are in general believed to interact via weak van–der–Waals forces only. The present results however reveal distinct differences between the spectra of the gas and solid phase that can not be explained within the context of a mere interaction by dispersive forces. In detail, differential red–shifts of 0.1 to 0.3eV of transitions assigned to the aromatic system have been observed in the C–K spectra of benzene–tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (BTCDA), 1,4,5,8–naphthalene–tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (NTCDA), and 3,4,9,10–perylene–tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA) upon solid state formation. From BTCDA to PTCDA the shift increases, indicating an improving intermolecular interaction with molecular size or a closer molecular packing. In contrast, all transitions assigned to the anhydride carbon atom (C1) do not show any shift. For the O–K spectra, small changes in relative intensity have been observed for BTCDA and NTCDA. In case of PTCDA, a blue–shift of up to 0.2eV is evident for the OB 1sLEMO+1 transition. Theoretical models for the intermolecular interaction have been proposed in this work, based on a change of molecular geometry and interaction of adjacent molecules in the ground and excited state, respectively. While an interaction of adjacent molecular orbitals may explain the experimental findings for one particular molecule, this model falls short for a comprehensive explanation of all three dianhydrides. For an interaction in the excited state, the excitonic coupling with the neighbours attached at an angle, quantum chemical calculations yield no significant change in peak positions for NTCDA. Unfortunately, results for the stacked neighbours as well as the larger compound PTCDA are still lacking. For tris (8–quinolinol) aluminum (Alq3), the observed peak–shifts are restricted to just one unoccupied orbital, the LEMO+2, which is mainly localised at the phenoxide side of the quinolinol ligands. Although the shifts differ for the individual edges, the main interaction can therefore be assigned to this orbital. In summary, NEXAFS spectroscopy, if performed with great care in terms of experimental details and data analysis especially for the gas phase data, provides very detailed and highly interesting data on the changes of the electronic structure of organic molecules upon condensation. The present data can be applied as a reference for further experimental and (highly desired) theoretical investigations, which are needed for a comprehensive understanding of the complex interaction mechanisms between organic molecules.
The thesis investigates the electrical transport properties of different π-conjugated organic semiconductors applied as active semiconducting material in organic field-effect transistor (OFET) devices. Theses organic materials are αω-dihexylquaterthiophene (DH4T), the tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivatives dibenzene-tetrathiafulvalene (DB-TTF) and dithiophene-tetrathiafulvalene (DT-TTF), and polytriarylamine (PTAA). The latter material is an amorphous polymer, the three others are small molecule oligomer materials. Different deposition methods were applied and compared. The investigations in the thesis treat the pure characterisation of the above materials with their different properties in OFET devices. Furthermore, the aim was to observe and analyse general rules and effects in OFETs depending on the structure, previous history, and the device scaling. Therefore, different tools and special analysing methods were developed and applied. These are a standard characterisation method for the classification of the used organic semiconductor, temperature dependent electrical characterisation investigating the electrical transport properties, the newly developed in situ measurement method of OFET devices, the downscaling of the OFET devices of channel length below 100 nm, and the lithographical structuring of a PTAA film.
This thesis was dedicated to the studies of the electronic and chemical properties of liquids and solutions using soft x-ray spectroscopies. The used photon-in-photon-out methods namely x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) appeared to be an excellent choice for these studies. In the framework of this thesis, the necessary experimental setup for using the above mentioned experimental techniques on liquids was developed. Hereby, a new flow-through liquid cell was introduced which simplifies the studies of liquids and solutions. The cell design is very flexible and thus can be modified for gases and liquid/solid interfaces. With this cell it is possible to study the samples under well-controlled conditions (temperature and flow rate). The novel flow-through liquid cell is part of the new SALSA synchrotron endstation including an electron analyzer and a novel high-resolution, high-transmission soft x-ray spectrometer. The latter makes it possible to measure two-dimensional RIXS maps in a very short time, which include the full excitation and emission information in one plot. Making use of the new instrumentation, a variety of different liquids and solutions were investigated. As first system, aqueous solutions of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium deuteroxide (NaOD) were investigated. In the XAS as well as in the XES spectra a pronounced concentration dependence was found. At non-resonant energies, the spectra are dominated by the solvent and thus look similar to water. Making use of the pre-pre-edge in the absorption spectra which can exclusively be attributed to OH- / OD- it was possible to extract the resonant emission spectra of the ions which show an indication for proton dynamics during the core-hole lifetime. For the solid state NaOH XES spectra it was possible to reveal a high energetic shoulder and a low energetic shoulder at the high energy emission feature. These shoulders can be assigned to self-dissociation processes where OH- forms O2- ions and H2O. The study of NaOH was also of interest for the studies of the amino acids, which were in the focus of the next part, since the pH-values of the respective solutions were controlled by NaOH. In the next part of this thesis, amino acid solutions were investigated. Amino acids are the building blocks of peptides and proteins and thus important for life science. The investigated representatives were glycine, the simplest amino acid, and lysine, an amino acid with two amine groups. Both amino acids react on pH-value changes at the amine group where the local environment at the nitrogen atom changes (NH2 ↔ NH3+). A strong change of the spectra induced by this protonation/deprotonation could be found. Furthermore, for low pH-values (protonated amine groups) the amine groups are influenced by strong proton dynamics. First DFT calculations confirm the dissociation model of the amino acids. Qualitatively the high energy peak in the N K XES spectra can be attributed to the deprotonated amine group and the low energy area for the protonated amine group. Besides amino acids, alcohols and acids are important in biological processes. Therefore, the smallest alcohol (methanol) and the smallest carboxylic acid (acetic acid) were under investigation. For the liquid methanol XES spectra a very good agreement with DFT calculations of gas phase methanol could be found. This observation suggests that the influence of the environment (hydrogen bonding) on the spectra is small. The achieved spectra are in good agreement with DFT calculations found in literature. It was possible to selectively excite the two non-equivalent oxygen atoms in acetic acid and to reveal the carboxyl specific C K XES. The carbon XAS spectra showed strong differences compared to gas phase measurements which might be a hint for the influence of the hydrogen bond network. The investigation of the electronic and chemical properties of liquids and solutions is a very young field of research and the results presented in this thesis show that it is a very interesting topic. The presented results can be seen as the fundamental frame work for all following studies. With the understanding of basic, i.e., simple, systems as shown in this work it will be possible to understand complex biological systems in their native environment, e.g., peptides and proteins, which are the building blocks of life.
Using k · p theory, we derive an effective four-band model describing the physics of the typical two-dimensional topological insulator (HgTe/CdTe quantum well (QW)) in the presence of an out-of-plane (in the z-direction) inversion breaking potential and an in-plane potential. We find that up to third order in perturbation theory, only the inversion breaking potential generates new elements to the four-band Hamiltonian that are off-diagonal in spin space. When this new effective Hamiltonian is folded into an effective twoband model for the conduction (electron) or valence (heavy hole) bands, two competing terms appear: (i) a Rashba spin–orbit interaction originating from inversion breaking potential in the z-direction and (ii) an in-plane Pauli term as a consequence of the in-plane potential. Spin transport in the conduction band is further analysed within the Landauer–Büttiker formalism. We find that for asymmetrically doped HgTe QWs, the behaviour of the spin-Hall conductance is dominated by the Rashba term.
Background: Transgenic mouse models are increasingly used to study the pathophysiology of human cardiovascular diseases. The aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indirect measure for vascular stiffness and a marker for cardiovascular risk. Results: This study presents a cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) transit time (TT) method that allows the determination of the PWV in the descending murine aorta by analyzing blood flow waveforms. Systolic flow pulses were recorded with a temporal resolution of 1 ms applying phase velocity encoding. In a first step, the CMR method was validated by pressure waveform measurements on a pulsatile elastic vessel phantom. In a second step, the CMR method was applied to measure PWVs in a group of five eight-month-old apolipoprotein E deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice and an age matched group of four C57Bl/6J mice. The ApoE(-/-) group had a higher mean PWV (PWV = 3.0 ± 0.6 m/s) than the C57Bl/6J group (PWV = 2.4 ± 0.4 m/s). The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.014). Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate that high field CMR is applicable to non-invasively determine and distinguish PWVs in the arterial system of healthy and diseased groups of mice.
The present thesis deals with surface treatment, material improvement, and the electronic structure of the diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. The two key issues are the preparation of clean surfaces and the observation of potential valence hybridizations in (Ga,Mn)As by means of photoemission spectroscopy. Several cleaning methods are applied individually to (Ga,Mn)As and their e ects are compared in detail by various methods. Based on the results of each method, a sophisticated recipe has been elaborated, which provides clean, stoichiometric, and reconstructed surfaces, even if the sample was exposed to air prior to preparation. Moreover, the recipe works equally well for intentionally oxidized surfaces. The individual advantages of ex-situ wet- chemical etching and in situ ion-milling and tempering can be combined in an unique way. In regard to the post-growth annealing in order to optimize the electronic and magnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As, the effect of surface segregation of interstitial Mn was quantifed. It turns out that the Mn concentration at the surface increases by a factor 4.3 after annealing at 190 C for 150 h. The removal of the segregated and oxidized species by wet-chemical etching allows a tentative estimate of the content of interstitial Mn. 19-23% of the overall Mn content in as-grown samples resides on interstitial positions. The complementary results of core level photoemission spectroscopy and resonant photoemission spectroscopy give hints to the fact that a sizeable valence hybridization of Mn is present in (Ga,Mn)As. This outlines that the simple Mn 3d5-con guration is too naive to refect the true electronic structure of substitutional Mn in (Ga,Mn)As. Great similarities in the core level spectra are found to MnAs. The bonding is thus dominantly of covalent, not ionic, character. Transport measurements, in particular for very low temperatures (<10 K), are in agreement with previous results. This shows that at low temperature, the conduction is mainly governed by variable-range hopping which is in line with the presence of an impurity band formed by substitutional Mn. In the light of the presented results, it is therefore concluded that a double-exchange interaction is the dominant mechanism leading to ferromagnetic coupling in (Ga,Mn)As. The valence hybridization and the presents of an impurity band, both of which are inherent properties of substitutional Mn, are indications for a double-exchange scenario, being at variance to a RKKY-based explanation. Contributions from a RKKY-like mechanism cannot definitely be excluded, however, they are not dominant.
In this thesis the electronic and magnetic structure of the transition metal oxyhalides TiOCl, TiOBr and VOCl is investigated. The main experimental methods are photoemission (PES) and x-ray absorption (XAS) spectroscopy as well as resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). The results are compared to density-functional theory, and spectral functions from dynamical mean-field theory and different kinds of model calculations. Questions addressed here are those of the dimensionality of the magnetic and electronic interactions, the suitability of the oxyhalides as prototypical strongly correlated model systems, and the possibility to induce a filling-controlled insulator-metal transition. It turns out that TiOCl is a quasi-one-dimensional system with non-negligible two-dimensional coupling, while the one-dimensional character is already quite suppressed in TiOBr. In VOCl no signatures of such one-dimensional behavior remain, and it is two-dimensional. In all cases, frustrations induced by the crystal lattice govern the magnetic and electronic properties. As it turns out, although the applied theoretical approaches display improvements compared to previous studies, the differences to the experimental data still are at least partially of qualitative instead of quantitative nature. Notably, using RIXS, it is possible for the first time in TiOCl to unambiguously identify a two-spinon excitation, and the previously assumed energy scale of magnetic excitations can be confirmed. By intercalation of alkali metal atoms (Na, K) the oxyhalides can be doped with electrons, which can be evidenced and even quantified using x-ray PES. In these experiments, also a particular vertical arrangement of dopants is observed, which can be explained, at least within experimental accuracy, using the model of a so-called "polar catastrophe". However, no transition into a metallic phase can be observed upon doping, but this can be understood qualitatively and quantitatively within an alloy Hubbard model due to the impurity potential of the dopants. Furthermore, in a canonical way a transfer of spectral weight can be observed, which is a characteristic feature of strongly correlated electron systems. Overall, it can be stated that the transition metal oxyhalides actually can be regarded as prototypical Mott insulators, yet with a rich phase diagram which is far from being fully understood.
The present thesis is concerned with molecular beam epitaxy of magnetite (Fe3O4) thin films on semiconducting substrates and the characterization of their structural, chemical, electronic, and magnetic properties. Magnetite films could successfully be grown on ZnO substrates with high structural quality and atomically abrupt interfaces. The films are structurally almost completely relaxed exhibiting nearly the same in-plane and out-of-plane lattice constants as in the bulk material. Films are phase-pure and show only small deviations from the ideal stoichiometry at the surface and in some cases at the interface. Growth proceeds via wetting layer plus island mode and results in a domain structure of the films. Upon coalescence of growing islands twin-boundaries (rotational twinning) and anti-phase boundaries are formed. The overall magnetization is nearly bulk-like, but shows a slower approach to saturation, which can be ascribed to the reduced magnetization at anti-phase boundaries. However, the surface magnetization which was probed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism was significantly decreased and is ascribed to a magnetically inactive layer at the surface. Such a reduced surface magnetization was also observed for films grown on InAs and GaAs. Magnetite could also be grown with nearly ideal iron-oxygen stoichiometry on InAs substrates. However, interfacial reactions of InAs with oxygen occur and result in arsenic oxides and indium enrichment. The grown films are of polycrystalline nature. For the fabrication of Fe3O4/GaAs films, a postoxidation of epitaxial Fe films on GaAs was applied. Growth proceeds by a transformation of the topmost Fe layers into magnetite. Depending on specific growth conditions, an Fe layer of different thickness remains at the interface. The structural properties are improved in comparison with films on InAs, and the resulting films are well oriented along [001] in growth direction. The magnetic properties are influenced by the presence of the Fe interface layer as well. The saturation magnetization is increased and the approach to saturation is faster than for films on the other substrates. We argue that this is connected to a decreased density of anti-phase boundaries because of the special growth method. Interface phases, viz. arsenic and gallium oxides, are quantified and different growth conditions are compared with respect to the interface composition.
In the frame of this thesis vibronic and electronic states of organic molecules have been examined. A central question is the interaction within and between the molecules in thin films and at metal-organic interfaces. The main experimental tools were high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and high resolution near edge X-ray absortion fine structure (NEXFAS). The electronic and vibronic structure of thin NTCDA films was examined with low energy electrons as probe, i.e. HREELS. The spectra of the electronic excited molecular orbitals of submonolayer NTCDA on a Ag(111) shows a partially filled orbital. The interaction between this orbital and the total symetric molecular vibrations leads to the typical Fano peak profiles which are seen in the vibrational spectra. The sub-monolayer superstructure can be driven to a phase transition into an disordered phase upon cooling, which is also seen in the electronic and vibronic excitation spectra. Multilayers show flat lying or upright standing molecules as a function of the preparation conditions. The upright standing molecules show an island growth mode, where the islands are well ordered and exhibit a structure in diffraction experiments which can be attributed to the molecular crystal structure. In order to examine the order in more detail various thin films were examined using SPALEED as function of film thickness and preparation parameters. In case of a low temperature substrate no long range order leading to a diffraction pattern was found. In contrast growth on room temperature substrates leads to island growth of films in a structure of the molecular crystal, where two preferred orientations of the islands relative to the substrate were found. In case of thick films the reference to the substrate gets lost and the molecular crystals grow with a defined crystal direction with respect to the surface but with an arbitrary azimuthal orientation leading to circles in the diffraction pattern. NTCDA monolayers on a Ag(111) surface using HREELS as a tool were examined. The electronic excitation spectra reveal a partially filled molecular orbital which is strongly shifted compared to the multilayer. The existence of this state is responsible for the activation of normally forbidden Ag modes in the vibrational spectra. Due to the electron phonon coupling these modes exhibit a Fano like peak shape. Cooling a monolayer leads to a phase transition with strong changes in the spectroscopic features both in electronic and vibronic excitations. In case of the molecule ANQ the intramolecular interaction was examined. In the oxygen NEXAFS spectra a vibronic fine structure is found, which leads to the conclusion that asymmetric potentials are involved. It is an interesting question if the fundamental vibration is has C-H or C=O character. In order to address this question spectra of condensed and gas phase ANQ were compared to an ANQ derivate (ANQ- Br$_2$Cl$_2$), with the conclusion that the coupling is most likely to a C=O mode. High resolution C1s spectra of hydrogenated and fully deuterated naphthalene both in gas and condensed phase have been presented. Depending on the final state orbital distinct differences have been found between gas and condensed phase. A energetic shift of resonances (Res. B, C, D) is interpreted as effect of $\pi$-$\pi$ interaction in the condensed phase. This is especially notable for resonance B which is undoubtly assigned to an excitation into a $\pi^*$ orbital. The results lead to an interpretation, that for organic molecular crystals more than pure van-derWaals interaction has to be taken into account. In summary it is found that the intramolecular interaction in NEXAFS spectra is preferentially coupled to one or a few vibronic progressions. Due to the delocalized electronic system maybe even states which are not spatially near the core excited atom can be involved. It could be shown that a condensation of the molecules in thin films leads to changes within the spectra. The influence the intermolecular interaction can be clearly seen in this finding, where additional hints are found that more than mere van-der-Waals binding has to be taken into account.
Within the framework of this thesis the mechanisms of growth and reorganisation of surfaces within the first few layers were investigated that are the basis for the fabrication of high quality thin films and interfaces. Two model systems, PTCDA/Ag(111) and CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots (QD), were chosen to study such processes in detail and to demonstrate the power and improvements of the aberration corrected spectromicroscope SMART [1] simultaneously. The measurements benefit especially from the enhanced transmission of the microscope and also from its improved resolution. SMART, the first double–aberration corrected instrument of its kind [2], provided comprehensive methods (LEEM/PEEM, μ–LEED, μ–XPS) to study in–situ and in real time the surface reorganisation and to determine morphology, local structure and local chemical composition of the resulting thin film. Complementarily, a commercial AFM [3] was used ex–situ. XPEEM and μ–XPS measurements were made possible by attaching SMART to the high flux density beamline of the soft–X–ray source BESSY–II [4]. PTCDA/Ag(111) – Growth and structure of the first two layers Although PTCDA/Ag(111) is one of the most intensely studied model systems for the growth of organic semiconductor thin films, it still offers new insights into a complex growth behaviour. This study enlightens the temperature dependant influence of morphological features as small as monatomic Ag steps on the growth process of the first two layers. At low temperatures, single Ag steps act as diffusion barriers. But interdiffusion was observed already for the 2nd layer whereas domain boundaries in the 1st PTCDA–layer persist for crystallite growth in the 2nd layer. 1st layer islands are more compact and the more dendritic development of the 2nd layer indicates reduced interaction strength between 2nd and 1st layer. These findings were explained by a model consisting of structural and potential barriers. The second part of the PTCDA study reveals a variety of phases that appears only if at least two layers are deposited. Besides the six known rotational domains of the interface system PTCDA/Ag(111) [5], a further manifold of structures was discovered. It does not only show a surprising striped image contrast, but the 2nd layer also grows in an elongated way along these so–called ’ripples’. The latter show a rather large period and were found in a wide temperature range. Additionally the μ-LEED pattern of such a domain shows a new super–superstructure as well. This phase is explained by a structural model that introduces a rotated, more relaxed domain in the 2nd layer that does not exist in the first layer. Its structural parameters are similar to those of the bulk unitcells of PTCDA. The model is confirmed by the observation of two different rotational domains that grow on top of one single ’substrate’ domain in the 1st layer. The orientations of the ripple phases fit as well to the predictions of the model. The growth direction along the ripples corresponds to the short diagonal of the super–superstructure unitcell with diamond–like shape. CdSe/ZnSe – Inverse structuring by sublimation of an α-Te cap With the second model system the formation of CdSe quantum dots (QD) from strained epi-layers was investigated. In this case the structures do not form during deposition, but rather during sublimation of the so–called ‘ignition cap’. For these pilot experiments not only the process of QD formation itself was of interest, but also the portability of the preparation and the prevention of contaminations. It was found that the α-Se is well suited for capping and the last step of the QD preparation, the sublimation of the α-Te cap, needs a sufficiently high rate in rise of temperature. Subsequently the cap, the process of desorption and the final surface with the quantum structures were investigated in detail. The cap was deposited by the MBE-group in Würzburg as an amorphous Te layer but was found to contain a variety of structures. Holes, cracks, and micro–crystallites within an α-Te matrix were identified. Sublimation of the “ignition cap” was observed in real–time. Thus the discovered cap-structures could be correlated with the newly formed features as, e.g., QDs on the bare CdSe surface. Since CdSe/ZnSe QDs prefer to form in the neighbourhood of the Te μ–crystallites, Te was found to play a major role in their formation process. Different explanations as the impact of Te as a surfactant, an enhanced mobility of adatoms or as stressor nuclei are discussed. The spectromicroscopic characterisation of the CdSe surface with QDs revealed the crystallographic directions. An increased Cd signal of the film was found at positions of former holes. Several possibilities as segregation or surface termination are reviewed, that might explain this slight Cd variation. Therewith, an important step to a detailed understanding of the complex reorganisation process in coating systems could be achieved.
Background Transgenic mouse models are increasingly used to study the pathophysiology of human cardiovascular diseases. The aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indirect measure for vascular stiffness and a marker for cardiovascular risk. Results This work presents three MR-methods that allow the determination of the PWV in the descending murine aorta by analyzing blood flow waveforms, arterial distension waveforms, and a method that uses the combination of flow and distension waveforms. Systolic flow pulses were recorded with a temporal resolution of 1 ms applying phase velocity encoding. In a first step, the MR methods were validated by pressure waveform measurements on pulsatile elastic vessel phantoms. In a second step, the MR methods were applied to measure PWVs in a group of five eight-month-old apolipoprotein E deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice and an age matched group of four C57Bl/6J mice. The ApoE(-/-) group had a higher mean PWV than the C57Bl/6J group. Depending on the measurement technique, the differences were or were not statistically significant. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrate that high field MRI is applicable to non-invasively determine and distinguish PWVs in the arterial system of healthy and diseased groups of mice.
In the context of the ongoing discussion about a carrier-induced ferromagnetic phase transition in diluted-magnetic II-VI semiconductors (DMS), theoretical studies on coherent dynamics of localized spins coupled with a two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in DMS quantum wells (QWs) were done by K.V. KAVOKIN. His key for studying the exchange interaction of the localized spin ensemble (e.g. Mn2+) with the 2DHG is the Larmor frequency of the localized Mn-ion spins and thus their Mn-g-factor. It was shown that the 2DHG affects a time evolution of the (Mn-) spin system in an in-plane magnetic field resulting in the reduction of its Larmor frequency (Mn-g-factor) under the influence of an oscillating effective field of holes. This is called magnetic soft mode (behaviour). The experimental access for demonstrating this Mn-g-factor reduction with increasing hole concentration is the method of Multi-Spin-Flip (SF) Raman scattering combined with the variation of the carrier concentration by photo-excitation with an additional light source (two-colour experiment). The main motivation for this thesis was the experimental confirmation of the theoretically predicted magnetic soft mode and the analysis of its dependence on the hole-concentration and external B-field, as well as its disappearance with increasing sample temperature. For that purpose, CdMnTe/CdMgTe QWs (Mn: 0.6%, 1.0%) positioned close to the sample surface (13−19nm) were investigated in an in-plane applied external magnetic field (up to 4.5T in Voigt-geometry) via a two-colour experiment i.e. using two light sources. This allows the spin excitation of Mn-ions by simultaneously tuning the hole-concentration towards the ferromagnetic phase transition by photo-generated carriers. Thus, one tuneable laser is responsible for resonant below-barrier excitation as a probe for Multi-SF Raman scattering. The other laser excites photo-generated carriers from above barrier (2.41eV) for tuning the hole concentration in the QW. Positioning the QW close to the sample surface causes a surface-induced p-doping of the QW (intrinsic hole concentration in the QW) and enables the active tuning of the hole concentration by photo-generated carriers due to different tunnelling behaviour of electrons and holes from the QW to the surface. The Mn-g-factor was decreased by quasi-continuously increasing the above-barrier illumination (and thus the hole concentration), while the below-barrier excitation (Multi-PR probe) was kept at a constant low power. This results in a Mn-g-factor reduction starting from its atomic value g=2.01 to lowest evaluated Mn-g-factor in this thesis g=1.77. This is a magnetic softening of 12%. Apart from the general magnetic soft mode behaviour at low temperatures, one of the main experimental results in this thesis is the confirmation of the theoretical prediction that the magnetic soft mode behaviour in the external B-field does not only depend on the carrier concentration but also on the B-field strength itself. An additional aspect is the temperature dependence of the magnetic soft mode. The Mn-g-factor decrease is suppressed with increasing temperature almost reaching the atomic Mn-g-factor at 4.2K (g=1.99). This behaviour is due to the T-induced weakening of the transverse 2DHG spin susceptibility. The results of the investigations concerning the cap layer thickness impact on the QW carrier characteristics were investigated in the cap thickness range of 13nm to 19nm. The cap thickness configures on the one hand the intrinsic hole concentration of the QW ("2DHG offset") due to the surface-induced p-doping and sets the "starting point" for the Mn-g-factor reduction. On the other hand the cap thickness determines the probability of electron tunnelling to the surface and thus the efficiency of the hole tuning by light. The latter is the criterion for the range of Mn-g-factor reduction by light. This two dependences were pointed out by the photo-generated hole influence on the QW PL-spectra which results in tuning the exciton-trion ratio. In summary both mechanisms are of relevance for the hole tuning and thus for the magnetic soft-mode behaviour. The mechanism of tunnelling time prevails at small cap layer thicknesses while the surface-induced p-doping plays the major role for larger cap thicknesses (> 25nm). In conclusion, the presented method in this thesis is a sensitive tool to study the dynamics of the spin excitations and the paramagnetic susceptibility in the vicinity of the hole-induced ferromagnetic phase transition.
The results of this thesis contribute to the understanding of the electronic properties of organic thin-films and interfaces. It is demonstrated that photoemission spectroscopy is very useful for studying surfaces and interfaces. Additionally it is shown, that many-body effects can be relevant for organic thin films, in particular at interfaces with strong interaction. These effects can have general implications for the material properties. In the first part of this thesis a systematic series of polyacene molecules is investigated with NEXAFS spectroscopy. The comparison of the data with core level and IPES data indicates that core excitations and core excitons need to be understood as many-body excitations. This finding implies for example that a high exciton binding energy is not necessarily associated with strong localization of the excited electron at the hole. As these effects apply also for valence excitons they can be relevant for the separation of charges and for the electron-hole recombination at interfaces. In the next chapter some fundamental effects in organic multilayer films and at organic-metal interfaces are studied with core level and NEXAFS spectroscopy. In this context a series of selected molecules is investigated, namely BTCDA, BTCDI, PTCDA and PTCDI. It is shown that in case of strong interface interaction a density of adsorbate-substrate states is formed which can lead to significant charge transfer satellites in the PES and NEXAFS spectra, similar to what is known for transition metal compounds. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the data can be modeled qualitatively by a basic approach which fuses the single impurity Anderson model with the description of charge transfer satellites by Sawatzky et al. This approach, which is equivalent to that of Gunnarsson and Schönhammer, allows even a relatively simple semi-quantitative analysis of the experimental data. The comparison of different adsorbate layers indicates that these many-body effects are particularly strong in case of partial occupation of the LUMO derived DOS. In the third part an organic multilayer film (SnPc), an organic-metal interface with strong coupling (SnPc/Ag) and an organic-organic interface (SnPc/PTCDA/Ag) are studied exemplarily with resonant Auger spectroscopy. The comparison of the data gives evidence for the contribution of many-body effects to the autoionization spectra. Furthermore, it is found that the electron-vibration coupling and the substrate-adsorbate charge transfer occurs on the time scale of the core hole life time. Moreover, the interaction at the organic-organic interface is weak, comparable to the intermolecular interaction in the multilayer films, despite a considerable rigid level shift for the SnPc layer. Furthermore, weak but significant electron-electron correlation is found for the molecular frontier orbitals, which are important for the substrate-adsorbate charge transfer. Therefore, these strongly coupled adsorbate films are briefly discussed within the context of the Hubbard model in the last part of this thesis. From the data derived in this work it can be estimated that such monolayer films are in the regime of medium correlations. Consequently one can expect for these adsorbate films properties which are related to the extraordinary behavior of strongly correlated materials, for which Mott metal-insulator transitions, sophisticated magnetic properties and superconductivity can be observed. Additionally some results from the investigation of alkyl/Si self-assembled monolayers are briefly discussed in the appendix. It is demonstrated exemplarily for the alkyl chains that the electronic band structure of short, finitely repeating units can be well modeled by a comparatively simple quantum well approach. In principle this approach can also be applied to higher dimensional systems, which makes it very useful for the description of E(k) relations in the regime of repeating units of intermediate length. Furthermore, the photoelectron and NEXAFS spectra indicate strong interaction at the alkyl/Si interface. It was found that the interface states can be modified by moderate x-ray irradiation, which changes the properties for charge transport through the SAM.
Numerical simulations and an analytic approach based on transmission line theory are used to design splitters for nano-plasmonic signal processing that allow to arbitrarily adjust the ratio of transmission from an input into two different output arms. By adjusting the geometrical parameters of the structure, either a high bandwidth or a sharp transmission resonance is obtained. Switching between the two arms can be achieved by modulating the effective refractive index of the waveguide. Employing the instantaneous Kerr effect, switching rates in the THz regime are potentially feasible. The suggested devices are of interest for future applications in nanoplasmonic information processing.
Background:
Inhibition of early platelet adhesion by blockade of glycoprotein-IB (GPIb) protects mice from ischemic stroke. To elucidate underlying mechanisms in-vivo, infarct development was followed by ultra-high field MRI at 17.6 Tesla.
Methods:
Cerebral infarction was induced by transient-middle-cerebral-artery-occlusion (tMCAO) for 1 hour in C57/BL6 control mice (N = 10) and mice treated with 100 mg Fab-fragments of the GPIb blocking antibody p0p/B 1 h after tMCAO (N = 10). To control for the effect of reperfusion, additional mice underwent permanent occlusion and received anti-GPIb treatment (N = 6; pMCAO) or remained without treatment (N = 3; pMCAO). MRI 2 h and 24 h after MCAO measured cerebral-blood-flow (CBF) by continuous arterial-spin labelling, the apparent-diffusion-coefficient (ADC), quantitative-T2 and T2-weighted imaging. All images were registered to a standard mouse brain MRI atlas and statistically analysed voxel-wise, and by cortico-subcortical ROI analysis.
Results:
Anti-GPIb treatment led to a relative increase of postischemic CBF vs. controls in the cortical territory of the MCA (2 h: 44.2 +/- 6.9 ml/100g/min versus 24 h: 60.5 +/- 8.4; p = 0.0012, F((1,18)) = 14.63) after tMCAO. Subcortical CBF 2 h after tMCAO was higher in anti-GPIb treated animals (45.3 +/- 5.9 vs. controls: 33.6 +/- 4.3; p = 0.04). In both regions, CBF findings were clearly related to a lower probability of infarction (Cortex/Subcortex of treated group: 35%/65% vs. controls: 95%/100%) and improved quantitative-T2 and ADC. After pMCAO, anti-GPIb treated mice developed similar infarcts preceded by severe irreversible hypoperfusion as controls after tMCAO indicating dependency of stroke protection on reperfusion.
Conclusion:
Blockade of platelet adhesion by anti-GPIb-Fab-fragments results in substantially improved CBF early during reperfusion. This finding was in exact spatial correspondence with the prevention of cerebral infarction and indicates in-vivo an increased patency of the microcirculation. Thus, progression of infarction during early ischemia and reperfusion can be mitigated by anti-platelet treatment.
The dependence of the rate of proton–proton interactions on the centre-of-mass collision energy, √s, is of fundamental importance for both hadron collider physics and particle astrophysics. The dependence cannot yet be calculated from first principles; therefore, experimental measurements are needed. Here we present the first measurement of the inelastic proton–proton interaction cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy, √s, of 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected by requiring hits on scintillation counters mounted in the forward region of the detector. An inelastic cross-section of 60.3±2.1 mb is measured for ξ>5×10−6, where ξ is calculated from the invariant mass, MX, of hadrons selected using the largest rapidity gap in the event. For diffractive events, this corresponds to requiring at least one of the dissociation masses to be larger than 15.7 GeV.
Low field NMR has been successfully used for the evaluation of seed composition and quality, but largely only in crop species. We show here that 1.5T NMR provides a reliable means for analysing the seed lipid fraction present in a wide range of species, where both the seed size and lipid concentration differed by >10 fold. Little use of high field NMR has been made in seed research to date, even though it potentially offers many opportunities for studying seed development, metabolism and storage. Here we demonstrate how 17.5T and 20T NMR can be applied to image seed structure, and analyse lipid and metabolite distribution. We suggest that further technical developments in NMR/MRI will facilitate significant advances in our understanding of seed biology.