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We describe a simple method and device design that enables fast in-plane electro-optic modulation in conventional nematic liquid crystal (NLC) devices. When combined with optimized NLC materials, this approach yields rotational speeds of 1°/μs (independent of rotation angle, over a wide range) at a moderately low voltage. The observed rotational dynamics indicate that even these high speeds may not represent fundamental physical limits. We demonstrate these ideas in a compact tunable NLC waveplate that uses microelectrodes patterned directly on the tips of optical fibers. These devices offer fast, continuously tunable optic axis with low insertion loss and good performance in the near infrared. Modulators that use this design have promising potential applications for polarization control and analysis in optical communication systems.

We describe a method for contact printing metal patterns with nanometer features over large areas. This nanotransfer printing (nTP) technique relies on tailored surface chemistries to transfer metal films from the raised regions of a stamp to a substrate when these two elements are brought into intimate physical contact. The printing is purely additive, fast (

Very fast millimeter wave mixers have been fabricated from a high mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a GaAs–AlGaAs heterostructure. Using a 115 GHz local oscillator, intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidths exceeding 20 GHz have been obtained for channel lengths L of a few microns. Operating at 77 K, the IF bandwidth scales as L−2, indicating that the response speed is determined by the diffusion transit time of hot electrons to the leads.

We report on the growth and transport properties of high-mobility two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) confined at the AlGaN/GaN interface grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy on GaN templates prepared by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. We have grown samples over a broad range of electron densities ranging from ns=6.9×1011 to 1.1×1013 cm−2, and at T=4.2 K, observe a peak mobility of 53 300 cm2/V s at a density of 2.8×1012 cm−2. Magnetotransport studies on these samples display exceptionally clean signatures of the quantum Hall effect. Our investigation of the dependence of 2DEG mobility on carrier concentration suggests that the low-temperature mobility in our AlGaN/GaN heterostructures is currently limited by the interplay between charged dislocation scattering and interface roughness.

A laser light source for high-resolution near-field optics applications with an output power exceeding 1 mW (104 times the power from previous sources) and small (300 nm square to less than 50 nm square) output beam size is demonstrated. The very-small-aperture laser (VSAL) tremendously expands the range of applications possible with near-field optics and increases the signal-to-noise ratios and data rates obtained in existing applications. As an example, 250-nm-diam marks corresponding to 7.5 Gb/in.2 storage density have been recorded and read back in reflection and transmission on a rewritable phase-change disk at 24 Mb/s with a 250-nm-square aperture VSAL. VSALs potentially enable data storage densities of over 500 Gb/in.2 (up to 100 times today’s magnetic or optical storage densities).

We report the characteristics of complementary organic ring oscillators. The shortest delay time measured is 38 μs per stage that corresponds to a 2.63 kHz oscillation frequency. The active material in the n-channel transistors is copper hexadecafluorophthalocyanine and that in the p-channel transistors is an oligothiophene/oligothiophene derivative.

The transfer characteristics of hybrid complementary inverters with n‐channel a‐Si transistors and p‐channel organic transistors are described. These inverters can operate at supply voltages as low as 7 V. Such circuit schemes may be useful in low‐cost, low‐power applications.

We experimentally determine the density dependence of the transport lifetime (τ t) obtained from low-field Hall measurements and the quantum lifetime (τ q) derived from analysis of the amplitude of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in a tunable high mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a Al 0.06Ga 0.94N/GaN heterostructure. Using an insulated gate structure, we are able to tune the 2DEG density from 2 × 10 11 to 2 × 10 12 cm -2, and thus, monitor the evolution of the scattering times in a single sample at T=0.3 K in a previously unexplored density regime. The transport lifetime τ t is a strong function of electron density, increasing from ∼2.7 ps at n e=2 × 10 11 cm -2 to ∼11 ps at n e= 1.75 × 10 12cm -2. Conversely, we find that the quantum scattering time τ q is relatively insensitive to changes in electron density over this range. The data suggest that dislocation scattering accounts for the density dependence of τ q as well as τ t in our low-density sample. © 2004 American Institute of Physics.

We report on the temperature dependence of the mobility, $\mu$, of the two-dimensional electron gas in a variable density AlGaN/GaN field effect transistor, with carrier densities ranging from 0.4$\times10^{12}$ cm$^{-2}$ to 3.0$\times10^{12}$ cm$^{-2}$ and a peak mobility of 80,000 cm$^{2}$/Vs. Between 20 K and 50 K we observe a linear dependence $\mu_{ac}^{-1} = \alpha$T indicating that acoustic phonon scattering dominates the temperature dependence of the mobility, with $\alpha$ being a monotonically increasing function of decreasing 2D electron density. This behavior is contrary to predictions of scattering in a degenerate electron gas, but consistent with calculations which account for thermal broadening and the temperature dependence of the electron screening. Our data imply a deformation potential D = 12-15 eV., Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, RevTeX. Submitted to Appl Phys Lett

We report the first observation of the modulation doping effect in Si/Ge0.2Si0.8 heterojunctions grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Peak hole mobilities of ∼3300 cm2 V−1 s−1 have been observed at 4.2 K. These values, although nonoptimum, are comparable to the best reported values for holes in Si/SiO2 inversion layers. Low temperature, angular dependent, Shubnikov–de Haas measurements have demonstrated the two‐dimensional nature of the hole gas and yield a surface carrier density of 3.5×1011 cm−2. From the temperature dependence of the Shubnikov–de Haas amplitudes a hole effective mass of 0.30±0.02mo has been derived. Identical measurements on n‐type heterojunctions having the same Ge content (x=0.2) have failed to show a sustained enhancement of mobility at low temperatures, indicating that ΔEv≫ΔEc.

The critical currents in high quality thin films of the high Tc superconductor, YBa2Cu3O7−δ, can be controllably reduced by orders of magnitude using ion irradiation. This reduction in critical current occurs without substantial decrease in Tc or increase in room‐temperature resistivity. Using this technique, we have fabricated weak links that exhibit an ac Josephson effect at 77 K.

Superconducting films of Ca‐Sr‐Bi‐Cu oxides have been prepared by coevaporation of CaF2, SrF2, Bi, and Cu, followed by post‐oxidation in wet O2. The films were characterized by four‐probe resistivity measurements, Rutherford backscattering, transmission electron microscopy, x‐ray diffraction, and Hall measurements. Zero resistance was achieved at ∼80 K, although evidence of traces of superconductivity at higher temperatures was seen in resistivity and Hall data. The critical current at 4.2 K was 1.0×106 A cm−2. The films were epitaxial on 〈100〉 and 〈110〉 SrTiO3 substrates. The electrical and structural properties of the films were insensitive to film composition over a wide range of stoichiometries.