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In the path of direct energy conversion and wastewater disposal through microbial fuel cells (MFCs), the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a pivotal role. However, kinetic limitations hinders the spread of such technology requiring the use of a catalyst to develop efficient and cost effective devices. Herein we report a facile method for the preparation of iron-based catalyst supported on graphene oxide (GO) obtained by electrochemical exfoliation of graphite in aqueous solution of ammonium sulfate. Two different strategies to include nitrogen functionalities on/in GO matrix have been used, such as one-step nitrogen-doping in solution and post treatments based on annealing with ammonia gas. Iron (II) phthalocyanine (FePc) was used as iron source and deposited on GO by pyrolysis-free impregnation. Tuning the adjustable parameters governing the materials preparation allowed producing GO nanosheets with unique morphology and surface properties for enhancing the interaction with FePc. By combining the use of microscopy, electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques, a correlation between structure and surface chemistry of the prepared materials with catalytic activity towards ORR was established. The applicability of iron-based materials as ORR cathodes was evaluated by assembling single chamber air-cathodes MFCs, which power and voltage generation over time were acquired. The obtained results demonstrated that FePc/GO-based electrocatalysts can be used for electricity generation and waste treatment at the cathode side of MFCs.

The deposition of calcium fluoride (CaF2) on Si(111) at temperatures above 570 °C has been studied with scanning tunneling microscopy. At such temperatures, triangular calcium fluoride islands are formed both on terraces and along the phase domain boundaries of the (7 × 7) reconstruction of the Si(111) substrate. In addition to the formation of islands, we observe that CaF2 molecules react with the substrate inducing large areas of its surface to reconstruct into (√3 × √3) and c(2 × 4) phases. Upon annealing at 600 °C, the abovementioned areas of (√3 × √3) and c(2 × 4) turn into the stable (3 × 1) phase upon desorption of fluorine. Calcium fluoride islands are stable at this temperature. Depositions of calcium fluoride performed with Si substrate kept at higher temperature, namely at 680 °C, lead directly to the formation of (3 × 1) phase due to the complete desorption of fluorine, without passing through the formation of the metastable (√3 × √3) and c(2 × 4) phases. If CaF2/Si(111) is brought at even higher temperatures, Ca also starts desorbing and the (7 × 7)-Si(111) reconstruction can eventually be restored.

The present work displays a route to design strain gradients at the interface between substrate and van der Waals bonded materials. The latter are expected to grow decoupled from the substrates and fully relaxed and thus, by definition, incompatible with conventional strain engineering. By the usage of passivated vicinal surfaces we are able to insert strain at step edges of layered chalcogenides, as demonstrated by the tilt of the epilayer in the growth direction with respect of the substrate orientation. The interplay between classical and van der Waals epitaxy can be modulated with an accurate choice of the substrate miscut. High quality crystalline GexSb2Te3+x with almost Ge1Sb2Te4 composition and improved degree of ordering of the vacancy layers is thus obtained by epitaxial growth of layers on 3–4° stepped Si substrates. These results highlight that it is possible to build and control strain in van der Waals systems, therefore opening up new prospects for the functionalization of epilayers by directly employing vicinal substrates.

The disordering process in crystalline GeSb2Te4 films has been studied by means of ion irradiation with 150 keV Ar+ ions. The effect of the interfaces and the role of the crystal microstructure has been investigated. The disordering path observed in a randomly oriented polycrystalline material with trigonal structure involves the transition to the disordered rocksalt structure (at fluence 7x1013 cm-2) and then to the amorphous phase (at 1.5x1014 cm-2). In GeSb2Te4 epitaxially grown on Si(111) the formation of the disordered rocksalt phase occurs at much higher fluence (3x1014 cm-2) and it is preceded by the conversion of the stable phase into the ordered rocksalt structure (at 5x1013 cm-2), with the formation of ordered vacancy layers, associated to a local variation of the stoichiometry. Even by increasing the fluence up to 3.5x1014 cm-2, the films remains mainly crystalline. The observed behaviour has been attributed to the effect of the interfaces and suggests the possibility to promote switching between the crystalline phases by interface engineering.

Tissue engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field of medicine aiming at regenerating damaged tissues by combining cells with porous scaffolds materials. Scaffolds are templates for tissue regeneration and should ensure suitable cell adhesion and mechanical stability throughout the application period. Chitosan (CS) is a biocompatible polymer highly investigated for scaffold preparation but suffers from poor mechanical strength. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was conjugated to chitosan at two weight ratios 0.3% and 1%, and the resulting conjugates were used to prepare composite scaffolds with improved mechanical strength. To study the effect of GO oxidation degree on scaffold mechanical and biological properties, GO samples at two different oxygen contents were employed. The obtained GO/CS scaffolds were highly porous and showed good swelling in water, though to a lesser extent than pure CS scaffold. In contrast, GO increased scaffold thermal stability and mechanical strength with respect to pure CS, especially when the GO at low oxygen content was used. The scaffold in vitro cytocompatibility using human primary dermal fibroblasts was also affected by the type of used GO. Specifically, the GO with less content of oxygen provided the scaffold with the best biocompatibility.

In this study, 1D structures based on α-MnO2 nanowires and β-MnO2 nanorods were fabricated by a single-step hydrothermal synthesis and evaluated as cathode components for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The role of crystallinity and morphology on electrocatalytic activity was investigated by combining X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with an electrochemical analysis of oxygen reduction reaction at the surface of MnO2-based structures. Among the synthesized composites, β-MnO2 nanorods showed higher ORR activity thanks to the synergy between the rod-like morphology and the nitrogen presence in/on the carbon support which provides a more accessible surface for oxygen adsorption and consequent reduction. MFCs assembled with β-MnO2 nanorod cathode allowed achieving a maximum power density of 524 ± 3 mW m−2 and superior cycling stability as compared to α-MnO2 nanowires and control Pt/C.

In recent years strain engineering is proposed in chalcogenide superlattices (SLs) to shape in particular the switching functionality for phase change memory applications. This is possible in Sb2Te3/GeTe heterostructures leveraging on the peculiar behavior of Sb2Te3, in between covalently bonded and weakly bonded materials. In the present study, the structural and thermoelectric (TE) properties of epitaxial Sb2+xTe3 films are shown, as they represent an intriguing option to expand the horizon of strain engineering in such SLs. Samples with composition between Sb2Te3 and Sb4Te3 are prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. A combination of X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, together with dedicated simulations, allows unveiling the structural characteristics of the alloys. A consistent evaluation of the structural disorder characterizing the material is drawn as well as the presence of both Sb-2 and Sb-4 slabs is detected. A strong link exists among structural and TE properties, the latter having implications also in phase change SLs. A further improvement of the TE performances may be achieved by accurately engineering the intrinsic disorder. The possibility to tune the strain in designed Sb2+xTe3/GeTe SLs by controlling at the nanoscale the 2D character of the Sb2+xTe3 alloys is envisioned.

We present an in-depth investigation of structural and electronic properties of GaAsBi epilayers. High (001) crystalline order is achieved using careful molecular beam epitaxy and surface preparation procedures. High surface order allows us to use x-ray, ultraviolet, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy at variable photon energies and to disentangle electronic effects of an atomically thin Bi-rich surface layer with $(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}3)$ symmetry from those of Bi atoms incorporated in the GaAs bulk matrix. The influence of bulk-integrated Bi concentrations on the GaAs band structure becomes visible in angle-resolved photoemission after removing Bi-rich surface layers by a brief and mild ion bombardment and subsequent annealing treatment. Experimental observations are supported by density functional theory simulations of the valence band structure of bulk and surface-reconstructed GaAs with and without Bi. Bi-induced energy shifts in the dispersion of GaAs heavy and light hole bulk bands are evident both in experiment and theory, which are relevant for modulations in the optical band gap and thus optoelectronic applications.

In this paper we report on an x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) investigation of the Mn/GaAs(001) interface. The deposition of Mn in the submonolayer regime on the GaAs(001) surface at $390{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$ induces a ($2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$) reconstruction which evolves to a ($2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$) by increasing the Mn amount. The combined information from XAS and XMCD indicates that the Mn atoms are located on surface sites possessing an almost square symmetry with a limited hybridization of the Mn electronic levels with the GaAs ones. The Mn atoms present a magnetic moment ranging between 4.9 and $4.2\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ depending on the surface reconstruction. The Mn/GaAs(001) interface shows a paramagnetic behavior with an average magnetic moment which decreases by increasing the Mn amount. This variation of the surface magnetization is interpreted as an antiferromagnetic coupling of the Mn magnetic moments as the surface density of Mn atoms is increased. A further increase of the Mn amount after the ($2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$) transition leads to the formation of Mn aggregates on the sample surface.

Several multilayer InAs/GaAs(001) samples were grown in a Molecular Beam Epitaxy chamber under critical growth conditions in order to induce the self-assembling of chains of InAs Quantum Dots over mounded GaAs surfaces. As the number of deposited layers was increased, an increasing in-line ordering was observed. Finite Element Method simulations confirmed this trend which is driven mainly by the propagation of the elastic strain held through the layers. On the other hand, the morphological features of the surface contribute to improving the alignment of the InAs Quantum Dots in every chain. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface transfer doping of hydrogen-terminated diamond induced by high work function V2O5 oxide was investigated on samples with (100) and (111) surface crystal-orientations. An enhancement of sheet hole density and a decrease in sheet resistance were obtained in the case of (111) diamond as compared to (100). In particular, a sheet resistance as low as 1.8 kΩ/◻ and a sheet hole concentration of 1.1 × 1014 cm−2 were obtained by Hall effect measurements for V2O5/H-(111) oriented diamonds, the latter being about twice as high as the one obtained for V2O5/H-(100) oriented diamonds. This was confirmed by capacitance-voltage measurements on metal/V2O5/H-diamond diodes fabricated on the investigated samples, also resulting in the determination of the depth profiles of hole accumulation layers at the diamond surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of the C1s core level shift were used to determine the differences in surface band bending, leading to a different hole accumulation layer formation efficiency at the V2O5/H-diamond interface. An upward band bending of 0.7 eV and 0.3 eV in response to the surface transfer doping induced by a 10 A thick V2O5 layer was measured for (111) and (100) diamond surfaces, respectively. This is a further confirmation that V2O5 is more effective in surface transfer doping for H-(111) oriented diamond. The obtained results are very promising in view of the development of high-power metal oxide field effect transistors based on the H-diamond surface.Surface transfer doping of hydrogen-terminated diamond induced by high work function V2O5 oxide was investigated on samples with (100) and (111) surface crystal-orientations. An enhancement of sheet hole density and a decrease in sheet resistance were obtained in the case of (111) diamond as compared to (100). In particular, a sheet resistance as low as 1.8 kΩ/◻ and a sheet hole concentration of 1.1 × 1014 cm−2 were obtained by Hall effect measurements for V2O5/H-(111) oriented diamonds, the latter being about twice as high as the one obtained for V2O5/H-(100) oriented diamonds. This was confirmed by capacitance-voltage measurements on metal/V2O5/H-diamond diodes fabricated on the investigated samples, also resulting in the determination of the depth profiles of hole accumulation layers at the diamond surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of the C1s core level shift were used to determine the differences in surface band bending, leading to a different hole accumulation layer formation eff...

The present work displays a route to design strain gradients at the interface between substrate and van der Waals bonded materials. The latter are expected to grow decoupled from the substrates and fully relaxed and thus, by definition, incompatible with conventional strain engineering. By the usage of passivated vicinal surfaces we are able to insert strain at step edges of layered chalcogenides, as demonstrated by the tilt of the epilayer in the growth direction with respect of the substrate orientation. The interplay between classical and van der Waals epitaxy can be modulated with an accurate choice of the substrate miscut. High quality crystalline Ge

Working under critical conditions for dot nucleation in a Molecular Beam Epitaxy chamber, we were able to drive the formation of InAs dot chains to precise locations in multilayered samples grown on a rippled GaAs(001) surface. We discussed the role of the elastic field and the surface curvature in determining the dot arrangement at each stacked layer, proving a new mechanism of self-organization of the dots. In particular, we succeeded in controlling the interplay between elastic and curvature effects and we showed how a selection process is achievable in the chain formation. The role of the stress field was also studied by means of Finite Element Method simulations, and we gained a valuable understanding of the interlayer dot correlations for dot arrays with variable cap thicknesses. We proved the existence of an anisotropy in the cap formation of isolated dots, which appeared to be directly related to our peculiar growth geometry and experimental set-up. Copyright © 2017 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.

Scientific Reports 6: Article number: 23843; published online: 01 April 2016; updated: 16 August 2016 In this Article, Stefania Privitera and Emanuele Rimini are incorrectly listed as being affiliated with ‘Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin, Germany’. The correct affiliation is listed below

In this study, we present a significant advance in the growth of epitaxial GeTe-Sb2Te3 alloys on Si(111)-(√3 × √3)R30°-Sb reconstructed surface by means of Molecular Beam Epitaxy. By employing X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, we show how phase, composition, and vacancy ordering can be tailored by tuning the growth parameters such as Ge and Te elemental fluxes as well as the substrate temperature. The effect of each parameter on the GeSbTe composition and phase is also discussed. A very surprising finding is that GeSbTe alloys are more ordered when grown at lower substrate temperatures. In addition, it was possible to fabricate ordered GeSbTe even for substrate temperatures as low as 120 °C. In situ high-energy electron diffraction is employed to monitor the crystallinity and surface roughness of GeSbTe films at different stages of growth. Thus, we identify the deposition parameter ranges whereby high structural quality GeSbTe with flat surfaces can be obtained.In this study, we present a significant advance in the growth of epitaxial GeTe-Sb2Te3 alloys on Si(111)-(√3 × √3)R30°-Sb reconstructed surface by means of Molecular Beam Epitaxy. By employing X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, we show how phase, composition, and vacancy ordering can be tailored by tuning the growth parameters such as Ge and Te elemental fluxes as well as the substrate temperature. The effect of each parameter on the GeSbTe composition and phase is also discussed. A very surprising finding is that GeSbTe alloys are more ordered when grown at lower substrate temperatures. In addition, it was possible to fabricate ordered GeSbTe even for substrate temperatures as low as 120 °C. In situ high-energy electron diffraction is employed to monitor the crystallinity and surface roughness of GeSbTe films at different stages of growth. Thus, we identify the deposition parameter ranges whereby high structural quality GeSbTe with flat surfaces can be obtained.

A combination of far-infrared and Raman spectroscopy is employed to investigate vibrational modes and the carrier behavior in amorphous and crystalline ordered GeTe-Sb2Te3 alloys (GST) epitaxially grown on Si(111). The infrared active GST mode is not observed in the Raman spectra and vice versa, indication of the fact that inversion symmetry is preserved in the metastable cubic phase in accordance with the F"Equation missing"m3 space group. For the trigonal phase, instead, a partial symmetry break due to Ge/Sb mixed anion layers is observed. By studying the crystallization process upon annealing with both the techniques, we identify temperature regions corresponding to the occurrence of different phases as well as the transition from one phase to the next. Activation energies of 0.43 eV and 0.08 eV for the electron conduction are obtained for both cubic and trigonal phases, respectively. In addition a metal-insulator transition is clearly identified to occur at the onset of the transition between the disordered and the ordered cubic phase.

Scientific reports 6, 23843 (2016). doi:10.1038/srep23843, Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are unique compounds employed in non-volatile random access memory thanks to the rapid and reversible transformation between the amorphous and crystalline state that display large differences in electrical and optical properties. In addition to the amorphous-to-crystalline transition, experimental results on polycrystalline GeSbTe alloys (GST) films evidenced a Metal-Insulator Transition (MIT) attributed to disorder in the crystalline phase. Here we report on a fundamental advance in the fabrication of GST with out-of-plane stacking of ordered vacancy layers by means of three distinct methods: Molecular Beam Epitaxy, thermal annealing and application of femtosecond laser pulses. We assess the degree of vacancy ordering and explicitly correlate it with the MIT. We further tune the ordering in a controlled fashion attaining a large range of resistivity. Employing ordered GST might allow the realization of cells with larger programming windows., Published by Nature Publishing Group, London

An innovative multilayer growth of InAs quantum dots on GaAs(100) is demonstrated to lead to self-aggregation of correlated quantum dot chains over mesoscopic distances. The fundamental idea is that at critical growth conditions is possible to drive the dot nucleation only at precise locations corresponding to the local minima of the Indium chemical potential. Differently from the known dot multilayers, where nucleation of new dots on top of the buried ones is driven by the surface strain originating from the dots below, here the spatial correlations and nucleation of additional dots are mostly dictated by a self-engineering of the surface occurring during the growth, close to the critical conditions for dot formation under the fixed oblique direction of the incoming As flux, that drives the In surface diffusion.

EXAFS (Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure) and XANES (X-Ray Absorption Near Edge Structure) spectroscopies have been used to probe the local bonding of the artificially layered superconducting (BaCuO2)2/(CaCuO2)n (n = 2, 3, 4) superlattices. Fluorescence-yield measurements have been performed above the Cu and Ba K-edges. This study shows that the charge reservoir (CR) block of the Ba/Ca superlattice contains oxygen vacancies randomly distributed in the CuO2 planes and that the two apical oxygen atoms are displaced out of the Ba plane giving rise to buckled BaO planes. These oxygen atoms have a distorted pyramidal and octahedral coordination around Cu at Ba/Ca interface and in the (BaCuO2) block, respectively.

Polarised extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopies have been used to probe the local bonding of the infinite layer compounds CaCuO2 and SrCuO2 and of artificially layered superconducting (BaCuO2)2/(CaCuO2)n and nonsuperconducting (BaCuO2)2/(SrCuO2)2 superlattices. Fluorescence-yield measurements have been performed at T=77 K above the Cu and Ba K-edges. The XANES spectrum of CaCuO2 is described in terms of mixing of electronic configurations in the final state. EXAFS results show that the charge reservoir (CR) block of the Ba/Ca superlattice contains 0.6 oxygen vacancies per unit cell randomly distributed in the CuO2 plane sandwiched between the BaO planes and that the two apical oxygens are not in the Ba plane but are shifted toward Cu by 0.21 A. These oxygens have a pyramidal and distorted octahedral coordination with Cu at the Ba/Ca interface and in the (BaCuO2)2 block, respectively. The results clarify the origin of the oxygen doping mechanism in these artificially layered compounds.

Thin films and artificial materials deposition, applied to the study of high temperature superconductors, can be a powerful method to achieve better comprehension of the conduction mechanisms in these materials and, in perspective, to obtain new superconducting compounds. We simulate the layered structure of the superconducting oxides by alternating infinite layer compounds ( CaCuO 2, SrCuO 2, BaCuO 2) both pure and doped either with chemical substitutions or stoichiometry variations. By the first way, we obtained superlattices with a semiconducting electrical behaviour, probably because of the disorder induced by such high chemical substitutions. The second way led to superconducting films with transition temperatures around 80 K and low anisotropy. Furthermore, their artificial nature offers an unique possibility of analysing the influence of the structural properties on the superconducting behaviour, such as the correlation between the number of CuO 2 planes contained in the infinite layer block ( CaCuO 2) and the transport properties.

We compare, by high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (HREELS), the electronic structure of the GaAs(110)1x1 surface and that of the GaAs(001)2x4 As-rich surface in the energy-loss region 0.5-5 eV. The HREEL spectra are interpreted in terms of realistic calculations. The spectral features above the gap are assigned to electronic transitions involving surface and/or bulk states. Losses at energies within the gap are associated to defect states at the surface. [S0163-1829(98)51236-2].

Progress in tailoring the size, shape and positioning of Quantum Dots on the substrate is crucial for their potential applications in new optoelectronic devices for nano-photonics as well as in quantum information and computation. Using Molecular Beam Epitaxy in pulsed deposition mode we demonstrate that the nucleation of InAs Quantum Dots can be selectively guided on the GaAs(001) surface by a suitable choice of the kinetic parameters for the growth of both the GaAs buffer layer and the InAs Quantum Dots. By developing a two-species rate-equation kinetic model we show that the positioning of the Quantum Dots on only one side of mounds of the GaAs buffer can be traced back to the very small As flux gradient between the two mound slopes $\left( {\Delta F_A /F_A \approx 1 - 5\% } \right)$ caused by the proper tilting of the incoming As flux. Such gradient originates, at the relatively high growth-temperature, a net cation flow from one slope of the mound to the other that is responsible for the selective growth.

High-Resolution Electron-Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (HREELS) has been applied to investigate the anisotropy of the GaAs(001)-c(4×4) and β2(2×4) reconstructions. Measurements have been performed on high-quality samples grown in situ by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The loss intensity is different in the directions parallel and perpendicular to dimers, particularly close to the fundamental gap. We construct relative difference intensity spectra which can be directly compared with the differential reflectivity spectra of the RAS spectroscopy. A one-to-one correspondence is found between experimental and calculated electronic transitions up to about 3 eV. The surface anisotropy given by EELS is about two orders of magnitude higher than that measured optically. The contributions to the anisotropy originate entirely from a few atomic layers beneath the surface. In the β2 phase we find direct evidence of transitions involving the dimers of the top atomic layer which are well separated by those involving bulk states modified by the surface.

The transition from the liquid phase of Ga droplets to the formation of GaAs and GaMnAs quantum rings has been studied as a function of temperature. We show that different aggregation processes involve the GaAs (GaMnAs) island and the droplet formation. Furthermore, the aspect ratio of the islands exhibits an anomalous scaling law related to a tendency to aggregate in the vertical direction.

The distributions of the size of islands and of the capture zones are discussed comparatively, both experimentally and numerically, for the case of a sudden nucleation process with and without coarsening. The experiments were performed by growing InAs islands on GaAs(001) and the coarsening was altered by varying the temperature. In the two-dimensional kinetic Monte Carlo simulations a single-species diffusing adatom was taken into account, and the coarsening was altered in this case by modifying the binding energy between adatoms and islands. The results show that size and capture zone distributions overlap only when coarsening can be disregarded.

The effect of oxygen plasma exposure on the magnetoelectrical properties of (Ga,Mn)As films is investigated. A significant increase in the oxygen content of the plasma-treated (Ga,Mn)As is visible in depth-profile x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistance shows that after oxygenation the (Ga,Mn)As films become more resistive and that the distinct peak accounting for the Curie temperature shifts to lower temperatures. In addition, larger coercive fields for all in-plane directions are observed in the magnetoresistance signal after the treatment. X-ray absorption spectroscopy evidences the preservation of the electronic $d$${}^{5}$ state of the Mn atoms after oxygenation. This indicates that the changes in the electrical and consequently in the magnetic properties occur via a hole compensation mechanism promoted by the oxygen species incorporated during the plasma exposure.

A combined scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction investigation of the Mn/GaAs(001) interface formation is reported. The interface, grown on a (2× 4) reconstructed substrate produced by molecular beam epitaxy, was studied as a function of Mn evaporation with thickness ranging from 1/8 ML to 1 ML. The interaction of Mn atoms with the semiconductor surface is strong and leads to surface reconstructions involving a rearrangement of the two outmost atomic layers of the substrate. For Mn thickness lower than 1/2 ML, the surface is characterized by a (2 ×1) periodicity. Conversely, when the Mn deposition is increased to 1/2 ML the surface reconstruction is strongly dependent on the preparation procedure. If Mn deposition is performed on the substrate at 390 C, a fully ordered surface characterized by a clear (2 ×2) reconstruction is obtained, whereas, annealing the sample after Mn deposition, gives a disordered surface with a (2 ×1) symmetry. An intermediate phase between (2 ×1) and (2 ×2) is found for Mn depositions in between 1/4 and 1/2 ML. No further structural evolution was observed for both preparation methods above 1/2 ML coverage. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

The evolution of InAs and In(0.85)Mn(0.15)As quantum dots grown at 270 °C is studied as a function of coverage. We show that, in contrast to what occurs at high temperature, the two-dimensional to three-dimensional transition is not abrupt but rather slow. This is due to the finding that part of the deposited material also contributes to the wetting layer growth after quantum dot formation. This aspect is particularly accentuated in In(0.85)Mn(0.15)As deposition. The Voronoi area analysis reveals a significant spatial correlation between islands.

We study the magnetic aftereffect in compressively strained GaMnAs by means of Kerr microscopy. Under constant magnetic field conditions, a dramatic decrease in domain-wall velocity with time is observed, which is attributed to the irreversible magnetic aftereffect. The time- and space-resolved dynamics of single domain walls are used to derive the time dependence of the magnetization that is modeled considering two coexisting relaxation processes on fast and slow time scales. From fitting of the magnetization vs time curves, the activation volumes for two different GaMnAs samples have been estimated.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to investigate the chemical stability of the cleaved surface of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals interacting with overlayers of various transition and noble metals (Fe, Ti, Cr, Cu, Pd, Au). The largest reactivity is found for metals with an incomplete d-shell as Ti, Cr and Fe, while Cu and Pd are much less reactive and Au is inert. Chemical shifts and lineshape modifications of the core and valence levels result from the disruption of the outermost Bi-O and Cu-O layers of the superconductor by the reactive metals. Energy considerations based on the difference in the heats of formation of the oxides and on surface free energies of the metals suffice to explain the different reactivity of most interfaces with the exception of Cu. The growth mode of an unreactive interface at room temperature is of the Volmer-Weber type with formation of clusters of increasing thickness and size.

The study of the early stage of Mn growth on GaAs(001)-c(4 × 4) surface has been performed by in situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Starting from GaAs(001) grown by molecular beam epitaxy, the surface was investigated after Mn deposition and after low temperature annealing at about 250 ∘C. The aim of this work is to understand the mechanism of Mn–As interaction and the behavior of Mn on the GaAs(001) substrate. The results demonstrate the high reactivity and mobility of Mn with the formation of compounds such as Mn subarsenide (MnAsx), MnAs (confirmed by STM results) and, probably, GaMnAs.

The aspect ratio and faceting evolution of quantum dots grown at 500°C were studied as a function of postgrowth annealing temperature. We show that faceting and aspect ratio strictly depend on growth conditions. The evolution toward {136} and {137} facets is kinetically limited and occurs under different experimental conditions. Furthermore long annealing procedures lead to the occurrence of low aspect ratio domes different from those forming at higher growth temperatures.

EELFS (Extended Energy Loss Fine Structure) measurements in the reflection mode have been performed at the O K edge of YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films and sintered pellets in order to study the radial distribution function and its modification after loss of oxygen induced by thermal heating. The Fourier analysis of the extended energy loss signal shows a O-Cu distance in the ceramic oxide slightly smaller than that in CuO.

The two- to three-dimensional growth transition in the InAs/GaAs(001) heterostructure has been investigated by atomic force microscopy. The kinetics of the density of three dimensional quantum dots evidences two transition thresholds at 1.45 and 1.59 ML of InAs coverage, corresponding to two separate families, small and large. Based on the scaling analysis, such families are characterized by different mechanisms of aggregation, involving the change of the critical nucleus size. Remarkably, the small ones give rise to a wealth of "monomers" through the erosion of the step edges, favoring the explosive nucleation of the large ones., 10 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

High-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) has been applied to investigate the electronic structure of the $\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}(001)\text{\ensuremath{-}}c(4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4)$ and $\ensuremath{\beta}2(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4)$ reconstructions by means of successive exposure to molecular oxygen. Measurements have been performed on high-quality samples grown in situ by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We coupled the experimental findings with calculated spectra [density functional theory in the local density approximation (DFT-LDA)] to investigate the origin of surface states involved in the transitions and possible mechanisms of oxidation.

We studied the temperature dependence of the two-dimensional to three-dimensional growth transition in InAs/GaAs(001) heteroepitaxy by means of reflection high energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The observed shift of the transition to higher InAs deposition times, at temperatures above 500 degrees C, is not a change of critical thickness for islanding, which instead, is constant in the 450-560 degrees C range. Consequently, In-Ga intermixing and surface and interface strain have a negligible dependence on temperature in this range.

We have followed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction the nucleation of InAs quantum dots on GaAs(001), grown by molecular-beam epitaxy with growth interruptions. Surface mass transport gives rise, at the critical InAs thickness, to a huge nucleation of three-dimensional islands within 0.2 monolayers (ML). Such surface mass diffusion has been evidenced by observing the transition of the reflection high-energy electron diffraction pattern from two- to three-dimensional during the growth interruption after the deposition of 1.59 ML of InAs. It is suggested that the process is driven by the As2 adsorption-desorption process and by the lowering of the In binding energy due to compressive strain. The last condition is met first in the region surrounding dots at step edges where nucleation predominantly occurs.

We have clearly evidenced the contribution of true surface states, in the range 1.8-2.5 eV, to the optical anisotropy of the GaAs(001)2×4 surface grown in situ by molecular beam epitaxy. These spectral features are well below the photon energy (2.9 eV) where bulklike anisotropies appear in coincidence with the E 1 bulk critical point. The surface character is established by studying the evolution of the reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy spectra versus oxygen exposure. The interpretation is strengthened by comparison with high-resolution electron-energy-loss spectra measured on the same surface and by first-principles density-functional theory calculations.

We discuss the self-aggregation process of InAs and Si–Ge quantum dots (QDs) on natural and patterned GaAs(001) and Si(001) and Si(111) surfaces, with reference to our recent studies with scanning tunnelling and atomic force microscopy and current experimental and theoretical works. Various methods for obtaining naturally structured surfaces are briefly surveyed, as the patterning formed by the surface instability and by the strain in mismatched heteroepitaxy, and the latest methods of pre-patterning and growth at selected sites are discussed. Basic topics are also addressed that determine the final morphology of QDs, such as the wetting layer formation, the elastic strain field and the two-dimensional to three-dimensional phase transition.

We report on the results of a combined experimental study of the optical anisotropy of $\mathrm{GaAs}(001)\ensuremath{-}c(4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4)$ surfaces grown by molecular beam epitaxy and examined in situ by reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). A correspondence is found between the spectral features detected with RAS and HREELS. The results clearly show that electronic states localized at the surface strongly contribute to RAS and HREELS signals below the ${E}_{1}$ bulk critical point $(\ensuremath{\sim}3\mathrm{eV}),$ while above ${E}_{1}$ the contribution of bulk states (modified by the surface) becomes largely predominant in RAS. Progressive oxidation of the clean surface by molecular oxygen modifies the RAS features providing additional experimental evidence of their origin.

High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy has been applied to investigate the anisotropy of the $\mathrm{GaAs}(001)\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\beta}2(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4)$ reconstruction. Measurements have been performed on high-quality samples grown in situ by molecular beam epitaxy. The loss intensity is different in the directions parallel and perpendicular to dimers, particularly close to the fundamental gap. We discuss our data in comparison to reflectance anisotropy spectra in the attempt of identifying the source of the anisotropy close to the bulk critical points where surface and bulk like transitions take place. We find direct evidence of transitions involving the dimers of the top atomic layer. The set of data taken on As-decapped surfaces indicates that the intensity of the structures is markedly affected by the As cap removal. The exposure to increasing amounts of molecular oxygen modifies the spectral features in a way consistent with their surface origin.

We have investigated by atomic force microscopy subsequent stages of the heteroepitaxy of InAs on GaAs(001) from the initial formation of the strained two-dimensional wetting layer up to the development of three-dimensional quantum dots. We evidence structural features that play a role in the two-to-three-dimensional transition and discuss their contribution to the final morphology of the self-assembled nanoparticles.

We have investigated by atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy subsequent stages of the heteroepitaxy of InAs on GaAs(001) from the initial formation of the strained two-dimensional wetting layer up to the development of three-dimensional quantum dots. We provide evidence of structural features that play a crucial role in the two- to three-dimensional transition and discuss their contribution to the final morphology of the self-assembled nanoparticles. A model is suggested for the strained phase at the critical thickness consisting of an intermixed ${\mathrm{In}}_{x}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{As}$ surface layer of composition $x=0.82$ and InAs ``floating'' on top. Such ``floating'' phase participate to the large mass transport along the surface during the two- to three-dimensional transition that accounts quantitatively for the total volume of dots.

Optical transitions between surface states associated with dangling bonds in $\mathrm{Si}(111)2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$ have been measured by means of reflection anisotropy spectroscopy in the near infrared. The results confirm those previously obtained with other optical techniques (namely surface differential reflectivity and photothermal deflection spectroscopies). The method does not require oxidation of the surface and thus opens the way to studying a number of problems in surface physics, including the temperature dependence of surface transitions in $\mathrm{Si}(111)2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$ and $\mathrm{Ge}(111)2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1.$

The morphology of the InAs/GaAs(001) system has been imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM) at different stages of the epitaxial growth from the initial formation of a pseudomorphic two-dimensional (2D) interace up to the self-aggregation of InAs quantum dots (QDs). The substrate texture and the dependence of the cation diffusion on the elastic strain field fully control the lateral ordering of the nanoparticles in the self assembling process and determine the final morphology of multistacked InAs QD arrays.

We have followed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) the epitaxial growth of InAs on GaAs(001) starting from the initial formation of a strained two-dimensional wetting layer up to the self-assembled nucleation and growth of 3D nanoparticles. In this work we underline many aspects of the morphology of this system, which substantiate the role either of kinetics on thermodynamics in the process of growth as well as the role of surface instabilities in controlling lateral ordering of the nanoaggregates.

In this letter we show that SrCuO2/BaCuO2 and CaCuO2/BaCuO2 based artificial structures of very good crystallographic quality can be grown by pulsed laser deposition. We demonstrate that the most important parameters which determine the superconductive properties are the chemical composition, the oxygen growth pressure, and the CO2 contamination. A major difference is found in the behavior of resistivity between films containing Sr and Ca, respectively. Namely [BaCuO2]2/[SrCuO2]n films never show any trace of superconductivity, while [BaCuO2]2/[CaCuO2]n films result in having, for growth oxygen pressures PO2⩾0.2 mbar, a full transition with Tc (zero resistance) up to 46 K. Furthermore we demonstrate that even a tiny amount of CO2 in the oxygen growth atmosphere can suppress completely the superconducting properties of these artificial structures.

We investigated on the growth, by molecular beam epitaxy, of InAs quantum dots on nanoscale areas of the GaAs(001) surface defined by an e-beam lithographed SiO2 mask. The selective self-assembling of the InAs dots inside the holes of the mask was obtained by a suitable choice of the growth parameters and of the pattern size. Photoluminescence from the spatially confined dots showed a blue-shifted emission but a radiative decay comparable to that of dots nucleated on the extended GaAs surface.