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We present a novel approach to enhance THz nonlinearity by the resonant excitation of two-dimensional plasmons in grating-gate plasmonic crystals. Using a high-electric-field THz pump-THz probe technique, we investigate the nonlinear interaction of spectrally narrow THz pulses with plasmon oscillations in a two-dimensional electron gas on an AlGaN/GaN interface integrated with metallic grating. Nonlinear effects are observed as ultrafast, pump-induced changes in THz transmission, with relative transparency strongly dependent on plasmonic mode excitation and saturating at pump fluences of about 200 nJ cm-2. The maximal relative transparency, reaching 45 % at 350 nJ cm -2, occurs under resonant excitation of a localized plasmon mode at the strong electrostatic modulation of 2DEG concentration. Transient dynamics reveal ultrafast relaxation times of 15-20 ps, while the effects can be observed at elevated temperatures of up to 150 K. A nonlinear model of plasmonic crystal, based on finite-difference time-domain electrodynamic simulations coupled with viscous hydrodynamic electron transport model, elucidates key nonlinear mechanisms, including near-field effects under metallic gratings, electron heating, plasmon resonance broadening, and redshift. These results demonstrate that even conventional semiconductors such as AlGaN/GaN can achieve nonlinear THz responses comparable to or exceeding those of graphene, showing strong potential for ultrafast THz modulation and nonlinear photonics applications.

Doping properties of Bi, Cr and Ag dopants in thermoelectric and topological materials PbTe and SnTe are analyzed based on density functional theory calculations in the local density approximations and the large supercell method. In agreement with experiment, in both PbTe and SnTe, Bi is a donor and Ag is an acceptor with a vanishing magnetic moment. In contrast, Cr is a resonant donor in PbTe, and an resonant acceptor in SnTe. We also consider the electronic structure of cation vacancies in PbTe and SnTe, since these abundant native defects induce $p$-type conductivity in both hosts. The quantitatively different impact of these dopants/defects on the host band structure of PbTe and SnTe (level energies, band splittings, band inversion, and a different level of hybridization between dopant and host states) is explained based on the group-theoretical arguments.

HgCdTe alloys are unique because by increasing the Cd content x, one modifies the band structure from inverted to normal, which fundamentally modifies the dispersion of bulk and surface or edge (in the case of quantum wells) energy states. Using alloys with x close to the concentration x_c at which the band inversion transition is observed and with additional application of hydrostatic pressure (p), one creates a favorable playground for studying the evolution of Dirac matter and its topological properties. In this work, cryogenic magnetospectroscopy in quantizing magnetic fields (B) at the far-infrared is used to study inter-Landau-level transitions in high-quality HgCdTe MBE-grown epitaxial layers with x ~ x_c as a function of p up to 4.2 kbar. Special attention is paid to elucidate the role of the substrate and buffer layers, which usually modify the pressure coefficients of epitaxial layers. For this purpose, comparative measurements were carried out on as-grown epilayers with a GaAs substrate and on free-standing layers obtained by etching off the substrate. Spectra registered as a function of B (at given p) were analyzed with the help of the Kane model modified to include magnetic field. The pressure coefficient as well as the difference between conduction and valence band deformation potentials of the free-standing layer were determined at 2 K. Surprisingly, the deformation potentials and pressure coefficients of the epitaxial layer and those of the free-standing layer differed by no more than 10 % in the pressure range up to 4.2 kbar. This finding questions the common belief of a dominant influence of the substrate on the pressure coefficients of epitaxial layers...

Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) are interesting because of the interplay between the electronic and magnetic subsystems. We describe selected magnetic properties of IV-VI diluted magnetic semiconductors, looking at the similarities and differences between magnetic properties of II-VI, IV-VI, and III-V DMS. We focus on the influence of the crystalline and electronic structure of the material on its magnetic properties, especially on the exchange interactions among magnetic ions. We describe methods of determination of the exchange parameters by using different experimental techniques, such as measurements of magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and specific heat. We follow the development in the material technology from bulk crystals to thin films and nanostructures.

Equilibrium atomic configuration and electronic structure of the (001) surface of IV-VI semiconductors PbTe, PbSe, SnTe and SnSe, is studied using the density functional theory (DFT) methods. At surfaces of all those compounds, the displacements of ions from their perfect lattice sites reveal two features characteristic of the rock salt crystals. First, the ionic displacements occur only along the direction perpendicular to the surface, and they exhibit the rumpling effect, i.e., the vertical shifts of cations and anions differ. Second, the interlayer spacing of the first few monolayers at the surface oscillates. Our results are in good agreement with the previous X-ray experimental data and theoretical results where available. They also are consistent with the presence of two {110} mirror planes at the (001) surface of the rock salt. One the other hand, experiments preformed for the topological Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$ Se alloy indicate breaking of the mirror symmetry due to a large 0.3 {\AA} relative displacement of the cation and anion sublattices at the surface, which induces the opening of the gap of the Dirac cones. Our results for Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$Se including the simulated STM images, are in contradiction with these findings, since surface reconstructions with broken symmetry are never the ground state configurations. The impact of the theoretically determined surface configurations and of the chemical disorder on the surface states is analyzed., Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures

We have performed electron transport and ARPES measurements on single crystals of transition metal dipnictide TaAs2 cleaved along the ($\overline{2}$ 0 1) surface which has the lowest cleavage energy. A Fourier transform of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations shows four different peaks whose angular dependence was studied with respect to the angle between the magnetic field and the [$\overline{2}$ 0 1] direction. The results indicate the elliptical shape of the Fermi surface cross-sections. Additionally, a mobility spectrum analysis was carried out, which also reveals at least four types of carriers contributing to the conductance (two kinds of electrons and two kinds of holes). ARPES spectra were taken on freshly cleaved ($\overline{2}$ 0 1) surface and it was found that bulk states pockets at the constant energy surface are elliptical, which confirms the magnetotransport angle dependent studies. First-principles calculations support the interpretation of the experimental results. The theoretical calculations better reproduce the ARPES data if the theoretical Fermi level is increased, which is due to a small n-doping of the samples. This shifts the Fermi level closer to the Dirac point, allowing to investigate the physics of the Dirac and Weyl points, making this compound a platform for the investigation of the Dirac and Weyl points in three-dimensional materials., Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures

We report on the study of the magnetic ratchet effect in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures superimposed with lateral superlattice formed by dual-grating gate structure. We demonstrate that irradiation of the superlattice with terahertz beam results in the dc ratchet current, which shows giant magneto-oscillations in the regime of Shubnikov de Haas oscillations. The oscillations have the same period and are in phase with the resistivity oscillations. Remarkably, their amplitude is greatly enhanced as compared to the ratchet current at zero magnetic field, and the envelope of these oscillations exhibits large beatings as a function of the magnetic field. We demonstrate that the beatings are caused by the spin-orbit splitting of the conduction band. We develop a theory which gives a good qualitative explanation of all experimental observations and allows us to extract the spin-orbit splitting constant \alpha_{\rm SO}= 7.5 \pm 1.5 meV \unicode{x212B}. We also discuss how our results are modified by plasmonic effects and show that these effects become more pronounced with decreasing the period of the gating gate structures down to sub-microns., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures

The change in the composition of Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$Te IV-VI semiconductor or in its lattice parameter can drive a transition from the topologically trivial to the topological crystalline insulator (TCI), crossing a region where the alloy is in the Weyl semimetal phase. Incorporation of the magnetic Mn ions induces strong perturbations of the electronic structure, which act on both orbital and spin variables. Our first principles calculations show that the presence of Mn shifts the TCI and the Weyl region towards higher Sn contents in Pb$_{1-x}$Sn$_x$Te. When the Mn spin polarization is finite, the spin perturbation, like the orbital part, induces changes in band energies comparable to the band gap, which widens the Weyl area. The effect opens a possibility of driving transitions between various topological phases of the system by magnetic field or by the spontaneous Mn magnetization. We also propose a new method to calculate topological indices for systems with a finite spin polarization defined based on the concept of the Chern number. These valid topological characteristics enable an identification of the three distinct topological phases of the Pb$_{1-x-y}$Sn$_x$Mn$_y$Te alloy., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

The possibility of inducing superconductivity in type-I Weyl semimetal through coupling its surface to a superconductor was investigated. A single crystal of NbP, grown by chemical vapor transport method, was carefully characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, ARPES techniques and by electron transport measurements. The mobility spectrum of the carriers was determined. For the studies of interface transmission, the (001) surface of the crystal was covered by several hundred nm thick metallic layers of either Pb, or Nb, or In. DC current-voltage characteristics and AC differential conductance through the interfaces as a function of the DC bias were investigated. When the metals become superconducting, all three types of junctions show conductance increase, pointing out the Andreev reflection as a prevalent contribution to the subgap conductance. In the case of Pb-NbP and Nb-NbP junctions, the effect is satisfactorily described by modified Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model. The absolute value of the conductance is much smaller than that for the bulk crystal, indicating that the transmission occurs through only a small part of the contact area. An opposite situation occurs in In-NbP junction, where the conductance at the peak reaches the bulk value indicating that almost whole contact area is transmitting and, additionally, a superconducting proximity phase is formed in the material. We interpret this as a result of indium diffusion into NbP, where the metal atoms penetrate the surface barrier and form very transparent superconductor-Weyl semimetal contact inside. However, further diffusion occurring already at room temperature leads to degradation of the effect, so it is observed only in the pristine structures. Despite of this, our observation directly demonstrates possibility of inducing superconductivity in a type-I Weyl semimetal., Comment: Accepted for Phys. Rev. B. 13 pages, 12 figures. Second version with major revisions. The title was changed. One author R. Jakiela added. New inset to Fig. 8(A). New fits in Fig. 8 (B) and Fig. 10 (B). Added figures 12 (C)-(E). Added Fig. 12 (F) with SIMS data. Rewritten chapters III-C-2 and III-C-3. Reference no. 38 removed, 11 new references: 9, 21, 22, 40-44, 46-49 were added

Transition between the topologically trivial and non-trivial phase of Pb_{1-x}Sn_{x}Te alloy is driven by the increasing content $x$ of Sn, or by the hydrostatic pressure for $x<0.3$. We show that a sharp border between these two topologies exists in the Virtual Crystal Approximation only. In more realistic models, the Special Quasirandom Structure method and the supercell method (with averaging over various atomic configurations), the transitions are broadened. We find a surprisingly large interval of alloy composition, $0.3

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) study of magnetic anisotropy is presented for thin layers of IV-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor Ge1-xMn xTe with x=0.14 grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on KCl (001) substrate with a thin PbTe buffer. Analysis of the angular dependence of the FMR resonant field reveals that an easy magnetization axis is located near to the normal to the layer plane and is controlled by two crystal distortions present in these rhombohedral Ge1-xMnxTe layers: the ferroelectric distortion with the relative shift of cation and anion sub-lattices along the [111] crystal direction and the biaxial in-plane, compressive strain due to thermal mismatch.

We theoretically analyze the influence of chemical disorder on magnetic anisotropy in Ge_{1-x}Mn_{x}Te semiconductor layers known to exhibit carrier-induced ferromagnetism and ferroelectric distortion of rhombohedral crystal lattice. Using DFT method we determine the local changes in the crystal structure due to Mn ions substitution for Ge and due to the presence in Ge_{1-x}Mn_{x}Te of very high concentration of cation vacancies. We calculate the effect of this structural and chemical disorder on single ion magnetic anisotropy mechanism and show that its contribution is order of magnitude smaller as compared to magnetic anisotropy mechanism originating from the spin polarization induced by Mn ions into neighboring Te and Ge ions. We also discuss magnetic anisotropy effects due to pairs of Mn ions differently allocated in the lattice. The spatial averaging over chemical disorder strongly reduces the strength of this magnetic anisotropy mechanism and restores the global rhombohedral symmetry of magnetic system., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the energy of magnetic anisotropy for diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor GeMnTe were performed using using OpenMX package with fully relativistic pseudopotentials. The influence of hole concentration and magnetic ion neighborhood on magnetic anisotropy energy is presented. Analysis of microscopic mechanism of magnetic anisotropy is provided, in particular the role of spin-orbit coupling, spin polarization and spatial changes of electron density are discussed. The calculations are in accordance with the experimental observation of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in rhombohedral GeMnTe (111) thin layers., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

Terahertz spectroscopy experiments at magnetic fields and low temperatures were carried out on samples of different gate shapes processed on a high electron mobility GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. For a given radiation frequency, multiple magnetoplasmon resonances were observed with a dispersion relation described within a local approximation of the magnetoconductivity tensor. The second harmonic of the cyclotron resonance was observed and its appearance was interpreted as resulting from a high frequency, inhomogeneous electromagnetic field on the border of a two-dimensional electron gas with a metallic gate and/or an ohmic contact., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We detail the influence of a magnetic field on exciton-polaritons inside a semiconductor microcavity. Magnetic field can be used as a tuning parameter for exciton and photon resonances. We discuss the change of the exciton energy, the oscillator strength and redistribution of the polariton density along the dispersion curves due to the magnetically-induced detuning. We have observed that field-induced shrinkage of the exciton wave function has a direct influence not only on the exciton oscillator strength, which is observed to increase with the magnetic field, but also on the polariton linewidth. We discuss the effect of the Zeeman splitting on polaritons which magnitude changes with the exciton Hopfield coefficient and can be modelled by independent coupling of the two spin components of excitons with cavity photons.

In order to characterize magnetic-field (B) tunable THz plasmonic detectors, spectroscopy experiments were carried out at liquid helium temperatures and high magnetic fields on devices fabricated on a high electron mobility GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. The samples were either gated (the gate of a meander shape) or ungated. Spectra of a photovoltage generated by THz radiation were obtained as a function of B at a fixed THz excitation from a THz laser or as a function of THz photon frequency at a fixed B with a Fourier spectrometer. In the first type of measurements, the wave vector of magnetoplasmons excited was defined by geometrical features of samples. It was also found that the magnetoplasmon spectrum depended on the gate geometry which gives an additional parameter to control plasma excitations in THz detectors. Fourier spectra showed a strong dependence of the cyclotron resonance amplitude on the conduction-band electron filling factor which was explained within a model of the electron gas heating with the THz radiation. The study allows to define both the advantages and limitations of plasmonic devices based on high-mobility GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures for THz detection at low temperatures and high magnetic fields., Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures

The microscopic physics behind low lattice thermal conductivity of single crystal rocksalt lead telluride (PbTe) is investigated. Mode-dependent phonon (normal and umklapp) scattering rates and their impact on thermal conductivity were quantified by the first-principles-based anharmonic lattice dynamics calculations that accurately reproduce thermal conductivity in a wide temperature range. The low thermal conductivity of PbTe is attributed to the scattering of longitudinal acoustic phonons by transverse optical phonons with large anharmonicity, and small group velocity of the soft transverse acoustic phonons. This results in enhancing the relative contribution of optical phonons, which are usually minor heat carrier in bulk materials., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B

Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma in FETs increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and can reach the THz range for sub-micron gate lengths. Nonlinear properties of the electron plasma in the transistor channel can be used for the detection and mixing of THz frequencies. At cryogenic temperatures resonant and gate voltage tunable detection related to plasma waves resonances, is observed. At room temperature, when plasma oscillations are overdamped, the FET can operate as an efficient broadband THz detector. We present the main theoretical and experimental results on THz detection by FETs in the context of their possible application for THz imaging., Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, review paper

We report on terahertz radiation detection with InGaAs/InAlAs Field Effect Transistors in quantizing magnetic field. The photovoltaic detection signal is investigated at 4.2 K as a function of the gate voltage and magnetic field. Oscillations analogous to the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, as well as their strong enhancement at the cyclotron resonance, are observed. The results are quantitatively described by a recent theory, showing that the detection is due to rectification of the terahertz radiation by plasma waves related nonlinearities in the gated part of the channel., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Photoluminescence measurements were carried out on Be $\delta$-doped GaAs/Al$_{0.33}$Ga$_{0.67}$As heterostructure at 1.6 K in magnetic fields ($B$) up to 5 T. Luminescence originating from recombination of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and photo excited holes localized on Be acceptors was analyzed. The degree of circular polarization ($\gamma_C$) of the luminescence from fully occupied Landau levels was determined as a function of $B$ and the 2DEG concentration, $n_s$. At $B$ constant, $\gamma_C$ decreased with the increase of $n_s$. Two mechanisms of the $\gamma_C(n_s)$ dependence are discussed: a) the Stark effect on a photo excited hole bound to Be acceptor and b) the in-plane anisotropy of the intensity of optical transitions. A quantitative analysis shows that the influence of the Stark effect on $\gamma_C$ is negligible in the present experiment. We propose that the $\gamma_C(n_s)$ dependence results from the $C_{2v}$ symmetry of conduction band electron wavefunctions and we give qualitative arguments supporting this interpretation.

The temperature dependence of the magnetic specific heat has been studied experimentally and theoretically in the semimagnetic semiconductor Pb_{1-x}Eu_{x}Te for x=0.027 and x=0.073, over the temperature range from 0.5 K to 10 K, in magnetic fields up to 2 T. There was a maximum in the magnetic specific heat between 1 and 3 K even in zero and low magnetic fields; this maximum shifted toward higher temperatures with increasing magnetic field. The experimental data have been analyzed in the framework of a model in which we assume that the ground states of europium ions are split even without an external magnetic field. We present arguments which support this assumption and we show that it is possible to find a physical mechanism leading to the splitting which can explain the experimental results., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Physical Review B

We propose a new mechanism leading to the ground state splitting for the rare earth ^8S ions in semiconductor crystals. The resulting splitting is due to three effects, the first is the intra atomic 4f-5d spin-spin interaction, the second one is the spin - orbit interaction for 5d electrons and the third one is their hybridization with the valence band states of semiconductors host. The resulting splitting significantly depends on the relative position of 5d level with respect to semiconductor host band structure. We also discuss different model, already known in the literature, which is also based on ion - band states hybridization. For both models, as an example, we present results of numerical calculations for rare earth ion in IV-VI semiconductor PbTe., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

We fabricated a hybrid structure in which cobalt and permalloy micromagnets produce a local in-plane spin-dependent potential barrier for high-mobility electrons at the GaAs/AlGaAs interface. Spin effects are observed in ballistic transport in the tens' millitesla range of the external field, and are attributed to switching between Zeeman and Stern-Gerlach modes -- the former dominating at low electron densities.

A model of the Datta-Das spin field-effect transistor is presented which, in addition to the Rashba interaction, takes into account the influence of bulk inversion asymmetry of zinc-blende semiconductors. In the presence of bulk inversion asymmetry, the conductance is found to depend significantly on the crystallographic orientation of the channel. We determine the channel direction optimal for the observation of the Datta-Das effect in GaAs and InAs-based devices., Comment: 4 pages, Revtex4, 4 EPS figures

We present theoretical description of conduction electrons interacting with a domain wall in ferromagnetic metals. The description takes into account interaction between electrons. Within the semiclassical approximation we calculate the spin and charge distributions, particularly their modification by the domain wall. In the same approximation we calculate local transport characteristics, including relaxation times and charge and spin conductivities. It is shown that these parameters are significantly modified near the wall and this modification depends on electron-electron interaction., Comment: 10 pages with 4 figures

We consider two-dimensional degenerate electron gas in the presence of perpendicular random magnetic field. The magnetic field disorder which is assumed to be gaussian is characterized by two parameters. The first is proportional to the amplitude of local magnetic field fluctuations. The second one characterizes the disorder on the longer scale - we call it the screening length. Using Kubo formula for the conductivity we have found a class of diagrams which leads to the long time tails in the current - current correlation function. For short times comparing to the diffusion time corresponding to the screening length this function behaves like logarithm of time, for longer times it decays like $t^{-1}$ what of course puts in question the diffusive character of the behavior of the charged particle in random magnetic field widely assumed in the literature., Comment: 6 pages, 2 Postscript figures