V. Bellani

Electrical and optical characterization of Er‐implanted Si: The role of impurities and defects

The electrical and optical properties of Er‐implanted Si are shown to be critically dependent on the presence of impurities and defects. A large enhancement in the electrical activation of Er (up to three orders of magnitude) is obtained by coimplanting Er with O or C at 300 °C. The use of C also allows one to obtain a good quality crystal after implantation and annealing. This is shown to be crucial in the photoluminescence process. In fact, in spite of the large amount of active Er atoms, photoluminescence is inhibited in the presence of the high concentration of precipitates and crystallographic defects which are left after annealing of the Er and O coimplants. The photoluminescence intensity is, on the other hand, enhanced by the high concentration of active Er atoms in the defect‐free crystal which is left after annealing of the Er and C coimplants. Moreover, a clear shift in the main photoluminescence peaks is observed in Er‐ and C‐coimplanted samples as a result of the different surroundings experi...

Charge transport in graphene–polythiophene blends as studied by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy and transistor characterization

Blends of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) are used as the active layer of field-effect transistors (FETs). By using sequential deposition of the two components, the density of RGO sheets can be tuned linearly, thereby modulating their contribution to the charge transport in the transistors, and the onset of charge percolation. The surface potential of RGO, P3HT and source–drain contacts is measured on the nanometric scale with Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM), and correlated with the macroscopic performance of the FETs. KPFM is also used to monitor the potential decay along the channel in the working FETs.

Effects of particle contamination and substrate interaction on the Raman response of unintentionally doped graphene

We investigated the inhomogeneities in the charge density of unintentionally doped graphene on SiO2 prepared by mechanical exfoliation. From the analysis of the G, D, and 2D phonon modes of the Raman spectra after displacing contaminants on graphene surface, and measuring the separation monolayer-substrate distance among zones with different doping levels, we deduce that the interaction with the substrate is the main cause of doping in graphene rather than particle contamination. In particular, we show how graphene doping levels vary within the same flake depending on the distance between graphene and the substrate.

Electrochemical Functionalization of Graphene at the Nanoscale with Self-Assembling Diazonium Salts

We describe a fast and versatile method to functionalize high-quality graphene with organic molecules by exploiting the synergistic effect of supramolecular and covalent chemistry. With this goal, we designed and synthesized molecules comprising a long aliphatic chain and an aryl diazonium salt. Thanks to the long chain, these molecules physisorb from solution onto CVD graphene or bulk graphite, self-assembling in an ordered monolayer. The sample is successively transferred into an aqueous electrolyte, to block any reorganization or desorption of the monolayer. An electrochemical impulse is used to transform the diazonium group into a radical capable of grafting covalently to the substrate and transforming the physisorption into a covalent chemisorption. During covalent grafting in water, the molecules retain the ordered packing formed upon self-assembly. Our two-step approach is characterized by the independent control over the processes of immobilization of molecules on the substrate and their covalent tethering, enabling fast (t < 10 s) covalent functionalization of graphene. This strategy is highly versatile and works with many carbon-based materials including graphene deposited on silicon, plastic, and quartz as well as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite.

Metal-filled carbon nanotubes as a novel class of photothermal nanomaterials.

Metal-filled carbon nanotubes represent a novel class of photothermal nanomaterials: when illuminated by visible light they exhibit a strong enhancement of the temperature at the metal sites, due to the enhanced plasmonic light absorption at the metal surface, which behaves as a heat radiator. Potential applications include nanomedicine, heat-assisted magnetic recording, and light-activated thermal gradient-driven devices.

Cobalt nanocluster-filled carbon nanotube arrays: engineered photonic bandgap and optical reflectivity.

Perfect vertically aligned and periodically arranged arrays of multidielectric heterostructures are ideal platforms both for photonic crystals and photonic bandgap materials. Carbon nanotubes grown inside anodic alumina templates form a novel class of heterostructured materials ideally suited for building such platforms. By engineering metallic (cobalt) nanoclusters inside the nanotubes, we present a novel method for tailoring the photonic bandgap as well as the magnitude of the reflectivity in these systems. We present spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and reflectivity measurements to investigate the effect of the presence of cobalt clusters on the optical response of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) grown in anodized alumina template. The real (ε(1)) and imaginary (ε(2)) part of the pseudodielectric function of the MWNT and Co-MWNT system have been studied in a wide energy range (1.4-5 eV). We found that the cobalt filling modifies the electronic structure of the nanotubes, suggesting that the insertion of the clusters leads to a semiconductor behavior. Angle-resolved reflectivity measurements further show that the metal filling drastically enhances the optical response up to 2 orders of magnitude.

Experimental evidence of delocalization in correlated disorder superlattices

Abstract We studied GaAs–Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 As intentionally disordered semiconductor superlattices with and without correlation of the disorder. The structural properties have been characterized by X-ray diffraction. The electronic states of the SL have been studied by photovoltage spectroscopy and compared with theoretical calculation of the miniband structure and transmission coefficient. We observed that delocalization processes take place when the disorder is correlated, confirming the theoretical expectations.

Functionalization of Reduced Graphite Oxide Sheets with a Zwitterionic Surfactant

Films of a few layers in thickness of reduced graphite oxide (RGO) sheets functionalized by the zwitterionic surfactant N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate (DDPS) are obtained by using the Langmuir-Blodgett method. The quality of the RGO sheets is checked by analyzing the degrees of reduction and defect repair by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro-Raman spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity measurements. A modified Hummers method is used to obtain highly oxidized graphite oxide (GO) together with a centrifugation-based method to improve the quality of GO. The GO samples are reduced by hydrazine or vitamin C. Functionalization of RGO with the zwitterionic surfactant improves the degrees of reduction and defect repair of the two reducing agents and significantly increases the electrical conductivity of paperlike films compared with those prepared from unfunctionalized RGO.

Optical functions of epitaxial β-FeSi2 on Si(001) and Si(111)

Abstract We accurately measured the complex refractive index and dielectric functions from 0.2 to 5 eV of high-quality β-FeSi2 epitaxial films, with thicknesses ranging from 100 A to 8000 A, grown on Si(001) and Si(111) using two different techniques. Reflectance, transmittance and spectroscopic ellipsometry were used and the spectra were analyzed within a multilayer model, by checking the Kramers-Kronig consistency of the derived optical functions. These functions, compared with previous results for polycrystalline samples, showed a very good agreement with those obtained for bulk samples and a significant difference to films. The nature (direct or indirect) of the lowest optical gap and the effects of the film thickness and the substrate orientation on the optical response were also investigated.

Gaussian semiconductor superlattices

We study GaAs-AlxGa1−xAs superlattices where the heights of the barriers are modulated by a Gaussian profile. Such structures present bands of almost unscattered electronic states. The calculated energy levels of the superlattice agree well with the photoluminescence spectra recorded at low temperature.