Temperature dependent phonon modes and ionicity of LiGaO_2 single crystal

This paper reports that polarized far-infrared reflectivity measurements have been done on LiGaO2 single crystal along two crystalline taxes at different temperatures. The temperature dependent frequencies of the longitudinal and transverse optical phonon have been obtained from the real part of optical conductivity and the loss function respectively. A small Drude component is observed at frequency below 300 cm^-1 which could arise from Li ions or oxygen deficiencies. The ionicity of LiGaO2 has been studied from the analysis of the Born effective charge of different ions.

Remote excitation and remote detection of a single quantum dot using propagating surface plasmons on silver nanowire

Using propagating surface plasmons （SPs） on a silver nanowire （NW）, we demonstrate that a focused laser light at the end of the silver NW can excite a single quantum dot （QD） microns away from the excitation spot. The QD-NW interaction allows the excited QD convert part of its energy into propagating SPs, which then can be detected at remote sites. Simultaneous multi-QD remote excitation and remote detection can also be realized. Furthermore, the tight confinement of the propagating SPs around the NW surface enables the selective excitation of QDs very close in space, which cannot be realized under the conventional excitation condition. This remote excitation and remote detection approach may find applications in optical imaging and the sensing of chemical and biological systems.

Modulating magnetism of nitrogen-doped zigzag graphene nanoribbons

We present a study of electronic properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons （ZGNRs） substitutionally doped with nitrogen atoms at a single edge by first principle calculations. We find that the two edge states near the Fermi level sepa- rate due to the asymmetric nitrogen-doping. The ground states of these systems become ferromagnetic because the local magnetic moments along the undoped edges remain and those along the doped edges are suppressed. By controlling the charge-doping level, the magnetic moments of the whole ribbons are modulated. Proper charge doping leads to interest- ing half-metallic and single-edge conducting ribbons which would be helpful for designing graphene-nanoribbon-based spintronic devices in the future.

NMR and NQR studies on transition-metal arsenide superconductors LaRu2As2,KCa2Fe4As4F2,and A2Cr3As3

We report 75As-nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)and nuclear quadrupole resonance(NQR)measurements on transition-metal arsenides LaRu2As2,KCa2Fe4As4F2,and A2Cr3As3.In the superconducting state of LaRu2As2,a Hebel–Slichter coherence peak is found in the temperature dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 just below Tc,which indicates that LaRu2As2 is a full-gap superperconducor.For KCa2Fe4As4F2,antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are observed in the normal state.We further find that the anisotropy rate RAF=Tc 1/Tab 1 is small and temperature independent,implying that the low energy spin fluctuations are isotropic in spin space.Our results indicate that KCa2Fe4As4F2 is a moderately overdoped iron-arsenide high-temperature superconductor with a stoichiometric composition.For A2Cr3As3(A=Na,K,Rb,Cs),we calculate the electric field gradient by first-principle method and assign the 75As-NQR peaks to two crystallographically different As sites,paving the way for further NMR investigation.

Extinction mechanisms of hyperbolic h-BN nanodisk

We applied the finite element method to calculate the extinction spectrum of single hyperbolic hexagonal boron nitride(h-BN)nanodisk.We show that the hyperbolic h-BN nanodisk exhibits two extinction mechanisms in the mid-infrared region.The volume confined phonon polaritons resonances of the nanodisk give rise to a series of weak extinction peaks.The localized surface phonon polaritons lead to a robust dipolar extinction,and the extinction peak position is tunable by varying the size of the h-BN nanodisk.These findings reveal the mechanisms of the interaction between light and resonant h-BN nanodisk,which are essential for h-BN related opto-electromagnetic applications.

Temperature-dependent far-infrared properties of Bi_(12)GeO_(20) single crystal

Fax-infraxed reflectivity spectra of bismuth germanium oxide （Bi12GeO20） single crystals are measured from room temperature down to 10 K. All the reflectivity spectra are fitted to a complex dielectric function ε（ω） in the factorised form. Phonon modes at low frequency are found to develop upon decreasing temperature and gain considerable spectrum weight below 150 K. The temperature-dependent static dielectric constants are obtained from the Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation based on the obtained oscillator parameters. The dielectric constants are found to increase upon decreasing temperature, which is attributed to the charge transfer among the ions in the unit cell with the temperature varying.

Structural phase transition, precursory electronic anomaly, and strong-coupling superconductivity in quasi-skutterudite (Sr1-xCax)3Ir4Sn13 and Ca3Rh4Sn13

The interplay between superconductivity and structural phase transition has attracted enormous interest in recent years. For example, in Fe-pnictide high temperature superconductors, quantum fluctuations in association with structural phase transition have been proposed to lead to many novel physical properties and even the superconductivity itself. Here we report a finding that the quasi-skutterudite superconductors （Sr1-xCax）3Ir4Sn13 （x = 0, 0.5, 1） and Ca3Rh4Snl3 show some unusual properties similar to the Fe-pnictides, through 119Sn nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） measurements. In （Sr1-xCax）3Ir4Sn13, the NMR linewidth increases below a temperature T＊ that is higher than the structural phase transition temperature Ts. The spin-lattice relaxation rate （1/T1 ） divided by temperature （T）, 1/TI T and the Knight shift K increase with decreasing T down to T＊, but start to decrease below T＊, and followed by more distinct changes at Ts. In contrast, none of the anomalies is observed in Ca3Rh4Sn13 that does not undergo a structural phase transition. The precursory phenomenon above the structural phase transition resembles that occurring in Fe-pnictides. In the superconducting state of Ca3Ir4Sn13, 1/T1 decays as exp（-△/kBT） with a large gap △ = 2.21kBTc, yet without a Hebel-Slichter coherence peak, which indicates strong-coupling superconductivity. Our results provide new insight into the relationship between superconductivity and the electronic-structure change associated with structural phase transition.

Deviating from the nanorod shape： Shape-dependent plasmonic properties of silver nanorice and nanocarrot structures

Noble metallic nanostructures exhibit special optical properties resulting from excitation of surface plasmons. Among the various metallic nanostructures, nanorods have attracted particular attention because of their unique and intriguing shape-dependent plasmonic properties. Nanorods can sup- port transverse and longitudinal plasmon modes, the latter ones depending strongly on the aspect ratio of the nanorod. These modes can be routinely tuned from the visible to the near-infrared spectral regions. Although nanorods have been investigated extensively, there are few studies de- voted to nanostructures deviating from the nanorod shape. This review provides an overview of recent progress in the development of two kinds of novel quasi-one-dimensional silver nanostruc- tures, nanorice and nanocarrot, including their syntheses, crystalline characterizations, plasmonic property analyses, and performance in plasmonic sensing applications.

Nodal superconducting gap in LiFeP revealed by NMR:Contrast with LiFeAs

Identifying the uniqueness of FeP-based superconductors may shed new lights on the mechanism of superconductivity in iron-pnictides.Here,we report nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) studies on LiFeP and LiFeAs which have the same crystal structure but different pnictogen atoms.The NMR spectrum is sensitive to inhomogeneous magnetic fields in the vortex state and can provide the information on the superconducting pairing symmetry through the temperature dependence of London penetration depth λ_(L).We find that λ_(L) saturates below T~0.2 T_(C) in LiFeAs,where T_(C) is the superconducting transition temperature,indicating nodeless superconducting gaps.Furthermore,by using a two-gaps model,we simulate the temperature dependence of λ_(L) and obtain the superconducting gaps of LiFeAs,as Δ_(1)=1.2 kB T_(C) and Δ_(2)=2.8 k_(B)T_(C),in agreement with previous result from spin-lattice relaxation.For LiFeP,in contrast,λ_(L) does not show any saturation down to T~0.03 T_(C),indicating nodes in the superconducting gap function.Finally,we demonstrate that strong spin fluctuations with diffusive characteristics exist in LiFeP,as in some cuprate high temperature superconductors.

Infrared nanoimaging of nanoscale sliding dislocation of collagen fibrils

Collagen,one of the major components in the mammalian connective tissues,plays an essential role in many vital physiological processes.Many common diseases,such as fibrosis,overuse injuries,and bone fracture,are associated with collagen arrangement defects.However,the underlying mechanism of collagen arrangement defects remains elusive.In this study,we applied infrared scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy to study collagen fibrils’structural properties.Experimentally,we observed two types of collagen fibrils’arrangement with different periodic characteristics.A crystal sliding model was employed to explain this observation qualitatively.Our results suggest that the collagen dislocation propagates in collagen fibrils,which may shed light on many collagen diseases’pathogenesis.These findings help to understand the regulation mechanism of hierarchical biological structure.

Structural phase transition, antiferromagnetism and two superconducting domes in LaFeAsO_(1-x)F_x(0

We report^(75) As nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)/nuclear quadrupole resonance(NQR) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) studies on LaFeAsO_(1-x)F_x. There are two superconducting domes in this material. The first one appears at 0.03 ≤ x ≤0.2 with T_c^(max) = 27 K, and the second one at 0.25 ≤x≤0.75 with T_c^(max) = 30 K. By NMR and TEM, we demonstrate that a C4-to-C2 structural phase transition(SPT) takes place above both domes, with the transition temperature T_s varying strongly with x. In the first dome, the SPT is followed by an antiferromagnetic(AF) transition, but neither AF order nor low-energy spin fluctuations are found in the second dome. By ^(75) As nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate(1/T_1) measurements, we find that AF order and superconductivity coexist microscopically in LaFeAsO_(0.97) F_(0.03). In the coexisting region, 1/T_1 decreases at T_c but becomes proportional to T below 0.6 T_c, indicating gapless excitations. Therefore, in contrast to the early reports, the obtained phase diagram for x ≤ 0.2 is quite similar to the doped BaFe_2As_2 system. The electrical resistivity p in the second dome can be fitted by ρ = ρ0 + AT^n with n = 1 and a maximal coefficient A at around xopt = 0.5-0.55 at which T_s extrapolates to zero and Tc is the maximal, which suggests the importance of quantum critical fluctuations associated with the SPT. We have constructed a complete phase diagram of LaFeAsO_(1-x)F_x, which provides insight into the relationship between SPT, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity.