Related papers: Semiconducting chains of gold and silver

Monovalent non-transition metals are robust Fermi liquids. They defy superconductivity even at lowest temperatures (Li is a minor exception:Tc $\approx$ 0.4 mK). However, Thapa and Pandey \cite{ThapaPandey} have recently reported signals…

Gold is inert and forms very few compounds. One of the most interesting of those is calaverite AuTe2, which has incommensurate structure and which becomes superconducting when doped or under pressure. There exist a "sibling" of AuTe2 the…

We predict that conduction electrons in a semiconductor film containing a centered square array of metal nanowires normal to its plane are bound in quantum states around the central wires, if a positive bias voltage is applied between the…

We study the structure and energetics of Au$_N$ clusters by means of parameter-free density-functional calculations ($N\le 8$), jellium calculations ($N\le 60$), embedded-atom calculations ($N\le 150$), and parameterized density-functional…

Part of developing new strategies for fabrications of nanowire structures involves in many cases the aid of metal nanoparticles (NPs). It is highly beneficial if one can define both diameter and position of the initial NPs and make…

The structure of Ag-doped GeS3 glasses (0, 15, 20, 25 at.% Ag) was investigated by diffraction techniques and extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. Structural models were obtained by fitting the experimental datasets…

Surface alloying is a straightforward route to control and modify the structure and electronic properties of surfaces. Here, We present a systematical study on the structural and electronic properties of three novel rare earth-based…

We compare the models that have been proposed in the literature for the atomic structure of the 90-degree partial dislocation in the homopolar semiconductors, silicon, diamond, and germanium. In particular, we examine the traditional…

Long, stable and free-standing linear atomic carbon wires have been carved out from graphene recently [Meyer et al: Nature (London) 2008, 454, 319; Jin et al: Phys: Rev: Lett: 2009, 102, 205501]. They can be considered as the extremely…

We have studied the thermal properties of atom chips consisting o high thermal conductivity Aluminum Nitride (AlN) substrates on which gold microwires are directly deposited. We have measured the heating of wires of several widths and with…

Elementary semiconductors are rare and attractive, especially for low-dimensional materials. Unfortunately, most of boron nanostructures were found to be metallic, despite of their typical semiconducting bulk structure. Herein, we propose a…

Semi-metals are characterized by nodal band structures that give rise to exotic electronic properties. The stability of Dirac semi-metals, such as graphene in two spatial dimensions (2D), requires the presence of lattice symmetries, while…

A general linear stability analysis of simple metal nanowires is presented using a continuum approach which correctly accounts for material-specific surface properties and electronic quantum-size effects. The competition between surface…

Aluminum hydride (alane) AlH_3 is an important material in hydrogen storage applications. It is known that AlH_3 exists in multiply forms of polymorphs, where $\alpha$-AlH_3 is found to be the most stable with a hexagonal structure. Recent…

We suggest a construction of a large class of topological states using an array of quantum wires. First, we show how to construct a Chern insulator using an array of alternating wires that contain electrons and holes, correlated with an…

The formation of atomic wires via pseudomorphic step-edge decoration on vicinal silicon surfaces has been analyzed for Ga on the Si(112) surface using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Density Functional Theory calculations. Based on a…

Using the Embedded Atom Method as developed by Voter and Chen in combination with the {\it variable metric/quasi-Newton} and our own {\it Aufbau/Abbau} methods, we have identified the three most stable isomers of Au$_N$ clusters with $N$ up…

We investigate how different interface geometries of an Al/Al$_2$O$_3$ junction, a common component of modern tunnel devices, affect electron transport through the tunnel barrier. We study six distinct Al/Al$_2$O$_3$ interfaces which differ…

High-reflectance in many state-of-the-art optical devices is achieved with noble metals. However, metals are limited by losses, and for certain applications, by their high mass density. Using a combination of ab initio and optical transfer…

The effect of Ag addition (0-20 wt%) on polycrystalline Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2 superconductor has been investigated. It is found that the critical transition temperature Tc was not depressed, and the irreversibility field Hirr and hysteresis…