Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv · cond-mat/0703700

Influence of cumulenic chains on the vibrational and electronic properties of sp/sp2 amorphous carbon

Abstract

We report the production and characterization of a form of amorphous carbon films with sp/sp2 hybridization (atomic fraction of sp hybridized species > 20%) where the predominant sp bonding appears to be (=C=C=)n cumulene. Vibrational and electronic properties have been studied by in situ Raman spectroscopy and electrical conductivity measurements. Cumulenic chains are substantially stable for temperatures lower than 250 K and they influence the electrical transport properties of the sp/sp2 carbon through a self-doping mechanism by pinning the Fermi level closer to one of the mobility gap edges. Upon heating above 250 K the cumulenic species decay to form graphitic nanodomains embedded in the sp2 amorphous matrix thus reducing the activation energy of the material. This is the first example of a pure carbon system where the sp hybridization influences bulk properties.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

L. Ravagnan, P. Piseri, M. Bruzzi, S. Miglio, G. Bongiorno, A. Baserga, C. S. Casari, A. Li Bassi, C. Lenardi, Y. Yamaguchi, T. Wakabayashi, C. E. Bottani, P. Milani. 2007-03-27. Influence of cumulenic chains on the vibrational and electronic properties of sp/sp2 amorphous carbon. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.98.216103

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Impact of electron--spin coupling on exchange coupling parameters: a nonperturbative approach

Exchange coupling parameters $J_{ij}$ in the Heisenberg model are crucial for describing magnetic behavior at the atomic level. In magnetic materials, spin fluctuations can be accompanied by a self-consistent electronic response, i.e., electron--spin coupling in the sense of electronic feedback to finite spin rotations. However, the quantitative importance of this coupling in extracting reliable $J_{ij}$ has not been fully clarified. Here, using fully self-consistent, nonperturbative evaluations, we show that finite-angle spin rotations induce such electronic feedback and quantify how strongly it renormalizes the extracted $J_{ij}$. We examine systems of both fundamental and practical interest, including perovskite SrMnO$_3$, Nd-based permanent-magnet compounds (Nd$_2$Fe$_{14}$B and Nd$_2$Co$_{14}$B), and elemental 3$d$ transition metals. The nonperturbative approach yields exchange couplings that remain consistent over a wide range of rotation angles. Moreover, when the sampled configurations represent the magnetic disorder near the transition, spin models parameterized in this way give reasonable agreement with experimental magnetic phase-transition temperatures. Overall, our results demonstrate the quantitative impact of electron--spin coupling on the exchange coupling parameters $J_{ij}$ and provide a nonperturbative route to effective $J_{ij}$ for a specified regime of magnetic disorder.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Benchmarking and advancing machine-learning interatomic potentials for 3C-SiC across equilibrium and extreme conditions

Several machine-learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) have been developed for cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC). Here, we benchmark seven existing MLIPs against a common set of structural, thermal, defect, radiation-damage, disordered-phase, and computational-performance tests. We also introduce two complementary MLIPs trained on DFT-labeled crystalline, liquid, amorphous, and defective configurations. TGAP, a Gaussian approximation potential based on the \verb|soap_turbo| descriptor, provides consistently high accuracy across the sampled configurational space. MTP, a custom moment tensor potential, retains good accuracy across these regimes while offering substantially lower computational cost, GPU acceleration, and access to multi-million-atom simulations. As an application-level test, both potentials remain stable in displacement cascades spanning short-range repulsion, transient disorder, and recrystallization. Overall, MTP emerges as a particularly strong accuracy--cost compromise for large-scale and strongly non-equilibrium simulations of 3C-SiC.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Loss of altermagnetic order and smooth restoration of Kramers' spin degeneracy with increasing temperature in CrSb and MnTe

We describe how thermally induced spin fluctuations modify the electronic structures of two prototypical altermagnets, CrSb and MnTe, via application of the disordered local moment picture. For both materials, our self-consistent, ab initio calculations demonstrate that local magnetic moments persist on Cr and Mn atoms in their paramagnetic states, necessitating a spin-polarised description of the electronic structure even above the Néel temperature, $T_\mathrm{N}$. Moreover, Kramers' spin degeneracy, which is broken for both materials in their altermagnetic ground states, is shown to be smoothly restored - on the average - as the local moments thermally disorder. In metallic CrSb, this occurs at temperatures well below $T_\mathrm{N}$ and the signature effects of its altermagnetism are lost as the magnetic disorder induces heavy smearing of strongly dispersive electronic states around the Fermi energy. By contrast, in semiconducting MnTe, with its band gap largely unaffected by magnetic disorder, the spin degeneracy only returns at temperatures close to and above $T_\mathrm{N}$. We quantify the temperature dependence of the altermagnetic order parameter and the underlying electronic structures of both materials, with implications for their spin transport and spectroscopic properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗