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Claudia Fasolato

Publications and source records attributed to Claudia Fasolato.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Probing enhanced electron-phonon coupling in graphene by infrared resonance Raman spectroscopy

We report on resonance Raman spectroscopy measurements with excitation photon energy down to 1.16 eV on graphene, to study how low-energy carriers interact with lattice vibrations. Thanks to the excitation energy close to the Dirac point at $\mathbf{K}$, we unveil a giant increase of the intensity ratio between the double-resonant 2D and 2D$^\prime$ peaks with respect to that measured in graphite. Comparing with fully \textit{ab initio} theoretical calculations, we conclude that the observation is explained by an enhanced, momentum-dependent coupling between electrons and Brillouin zone-boundary optical phonons. This finding applies to two dimensional Dirac systems and has important consequences for the modeling of transport in graphene devices operating at room temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Thermal treatment effects on PMN-0.4PT/Fe multiferroic heterostructures

Multiferroic heterostructures have gained in recent years a renewed role in spintronic applications due to their possibility in controlling the magnetic properties via interfacial coupling by exploiting the ferroelectric response to various external stimuli. Whereas the main mechanisms ruling the converse magnetoelectric coupling are considered as established, the research on how to optimize the ferroelectric properties is an active field. In particular the complex phase diagram of [Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]-x[PbTiO3] (PMN-xPT) single crystals, that present relaxor ferroelectric and photovoltaic properties, deserves further investigation. For instance, crystalline quality and thermal stability of the ferroelectric domains in heterostructures need assessment. Here we show how, by thermal annealing over the ferroelectric Curie temperature and then cooling PMN-0.4PT/Fe heterostructures in inert atmosphere the domain population is significantly modified, evolving from a highly disordered, mostly out-of-plane domain population, to improved crystallinity and prevalent in-plane oriented domains. Upon further annealing, the domain population switches back to prevalent out-of-plane orientation suggesting that intermediate annealing steps can freeze PMN-0.4PT domain population in a metastable configuration. The structural analysis was carried out by combining micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. In the three states the magnetic properties of interfacial Fe thin film are affected by the ferroelectric configurations as a consequence of changing interfacial strain, evolving from an isotropic behavior to an anisotropic one and back.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Infrared resonance Raman of bilayer graphene: signatures of massive fermions and band structure on the 2D peak

Few-layer graphene possesses low-energy carriers which behave as massive fermions, exhibiting intriguing properties in both transport and light scattering experiments. Lowering the excitation energy of resonance Raman spectroscopy down to 1.17 eV we target these massive quasiparticles in the split bands close to the K point. The low excitation energy weakens some of the Raman processes which are resonant in the visible, and induces a clearer frequency-separation of the sub-structures of the resonance 2D peak in bi- and trilayer samples. We follow the excitation-energy dependence of the intensity of each sub-structure and, comparing experimental measurements on bilayer graphene with ab initio theoretical calculations, we trace back such modifications on the joint effects of probing the electronic dispersion close to the band splitting and enhancement of electron-phonon matrix elements.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Possible realization of a phononic tsunami in a wedge-shaped sample

Exploiting the theory of solitons in a nonlinear elastic medium we predict a novel phenomenon called a phononic tsunami, which is characterized by the dramatic increase of the local amplitude of phonon modes. To elucidate the possible experimental detection of this phenomenon we propose to use a wedge-shaped sample in which a sharp edge serves for the emulation of the shoaling effect and such a local enhancement can be observed. Together with eigenfrequencies of transverse and longitudinal phonon modes of a system we find the characteristic dispersion relations that can be considered as a hallmark of a phononic tsunami. We justify our predictions by means of analytical calculations and numerical simulations showing a possible realization of this nonlinear effect in such a geometry. Our results provide the framework for the implementation of new kind experiments aimed at realizing and investigating a phononic tsunami phenomenon in relevant materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Advanced Raman spectroscopy detection of oxidative damage in nucleic acid bases: probing chemical changes and intermolecular interactions in guanosine at ultralow concentration

DNA/RNA synthesis precursors are especially vulnerable to damage induced by reactive oxygen species occurring following oxidative stress. Guanosine triphosphates are the prevalent oxidized nucleosites, which can be misincorporated during replication, leading to mutations and cell death. Here, we present a novel method based on micro-Raman spectroscopy, combined with ab initio calculations, for the identification, detection, and quantification of low concentrations of oxidized nucleotides. We also show that the Raman signature in the terahertz spectral range (< 100 cm$^{-1}$) contains information on the intermolecular assembly of guanine in tetrads, which allows to further boost the oxidative damage detection limit. Eventually, we provide evidence that similar analyses can be carried out on samples in very small volumes at very low concentrations by exploiting the high sensitivity of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering combined with properly designed superhydrophobic substrates. These results pave the way for employing such advanced spectroscopic methods for quantitatively sensing the oxidative damage of nucleotides in the cell.

physics.chem-ph

Temperature dependence of the surface plasmon resonance in small electron gas fragments, self consistent field approximation

The temperature dependence of the surface plasmon resonance in small metal spheres is calculated using an electron gas model within the Random Phase Approximation. The calculation is mainly devoted to the study of spheres with diameters up to at least 10 nm, where quantum effects can still be relevant and simple plasmon pole approximation for the dielectric function is no more appropriate. We find a possible blue shift of the plasmon resonance position when the temperature is increased while keeping the size of the sphere fixed. The blue shift is appreciable only when the temperature is a large fraction of the Fermi energy. These results provide a guide for pump and probe experiments with a high time resolution, and tailored to study the excited electron system before thermalisation with the lattice takes place.

cond-mat.mes-hall