Topological defects (TDs) appear in all branches of physics due to the simplicity of generic mechanisms: the necessary condition for their existence is spontaneous symmetry breaking in a relevant physical field. Nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) represent an ideal testbed for their study and they can display point, line, textures, and in favorable conditions also wall defects. TDs could be in NLCs relatively

In this paper an optimized process flow of near‐surface quantum well MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors) based on planar layers of MOVPE (metalorganic vapor‐phase epitaxy) grown InxGa1‐xAs is presented. It is found that by an optimized pre‐growth cleaning and post metal anneal the quality of the MOS structure can be greatly enhanced. This optimization is a first step towards

Owing to its unique optical and spin properties, the nitrogen‐vacancy NV centre holds the promise of a diamond‐based room‐temperature scalable quantum computer, but the numerous technical and physical issues were not yet overcome, especially the poor N to NV conversion. The NV and other colour centres are however successfully used as multitasking quantum sensors, and opened new routes in quantum sensing

In this paper the tensile creep behavior and microstructure evolution of as‐cast Mg‐9.82Gd‐0.38Zr alloy under different stresses at 250 °C were investigated. The results of creep test showed that the creep strain and steady creep rate increased with the creep stress at 250 °C. The fitted stress exponent n value (4.4) and TEM analysis suggested that the steady creep was dominated by dislocation climb

Flexible InGaZnO thin‐film transistors (TFTs) have been extensively investigated over the last decade with an aim to transferring electronic devices from rigid substrates to light‐weight, soft and flexible ones, and the recent developments in this field are reflected in this review. Firstly, an introduction to flexible InGaZnO TFT is provided, where the superiority over its rigid counterparts is illustrated

Hybrid halide perovskite solar cells have drawn widespread attention with the achievement of high power conversion efficiencies. However, poor stability remains the greatest barrier preventing their commercialization. Performance degradation and recovery has a complicated dependence on the environment as well as a dependence on the applied bias, which affects ion migration. In this study, we compare

The development of high quality GaN epitaxy with thick drift layer, low controllable doping and high mobility is key for vertical high power devices. In this paper, the effect of increasing TMGa molar flow rate on the growth rate, impurity incorporation, charge compensation, surface morphology and carrier mobility were systematically studied. An optimized MOCVD GaN growth condition with a typical growth

In recent years, PLZST‐based antiferroelectric (AFE) materials have been generally examined, and research demonstrates that the content of each material component has a significant impact on the performance. However, a majority of the investigations focused on a 2 mol% La content. In this study, PLZST AFE thick films with 6 mol% La content and a changed Zr/Ti ratio were prepared using the rolling process

Group‐IV monochalcogenides with unique two‐dimensional (2D) puckered honeycomb structure (MX, M=Ge, Sn/X=S, Se) have a great prospect in the gas sensor field. In this work, an exploratory study on 2D SnS was synthesized through a solvothermal method, is performed for promising methanol sensor. In order to break through the inhibition of the general agglomeration and poor conductivity of solvothermal

A thermodynamic model is established to investigate the effects of internal stress in PbZrO3 (PZ) antiferroelectric (AFE) film on barocaloric effect (BCE), electrocaloric effect (ECE), and energy storage properties. It is found that the internal stress could change the phase transition behaviors and free energy barriers among AFE, ferroelectric (FE), and paraelectric (PE) phases. For BCE, it occurs

In this work, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and absorption spectroscopy were used to investigate the band alignment in vertical graphene/MoS2/FTO heterostructure and its influence on the resulting photoelectric response. The measured Conduction Band Offset (CBO) value (0.65 eV) was found to be identical for both interfaces, while the corresponding Valence Band Offset (VBO) values were found

Dear Reader, In July 2021 physica status solidi (pss) reaches an epic milestone: 60 years of editing, publishing, distributing, and archiving high‐quality materials physics and condensed‐matter research. pss has witnessed six decades of tremendous scientific progress that has changed the way we live. With semiconductor physics laying the foundations for the development of computer electronics and digital

1 The Field and The ICREM Energetic particle beams are of paramount importance in nature, as well as in modern day science and industry. For example, while studying material properties, one directs an appropriate beam of particles into a material and collects the interaction data. Moreover, modifications of materials with particles beams—also known in literature as radiation effects—are extremely many

Although insertion of a thin insulating layer between metal electrodes and a semiconducting channel is an effective way to improve device performance, the exact reason for improvement in performance has not been elucidated. In this study, we systematically investigated the role of an Al2O3 interlayer sandwiched between Al metal electrodes and an amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide semiconducting channel

In this work, a spin‐coating free method to deposit CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films with large grains is demonstrated. The effect of processing temperature on the property of hybrid lead halide perovskite films is investigated. It is found that the grain domain size can be enlarged by increasing processing temperature. Dense and uniform CH3NH3PbI3 films with grain domain size close to 1 mm can be obtained

The influence of polar and nonpolar crystallographic orientations of ZnO substrates on the current transport mechanism in PEDOT:PSS/ZnO heterojunctions is investigated by DC and AC electrical measurements. It is shown that PEDOT:PSS forms high‐quality rectifying junctions on nonpolar planes of n‐type ZnO substrates, while on polar c‐planes, the quality of the junction is affected by the surface polarity

Phys. Status Solidi A 2019, 216, 1900562 DOI: 10.1002/pssa.201900562 In the originally published article, Equations (6-6)–(10), (13), (19), (20), (26) and some Equations in Table 1 and 2 were incorrect. The correct Equations and Tables can be found below. The author apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused. Z ( x ) T ( x ) = Constant = S 2 ( x ) T ( x ) λ ( x ) ρ ( x ) = S 2 ( x ) T C

Professor Alexander A. Kaminskii, known for his highly influential publications and books on laser crystals and related materials, passed away on 29 October 2019, shortly after publishing his last papers in the same year. Alexander A. Kaminskii was born in Moscow, USSR, on 23 October 1934. The family went to Kazan, which is located on the banks of the Volga River, and young Alexander entered Kazan