Category archives: Physics

What the heck is a phonon?

What the heck is a phonon?

Condensed matterPhysics

By DIPC

We tacitly assume that perfect order exists throughout crystalline materials on an atomic scale when we discuss crystals in general. However, such an idealized solid does not exist at all in nature. All of them contain large numbers of various defects or imperfections. As a matter of fact, many of the properties of materials are […]

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

For centuries, metals were employed in optical applications only as mirrors and gratings. New vistas opened up in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the use of surface plasmon (collective electronic oscillations at the surface of metals) resonances for sensing. However, it was not until the 1990s […]

A new benchmark for any future models of solid-state photoemission

A new benchmark for any future models of solid-state photoemission

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

In 1882, Heinrich Hertz devoted himself to the study of electromagnetism, including the recent and still generally unappreciated work of Maxwell. Two years later he began his famous series of experiments with electromagnetic waves. During the course of this work, Hertz discovered the photoelectric effect, which has had a profound influence on modern physics. The […]

Materials for raising the temperature of the quantized anomalous Hall and magnetoelectric effects

Materials for raising the temperature of the quantized anomalous Hall and magnetoelectric effects

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their edge or surface. The conducting surface is not what makes topological insulators unique, but the fact that it is protected due to the combination of spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry. Researchers are chasing efficient […]

Recovering native chemical information from surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Recovering native chemical information from surface-enhanced Raman scattering

ChemistryCondensed matterPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

For centuries, metals were employed in optical applications only as mirrors and gratings. New vistas opened up in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the use of surface plasmon (collective electronic oscillations at the surface of metals) resonances for sensing. However, it was not until the 1990s […]

First case of observed current asymmetries in single chiral molecular junctions

First case of observed current asymmetries in single chiral molecular junctions

Condensed matterPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

We have considered in some previous articles the importance of the spin-orbit interaction. But it is interesting to go through some basic concepts we have seen elsewhere once again in order to grasp the surprising discovery we will be talking about below. The analogy for the spin usually goes this way: Imagine that the electron […]

Tuning graphene adsorption continuously

Tuning graphene adsorption continuously

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysics

By DIPC

Since the discovery that graphene, the two dimensional carbon allotrope, can be isolated and incorporated into electronic devices intense research efforts have been triggered. Driving forces behind the experimental and theoretical studies of graphene are, e.g., the exceptional electronic properties, in particular the high electron mobilities, the long spin coherence lengths and the possibility to […]

Magneto-optical activity of a nonmagnetic organic compound

Magneto-optical activity of a nonmagnetic organic compound

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysics

By DIPC

We know that incident light can provoke a strong optical response in metallic nanostructures due to the excitation of resonant plasmonic modes, i.e, the electrons in the metal become excited by the photons in the incident light and oscillate collectively. Plasmonic nanoparticles can significantly modify the optical properties of nearby organic molecules and thus present […]