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Ghosh, Subhajit

Publications and source records attributed to Ghosh, Subhajit.

Temperature Dependence of Low‐Frequency Noise Characteristics of NiO x /β‐Ga 2 O 3 p–n Heterojunction Diodes

Temperature dependence of the low-frequency electronic noise in NiO x /β-Ga 2 O 3 p–n heterojunction diodes is reported. The noise spectral density is of the 1/f-type near room temperature but shows signatures of Lorentzian components at elevated temperatures and at higher current levels (f is the frequency). It is observed that there is an intriguing non-monotonic dependence of the noise on temperature near T = 380 K. The Raman spectroscopy of the device structure suggests material changes, which results in reduced noise above this temperature. The normalized noise spectral density in such diodes is determined to be on the order of 10 −14 cm 2 Hz −1 (f = 10 Hz) at 0.1 A cm −2 current density. In terms of the noise level, NiO x /β-Ga 2 O 3 p–n diodes perform excellently for new technology and occupy an intermediate position among devices of various designs implemented with different ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductors. The obtained results are important for understanding the electronic properties of NiO x /β-Ga 2 O 3 heterojunctions and contribute to the development of noise spectroscopy as the quality assessment tool for new electronic materials and device technologies.

1/f noise↗

The magnificent ACT of flavor-specific neutrino self-interaction

Here we revisit the cosmology of neutrino self-interaction and use the latest cosmic microwave background data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Planck experiment to constrain the interaction strength. In both flavor-universal and nonuniversal coupling scenarios, we find that the ACT data prefers strong neutrino self-interaction that delays neutrino free streaming until just before the matter-radiation equality. When combined with the Planck 2018 data, the preference for strong interaction decreases due to the Planck polarization data. For the combined dataset, the flavor-specific interaction still provides a better fit to the CMB data than ΛCDM. This trend persists even when neutrino mass is taken into account and extra radiation is added. We also study the prospect of constraining such strong interaction by future terrestrial and space telescopes, and find that the upcoming CMB-S4 experiment will improve the upper limit on neutrino self-interaction by about a factor of three.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Neutrino self-interactions: A white paper

Neutrinos are the Standard Model (SM) particles which we understand the least, often due to how weakly they interact with the other SM particles. Beyond this, very little is known about interactions among the neutrinos, i.e., their self-interactions. The SM predicts neutrino self-interactions at a level beyond any current experimental capabilities, leaving open the possibility for beyond-the-SM interactions across many energy scales. In this white paper, we review the current knowledge of neutrino self-interactions from a vast array of probes, from cosmology, to astrophysics, to the laboratory. Furthermore, we also discuss theoretical motivations for such self-interactions, including neutrino masses and possible connections to dark matter. Looking forward, we discuss the capabilities of searches in the next generation and beyond, highlighting the possibility of future discovery of this beyond-the-SM physics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Low-frequency noise in β-(Al x Ga1 −x )2O3 Schottky barrier diodes

We report on the low-frequency electronic noise in β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 Schottky barrier diodes. The noise spectral density reveals 1/f dependence, characteristic of the flicker noise, with superimposed Lorentzian bulges at the intermediate current levels (f is the frequency). The normalized noise spectral density in such diodes was determined to be on the order of 10−12 cm2/Hz (f = 10 Hz) at 1 A/cm2 current density. At the intermediate current regime, we observed the random telegraph signal noise, correlated with the appearance of Lorentzian bulges in the noise spectrum. The random telegraph signal noise was attributed to the defects near the Schottky barrier. The defects can affect the local electric field and the potential barrier and, correspondingly, impact the electric current. The obtained results help in understanding the noise in Schottky barrier diodes made of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors and can be used for the material and device quality assessment.

Physics↗

Phonon modes and Raman signatures of MnBi 2n Te 3n+1 (n=1,2,3,4) magnetic topological heterostructures

An intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi 2 Te 4 arises when intercalating a Mn-Te bilayer chain in a topological insulator, Bi 2 Te 3 . We present observations on the inter- and intralayer phonon modes of the generalized MnBi 2n Te 3n+1 (n=1,2,3,4) family using cryogenic low-frequency Raman spectroscopy with various polarization configurations. Two peaks at 66 and 112 cm –1 show abnormal perturbation in Raman linewidths below magnetic transition temperature due to spin-phonon coupling. In MnBi 4 Te 7 , B i2 Te 3 layers induce Davydov splitting of the A1g mode around 137 cm –1 at 5 K. The out-of-plane interlayer force constant estimated using the linear chain model was (3.98±0.14)×10 19 N/m 3 , three times weaker than that of Bi 2 Te 3 . Adding more Bi 2 Te 3 layers, such as MnBi 6 Te 10 and MnBi 8 Te 13 , makes Bi 2 Te 3 properties more dominant than magnetic properties. Our work experimentally and theoretically discovers the dynamics of phonon modes of MnBi 2n Te 3n+ 1 family, facilitating utilization of magnetic topological heterostructures.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Excess noise in high-current diamond diodes

We report the results of an investigation of low-frequency excess noise in high-current diamond diodes. It was found that the electronic excess noise of the diamond diodes is dominated by the 1/f and generation-recombination noise, which reveals itself as Lorentzian spectral features (f is the frequency). The generation-recombination bulges are characteristic of diamond diodes with lower turn-on voltages. The noise spectral density dependence on forward current, I, reveals three distinctive regions in all examined devices—it scales as I 2 at the low (I < 10 μA) and high (I > 10 mA) currents and, rather unusually, remains nearly constant at the intermediate current range. The characteristic trap time constants, extracted from the noise data, show a uniquely strong dependence on current. Interestingly, the performance of the diamond diodes improves with the increasing temperature. The obtained results are important for the development of noise spectroscopy-based approaches for device reliability assessment for high-power diamond electronics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Low-frequency noise characteristics of GaN vertical PIN diodes—Effects of design, current, and temperature

We report low-frequency noise characteristics of vertical GaN PIN diodes, focusing on the effects of the diode design, current, and temperature. The as-grown and regrown diodes, with and without surface treatment, have been studied. The noise in most of the GaN devices had a characteristic 1/f spectrum at high and moderate currents, while some devices revealed generation-recombination bulges at low currents (f is the frequency). The predominant trend of the noise spectral density, S I , dependence on the current was S I ~ I. All tested GaN PIN diodes had rather low normalized noise spectral densities of 10 –18 –10 –16 cm 2 /Hz (f = 10 Hz) at the current density J = 1 A/cm 2 at room temperature. The noise temperature dependences at different currents revealed peaks at T = 375–400 K. Temperature, current, and frequency dependences of noise suggest that the noise mechanism is of the recombination origin. Here, we argue that the noise measurements at low currents can be used to efficiently assess the quality of GaN PIN diodes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Low-Frequency Electronic Noise in Quasi-2D van der Waals Antiferromagnetic Semiconductor FePS 3 —Signatures of Phase Transitions

Here, low-frequency current fluctuations, i.e., noise, in the quasi-2D van der Waals antiferromagnetic semiconductor FePS 3 with the electronic bandgap of 1.5 eV is investigated. The electrical and noise characteristics of the p-type, highly resistive, thin films of FePS 3 are measured at different temperatures. The noise spectral density is of the 1/f-type over most of the examined temperature range but reveals well-defined Lorentzian bulges, and increases strongly near the Néel temperature T N =118 K (f is the frequency). Intriguingly, the noise spectral density attains its minimum at temperature T≈200 K, which is attributed to an interplay of two opposite trends in noise scaling—one for semiconductors and another for materials with the phase transitions. The Lorentzian corner frequencies reveal unusual dependence on temperature and bias voltage, suggesting that their origin is different from the generation—recombination noise in conventional semiconductors. The obtained results are important for proposed applications of antiferromagnetic semiconductors in spintronic devices. They also attest to the power of the noise spectroscopy for monitoring various phase transitions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Flavor-specific interaction favors strong neutrino self-coupling in the early universe

Flavor-universal neutrino self-interaction has been shown to ease the tension between the values of the Hubble constant measured from early and late Universe data. Here, we introduce a self-interaction structure that is flavor-specific in the three active neutrino framework. This is motivated by the stringent constraints on new secret interactions among electron and muon neutrinos from several laboratory experiments. Our study indicates the presence of a strongly interaction mode which implies a late-decoupling of the neutrinos just prior to matter radiation equality. Using the degeneracy of the coupling strength with other cosmological parameters, we explain the origin of this new mode as a result of better fit to certain features in the CMB data. We find that if only one or two of the three active neutrino flavors are interacting, then the statistical significance of the strongly-interacting neutrino mode increases substantially relative to the flavor-universal scenario. However, the central value of the coupling strength for this interaction mode does not change by any appreciable amount in the flavor-specific cases. We also briefly analyze a scenario with more than three neutrino species of which only one is self-interacting. In none of the cases, we find a large enough Hubble constant that could resolve the so-called Hubble tension.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗