Publications

Spectral and transport properties of electrons in confined phosphorene systems are investigated in a five hopping parameter tight-binding model, using analytical and numerical techniques. The main emphasis is on the properties of the topological edge states accommodated by the quasiflat band that characterizes the phosphorene energy spectrum. We show, in the particular case of phosphorene, how the breaking of the bipartite lattice structure gives rise to the electron-hole asymmetry of the energy spectrum. The properties of the topological edge states in the zigzag nanoribbons are analyzed under different aspects: degeneracy, localization, extension in the Brillouin zone, dispersion of the quasiflat band in magnetic field. The finite-size phosphorene plaquette exhibits a Hofstadter-type spectrum made up of two unequal butterflies separated by a gap, where a quasiflat band composed of zigzag edge states is located. The transport properties are investigated by simulating a four-lead Hall device (importantly, all leads are attached on the same zigzag side), and using the Landauer-Buttiker formalism. We find out that the chiral edge states due to the magnetic field yield quantum Hall plateaus, but the topological edge states in the gap do not support the quantum Hall effect and prove a dissipative behavior. By calculating the complex eigenenergies of the non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonian that describes the open system (plaquette+leads), we prove the superradiance effect in the energy range of the quasiflat band, with consequences for the density of states and electron transmission properties.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a consecrated biomaterial for bone reconstruction. In the form of thin films deposited by pulsed laser technologies, it can be used to cover metallic implants aiming to increase biocompatibility and osseointegration rate. HA of animal origin (bovine, BHA) reinforced with MgF2 (2 wt.%) or MgO (5 wt.%) were used for deposition of thin coatings with improved adherence, biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity. For pulsed laser deposition experiments, a KrF* (lambda = 248 nm, T-EWHM <= 25 ns) excimer laser source was used. The deposited structures were characterized from a physical-chemical point of view by X-Ray Diffraction, Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy in top- and cross-view modes, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy and Pull-out adherence tests. The microbiological assay using the HEp-2 cell line revealed that all target materials and deposited thin films are non-cytotoxic. We conducted tests on three strains isolated from patients with dental implants failure, i.e. Microccocus sp., Enterobacter sp. and Candida albi cans sp. The most significant anti-biofilm effect against Microcococcus sp. strain, at 72 h, was obtained in the presence of BHA:MgO thin films. For Enterobacter sp. strain a superior antimicrobial activity at 72 h was noticed, in respect with simple BHA or Ti control. The enhanced antimicrobial performances, correlated with good cytocompatibility and mechanical properties recommend these biomaterials as an alternative to synthetic HA for the fabrication of reliable implant coatings for dentistry and other applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The article presents the fabrication and characterization of NV (non-volatile) memory devices based on SiO2/Ge/SiO2 trilayer structures on Si wafers. The trilayer structures were obtained by using the magnetron sputtering method for the deposition of gate SiO2 and intermediate Ge layers and the rapid thermal oxidation for the growth of tunnel SiO2 layer. Rapid thermal annealing was performed for obtaining Ge nanocrystals embedded in the SiO2 gate oxide, as charge-storage elements. Two NV cross bar memory structures based on two cell sizes of 300x300 and 100x100m(2) were manufactured. Capacity-voltage curves were measured on the memory devices, at different frequencies in the 1kHz-10MHz range at room temperature (RT) for evidencing the hysteresis loops and for showing that the devices keep memory in time at these frequencies. We have obtained capacity-voltage hysteresis curves with large memory window up to 2V. We demonstrate that the trilayer structure SiO2/Ge/SiO2/on Si with Ge NCs embedded in the SiO2 gate oxide is suitable for NV memory applications having a large number of cells.

TEMPO stable free radical has been supported on porous silica nanoparticles in different ways and the resulted materials have been tested as heterogeneous oxidation catalyst of three benzylic alcohols using air as final oxidant and nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate as cocatalyst. Good to excellent yields were obtained. The catalytic system consists in fact in two coupled cycles, NO/NO2 and TEMPO+/TEMPO, able to convert under mild conditions (room temperature, air, metal and halogen free condition) alcohols into aldehydes or ketones. Under these conditions, supported TEMPO on silica nanoparticles containing gold clusters lowers the efficiency of the catalyst.

Implant-associated infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. This study was performed using titanium,samples coated by anodization with a titanium dioxide (TiO2) shielded nanotube layer. TiO2/Ti surface was modified by simple immersion in torularhodin solution and by using a mussel-inspired method based on polydopamine as bio adhesive for torularhodin immobilization. SEM analysis revealed tubular microstructures of torularhodin and the PDA ability to function as a catchy anchor between torularhodin and TiO2 surface. Corrosion resistance was associated with TiO2 barrier oxide layer and nano-organized oxide layer and the torularhodin surface modification does not bring significant changes in resistance of the oxide layer. Our results demonstrated that the torularhodin modified TiO2/Ti surface could effectively prevent adhesion and proliferation of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The new modified titanium surface showed good biocompatibility and well-behaved haemocompatibility. This biomaterial with enhanced antimicrobial activity holds great potential for future biomedical applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanostructured Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 (BST) with 5 molar % of Lanthanum (La) have been synthesized using a high pressure hydrothermal chemical route. The structural and morphological investigations were performed. Termogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry and Raman investigations have been also employed to analyse the as-prepared material. The gas sensing investigations have indicated the ability of La doped BST to detect ammonia, when operated at room temperature in humid background. The obtained results were discussed with respect to the possible gas-sill-face interaction mechanism. In addition, the said material showed low cross-sensitivity to other possible interfering gases: methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide.

Circular buried depressed-cladding waveguides have been inscribed in Nd:YAG ceramic media by direct writing with a femtosecond-laser beam. A classical step-by-step translation of the medium method, as well as a newly developed helical-moving technique, were employed to fabricate waveguides with 100-mu m diameter. Laser emission has been obtained under the pump with a fiber-coupled diode laser. Continuous-wave output power of 3.1 W at 1.06 mu m and 1.6 W at 1.3 mu m were achieved from a waveguide inscribed by helical movement in a 4.5-mm-long 1.1-at.% Nd:YAG; the overall optical-to-optical efficiency with respect to the absorbed pump power was 0.31 at 1.06 mu m and 0.17 at 1.3 mu m. Q-switch operation has been realized with Cr4+:YAG saturable absorber crystal. Using Cr4+:YAG with initial transmission of 0.90, an average output power of 680 2W has been measured from a waveguide that was written by the classical method in a 7.7-mm-long 1.1-at.% Nd:YAG ceramic. The laser pulse energy was 19.7 mu J, and the pulse peak power reached 7 kW.

Thin films of 5 and 10-layered sol gel TiO2 were doped with 1.2 at.% Nb and their structural, optical and electrical properties were investigated. The films crystallized only in anatase phase, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction analyses. High resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed nanosized crystallites with amorphous boundaries. Current-voltage measurements on metal-TiO2 Si structures showed the formation of ri+ n heterojunction at the TiO2-Si interface with a rectification ratio of 10(4). The effective donor density varies between 10(16) and 10(17) cm(-3), depending on film thickness. The sheet energy densities under forward and reverse bias are in the order of 10(12) and 10(10) cm(-2) respectively. These values and the high specific resistivity (10(4) Omega cm) support the existence of compensating acceptor levels in these films. It was established that the conduction mechanism is based on space charge limited current via deep levels with different energy positions in the band gap. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical deposition allows the preparation of ZnO nanostructures with precisely controlled morphology and properties, by finely tuning the process parameters. ZnO nanowires were deposited onto gold substrates by electrodeposition from a low concentration zinc nitrate bath Photolithography was employed for patterning interdigitated electrode systems onto silicon/silicon dioxide substrates and ZnO electrodeposition lead to wires connected to each other by bridging neighboring interdigits allowing electronic transport characterization. Optical measurements, i.e. reflection and photoluminescence spectroscopy, were performed and the results were correlated to electronic transport data. We found that we deal with a system for which one can apply a model of space charge limited currents with different traps energy distribution as a consequence of electrodeposition rate. Current versus temperature measurements show different behavior for lower and higher range of temperatures. Such nanowires, fabricated and contacted in a straightforward way, allow a wide area of applications ranging from conductometric bio- or chemo-sensors to optoelectronic devices. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We investigate the effect of silver addition to polycrystalline SmFeAsO1-x F (x) (Sm-1111) superconductor. Transport and magnetic measurement data reveal the enhancement of the magnetic fluctuation with increasing silver content.