Solvothermally Synthesized Sb2Te3 Platelets Show Unexpected Optical Contrasts in Mid-Infrared Near-Field Scanning Microscopy.

Nano Lett

†Institute of Physics (IA) and JARA - Fundamentals of Future Information Technologies, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany.

Published: May 2015

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study examines the optical properties of nanoscale Sb2Te3 hexagonal platelets that were created using solvothermal synthesis.
  • Using mid-infrared near-field microscopy, researchers discovered a unique and symmetric pattern throughout the platelet, linked to a growth spiral.
  • The optical contrast observed is due to varying densities of charge carriers, which were not present in Sb2Te3 samples grown using different methods.

Article Abstract

We report nanoscale-resolved optical investigations on the local material properties of Sb2Te3 hexagonal platelets grown by solvothermal synthesis. Using mid-infrared near-field microscopy, we find a highly symmetric pattern, which is correlated to a growth spiral and which extends over the entire platelet. As the origin of the optical contrast, we identify domains with different densities of charge carriers. On Sb2Te3 samples grown by other means, we did not find a comparable domain structure.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl503697cDOI Listing

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