We present a feasibility study for loading cold atomic clouds into magnetic traps created by singlewall carbon nanotubes grown directly onto dielectric surfaces. We show that atoms may be captured for experimentally sustainable nanotube currents, generating trapped clouds whose densities and lifetimes are sufficient to enable detection by simple imaging methods. This opens the way for a novel type of conductor to be used in atomchips, enabling atom trapping at sub-micron distances, with implications for both fundamental studies and for technological applications.

In situ XRD and IR optical measurements demonstrate the coexistence of M1 and R phases during the SMT transition of VO2 thin films.

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The resistive switching behaviour observed in micro scale memristors based on laser ablated ZnO and VO2 is reported. A comparison between the two materials is reported against an active device size. The results show that devices up to 300 × 300 μm2 exhibit a memristive behaviour regardless of the device size, and 100 × 100 μm2 ZnO-based memristors have the best resistance off/on ratio

We report an investigation of selective quantum-well intermixing (QWI) in 1.3-µm GaInNAs/GaAs multi quantum wells by silica-cap-induced disordering processes. After thermal annealing under specific conditions, controlled shifts of band gap at room temperature of over 200 nm have been observed in sputtered SiO2-capped samples, while uncapped and SiO2-capped samples by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition demonstrated negligible shift. This selective modification of the band gap in GaInNAs quantum wells has been confirmed by detailed photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, and by secondary ion mass spectrometry. The controlled tuning of the band gap of GaInNAs/GaAs by QWI is important for a wide range of photonic integrated circuits and advanced device applications

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We report on incorrect carrier type identification achieved by Hall effect measurements performed on ZnO films grown by pulsed laser deposition on InP substrates and subsequently annealed for 1 h at 600 °C in air. While Hall measurements, after post-growth annealing, reveal a change in the electrical properties of the films, from n-type to p-type, both photocurrent-based and standard C−V measurements performed on the same samples show no change in the native n-type doping of the ZnO films. A possible interpretation of the two results is reported. In particular, p-type conductivity observed by Hall effect may be ascribed to a highly conductive thin layer formed during the annealing process at the ZnO/InP interface, which dominates the Hall effect measurements and does not influence the photo-electrochemical behavior of ZnO as well as the measured differential capacitance. The conflicting results here reported show that for this kind of samples, Hall effect measurement can be misleading with respect to the real nature of the analyzed material, instead both C−V and photocurrent-based characterization techniques are more reliable and therefore could be alternatively used when particularly ambiguous results are expected by Hall effect measurements.