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We investigate the nonequilibrium electronic structure of 1T-TaS2 by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We observe that strong photoexcitation induces the collapse of the Mott gap, leading to the photo-induced metallic phase. It is also found that the oscillation of photoemission intensity occurs as a result of the excitations of coherent phonons corresponding to the amplitude mode of the charge density wave (CDW). To study the dynamical change of the band dispersions modulated by the CDW amplitude mode, we perform analyses by using frequency-domain angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (FDARPES). We find that two different peak structures exhibit anti-phase oscillation with respect to each other by retrieving the amplitude and phase parts of the FDARPES spectra. They are attributed to the minimum and maximum band positions in energy, where the single band is oscillating between them synchronizing with the CDW amplitude mode. We further find that the flat band constructed as a result of CDW band folding survives during the oscillation while the Mott gap is significantly reduced. Our results suggest the CDW phase is robust, and the lattice modulation corresponding to the CDW amplitude mode dynamically modulates the Mott gap., 7 pages, 5 figures

The inverse spinel ferrimagnetic NiCo$_2$O$_4$ possesses high magnetic Curie temperature $T_C$, high spin polarization, and strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy. Understanding the thickness scaling limit of these intriguing magnetic properties in NiCo$_2$O$_4$ thin films is critical for their implementation in nanoscale spintronic applications. In this work, we report the unconventional magnetotransport properties of epitaxial (001) NiCo$_2$O$_4$ films on MgAl$_2$O$_4$ substrates in the ultrathin limit. Anomalous Hall effect measurements reveal strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for films down to 1.5 unit cell (1.2 nm), while $T_C$ for 3 unit cell and thicker films remains above 300 K. The sign change in the anomalous Hall conductivity ($\sigma_{xy}$) and its scaling relation with the longitudinal conductivity ($\sigma_{xx}$) can be attributed to the competing effects between impurity scattering and band intrinsic Berry curvature, with the latter vanishing upon the thickness driven metal-insulator transition. Our study reveals the critical role of film thickness in tuning the relative strength of charge correlation, Berry phase effect, spin orbit interaction, and impurity scattering, providing important material information for designing scalable epitaxial magnetic tunnel junctions and sensing devices using NiCo$_2$O$_4$., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

We have performed in-plane electrical transport and polarized Raman spectroscopy measurements on layered material CuTe to characterize the quasi-one-dimensional charge density wave (CDW). Along with the CDW formation below TCDW ∼346 K, the a-axis resistivity shows a huge hump, but the b-axis resistivity exhibits no evident anomaly, manifesting the quasi-one-dimensional character of the CDW. Concomitantly, a rapid rise in positive Hall coefficient is observed due to partial gaping out of the Fermi surface. Based on our Raman scattering measurement, we observe two Raman-active phonon modes in the non-CDW state and, additionally, one collective amplitude mode and four zone-folded modes in the CDW state. The phonon-mode shift with temperature clearly deviates from the expected anharmonic model upon approaching TCDW, suggesting strong electron–phonon coupling in driving the CDW transition. The amplitude mode even survives at room temperature and above, whose evolution can be described by a modified mean-field model, indicating a well-defined CDW order. These results, in addition to the simple formula and easy-to-exfoliate layered structure, promise CuTe as a model system to study the Peierls-like CDW physics and hold great potentials for CDW-based applications.

Recently, the important role of high-order anharmonic phonon–phonon interactions has been revealed in several materials, such as cubic boron arsenide (BAs), in which the wide phononic energy gap is found to be a critical factor causing the importance of four-phonon scattering. In this work, by solving the Boltzmann transport equation, we show that the four-phonon scattering has a significant impact on the thermal transport in honeycomb structured monolayer BAs (m-BAs) and its hydrogenated bilayer counterparts (bi-BAs). The lattice thermal conductivity (κ L) values of all these structures are reduced after considering four-phonon scattering. Particularly, a huge drop in κ L as large as 80% is observed for m-BAs compared to the case without four-phonon scattering, which is mainly caused by the suppression of phonon lifetimes. More interestingly, as opposed to the case of graphene, κ L of m-BAs is abnormally lower than its bi-BAs counterparts, which is attributed to the much larger phonon scattering rate in m-BAs compared to that in bi-BAs. By further comparing BAs sheets with and without horizontal mirror symmetry, it is found that the contribution of flexural acoustic phonon exhibits most significant reduction in both mi-BAs and bi-BAs with horizontal mirror symmetry after including four-phonon scattering. This work provides physical understanding of the role of mirror symmetry and high-order phonon scattering on the thermal transport in two-dimensional materials.

We report on time-resolved broadband transient reflectivity (tr-bb-TR) measurements performed on a bulk single crystal of T$_d$-MoTe$_2$ as a function of the incident pump fluence (F). Tr-bb-TR data unveil photoinduced electronic changes progressing on the sub-picosecond timescale as well as the dynamics of the coherent low-frequency $^1A_1$ interlayer shear phonon. Our results indicate a gradual evolution of both the TR and the $^1A_1$ Fourier intensity spectra as a function of F, ruling out the threshold-like change that has been associated with the ultrafast photoinduced $T_d \to 1T'$ phase transition. We also observe a large redshift of the $^1A_1$ Fourier spectral features, which suggests that large renormalization effects are taking place on interband transitions that are dielectrically susceptible to the $^1A_1$ interlayer phonon displacement., 15 pages, 3 figures

Quantum computing relies on the operation of qubits in an environment as free of noise as possible. This work reports on measuring the impact of environmental radiation on lifetimes of fixed frequency transmon qubits with various capacitor pad geometries by varying the amount of shielding used in the measurement space. It was found that the qubit lifetimes are robust against these shielding changes until the most extreme limit was tested without a mixing chamber shield in the refrigerator. In contrast, the quasiparticle tunneling rates were found to be extremely sensitive to all configurations tested, indicating these devices are not yet limited by losses related to superconducting quasiparticles., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, and 2 tables

Integration of superconducting devices on photonic platforms opens up a wide range of functionalities and applications. We report on NbTiN thin films deposited on SiO2, Si3N4, GaAs, LiNbO3, and AlN as well as on a monolayer of hexagonal boron nitride, using a universal reactive co-sputtering recipe. The morphology and the superconducting properties of the NbTiN thin films with a thickness of 10 nm were characterized by atomic force microscopy and electrical transport measurements. Superconducting strip photon detectors were fabricated using a design suitable for waveguide integration and compared in terms of their internal quantum efficiency and detection pulse kinetics. Our results show well-comparable performances for detectors integrated on different platforms, while also demonstrating that reactive co-sputter deposition of NbTiN at room temperature provides a robust method for realizing superconducting devices on various materials.

We report on c-plane InGaN/GaN single quantum well (QW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of different well widths (3 or 9 nm) with and without doped barriers. QW barriers were doped with the aim of reducing the internal electric field (FQW) in the QW to increase the electron-hole overlap, therefore increasing the recombination rates and resulting in the reduction of the efficiency droop. We, indeed, observed, through biased photocurrent spectroscopy, a reduction in FQW with doped barriers, with FQW being in the same direction of the p-n junction field at zero bias as opposed to the junction field for LEDs without doped barriers. Even with the improvement in the ground state wavefunction overlap, the ground state transition rate remains low for thick QWs. Transitions through excited states were observed for both thick QW LEDs with and without doped barriers. The thick QW LED without doped barriers displayed low external quantum efficiency (EQE), likely as a result of the carrier overflow due to the poor confinement of carriers in the excited states. On the other hand, for LEDs with doped barriers, the flatter band in the QW resulting from the lower FQW reduces the energy separation between the eigenstates, leading to better confinement of carriers in the excited states. With doped barriers, we demonstrated a low efficiency droop 9-nm-thick single QW LED with a peak EQE of 42% at 40 A/cm2 and an EQE of 36% at 400 A/cm2.

Niobium diselenide (NbSe2) is a layered transition metal dichalcogenide with novel quantum phases at low temperatures (T) such as superconductivity and charge density wave order. While its electronic correlations and the interaction between electrons and other collective modes have been explored extensively, a detailed study of the transport behavior of photo-excited charge carriers still remains elusive. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the photoresponse generated in homogenous NbSe2 nano-flakes near the superconducting critical temperature (Tc). By combining scanning photocurrent microscopy and classic photoconductivity measurements, three distinctive mechanisms of the photoresponse are established, including the band bending at the NbSe2–metal junction, the perturbation of the superconducting state, and the photo-bolometric effect. Among them, the photo-induced phase transition from the superconducting to normal state results in an extremely large photocurrent, which is tunable by the bias voltage and is consistent with the observation via the electrical transport characterization. The photoresponsivity of our device reaches 42.3 A/W, and the response time is less than 2 μs at T = 3.8 K for an excitation in the visible wavelength, whose performance could be further improved by optimizing the device design and the experimental condition. Our result sheds light on ultrasensitive broadband photodetection with atomically thin NbSe2 and points to a potential means of probing the correlated electronic phases by exploring light–matter interactions.

Hyperbolic crystals like {\alpha}-MoO$_3$ can support large wavevectors and photon density as compared to the commonly used dielectric crystals, which makes them a highly desirable platform for compact photonic devices. The extreme anisotropy of the dielectric constant in these crystals is intricately linked with the anisotropic character of the phonons, which along with photon confinement leads to the rich physics of phonon polaritons. However, the chiral nature of phonons in these hyperbolic crystals have not been studied in detail. In this study, we report our observations of helicity selective Raman scattering from flakes of {\alpha}-MoO$_3$. Both helicity-preserving and helicity-reversing Raman scattering are observed. We observe that helical selectivity is largely governed by the underlying crystal symmetry. This study shed light on the chiral character of the high symmetry phonons in these hyperbolic crystals. It paves the way for exploiting proposed schemes of coupling chiral phonon modes into propagating surface plasmon polaritons and for compact photonic circuits based on helical polarized light., Comment: The following article has been submitted to Applied Physics Letters

We report unconventional thermoelectric power (Seebeck coefficient, S) in L10 structured FePt films. The temperature dependence of S can be well fitted by a phenomenological expression consisting of electron diffusion and magnon-drag contributions. Interestingly, the magnon drag coefficient carries an opposite sign to that of electron diffusion, revealing a dominant contribution from the elusive electron-magnon Umklapp scattering. Density-functional theory calculations identify several bands crossing the Brillouin zone boundaries, facilitating the Umklapp process. The large spin–orbit coupling in FePt results in strong mixing of majority and minority spins among some of those bands, greatly enhancing the electron-magnon scattering.

It is widely believed that the undoped Mott insulator is crucial to understand the origin of high-TC superconductivity and the complex phase diagram in cuprates. Tetragonal CuO, the simplest structure among cuprates, is regarded as an archetypal model to explore the ground state physics of Mott insulator. Here, we report on the epitaxial growth and surface characterization of tetragonal CuO thin film by combining ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and multi-analytical techniques. In situ scanning tunneling microscopy measurement reveals two sets of Cu2+ square lattices with a reversed contrast of their apparent heights between neighboring domains. A spectroscopy study demonstrates an upper bound of the charge transfer gap as 3.68 eV, and quantitatively agrees with the previous photoemission and x-ray photoelectron results. Our work will deepen the understanding of high-energy electronic structures in parent cuprates.

Two-dimensional materials are known to possess emergent properties that are not found in their bulk counterparts. Recent experiments have shown a 7×3 charge density wave (CDW) in monolayer 1 T-VSe2, in contrast to the 4×4×3 phase in bulk. Here, via first-principles calculations, we show that multiple CDW phases compete in monolayer VSe2, the ground state of which can be tuned by charge doping. With doping, the 7×3 CDW of the pristine VSe2 transfers to a 4×4 or 3×3 phase, at critical doping concentrations of around 0.2 electrons per formula unit and 0.2 holes per formula unit, respectively. These transitions are further understood by analyzing the role of Fermi surface nesting and momentum-dependent electron–phonon coupling in monolayer 1T-VSe2. These results make VSe2 an appealing material for electronic devices based on controllable CDW phase transitions.

The antiperovskite oxide Sr3SnO has attracted substantial interest due to its topologically non-trivial band structure. Sr-deficient Sr3-xSnO can become superconducting, making it a candidate intrinsic topological superconductor. Here, we show that epitaxial, phase-pure Sr3-xSnO films can be synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using solid Sr and SnO2 sources. We show that Sn-rich growth conditions result in a large amount of a Sn-rich impurity phase, which is challenging to detect in x-ray diffraction. Carrier densities and the amount of the impurity phase change systematically with the growth conditions, indicating that MBE provides excellent control over the films' stoichiometry. We discuss the electrical properties, including quantum interference phenomena, which support the topological nature of the films.

We achieved substantially low thermal conductivity by introducing some crystal disorder into complex material BaSi2 films on Si substrates for realization of a high-performance thermoelectric material. The BaSi2 films/Si exhibited a low thermal conductivity of 0.96 W m−1 K−1 without nanostructuring, which is less than about two-thirds value of bulk BaSi2 and is the lowest among ecofriendly silicide materials. This substantially low thermal conductivity was brought by both the use of complex material with intrinsically low phonon group velocity and the introduction of point defects as the crystal disorder. The first-principles calculations revealed that the point defect modulates the phonon dispersion relation lowering longitudinal acoustic phonon group velocity. However, the transverse acoustic phonon group velocity was increased at the same time, resulting in a negligible change in average acoustic phonon group velocity. This indicated that the crystal disorder effect related to point defects in this system is enhancement of phonon scattering, not lowering phonon group velocity. The BaSi2 films/Si with point defects exhibited a higher thermoelectric power factor (2.9 μW cm−1 K−2) than bulk BaSi2. These results highlight that complex material BaSi2 film/Si with point defects, having substantially low thermal conductivity, is a candidate as a thermoelectric power generator material in the sensor network.

Charge density wave (CDW) phases native to the transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2 are probed through a graphene layer covering its surface by using local scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and transport measurements. We show that over a wide range of temperatures, the graphene cover, while protecting the air-sensitive 1T-TaS2 from oxidation, does not obstruct access to the electronic properties of the CDW. At room temperature, where the system is in the nearly commensurate CDW phase, we observe contiguous domains of the CDW phase separated by a network of topological defects. These topological defects, dubbed CDW vortices, form a lattice with a quasi-long range translational order, which resembles the Bragg glass phase in Abrikosov vortex lattices in type-II superconductors. While the quasi-long range order in the CDW itself is not uncommon, its existence in the CDW vortex lattice is observed here for the first time. Finally, when reducing the temperature to 78 K into the commensurate CDW phase, we find that the graphene cover layer acquires properties consistent with a proximity-induced CDW.

Atomically thin phases that crystallize on the surfaces of liquids above their melting point represent an emerging class of 2D crystals. Using AuSi as a model system, we show that their formation results in polycrystalline patterns that, unlike current generation 2D crystals, naturally coarsen as they form. The dynamics of the low-dimensional grain boundaries and their junctions is strongly coupled to the supporting liquid. The reorientation necessary for curvature driven interfacial kinetics entails diffusional dissipation with the liquid via mobile antisite defects, leading to a scale-independent power law dependence of the coarsening rate. Our study highlights natural thermal evolution of these polycrystals as a viable pathway for engineering the grain boundary networks in 2D surface crystals, motivating the search for a broader set of stable 2D surface crystals in multicomponent liquids and amorphous solids.

Epitaxial SrRu1−xSnxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) thin films were deposited on SrTiO3 (001) substrates by sequential two-target synthesis using pulsed laser deposition to achieve stable phases in this family of quaternary perovskites. The SrRu1−xSnxO3 films exhibit a good crystalline quality, a sharp interface between film and substrate, and an atomically smooth surface. A gradual expansion of the c-axis lattice parameter was observed with Sn doping serving as a means to tune chemical pressure and magnetism. With an increase in Sn doping, the resistivity of the film increased, and the ferromagnetism decreased. These results illustrate use of lattice engineering, e.g., tuning of c-axis lattice parameter with chemical doping, to control electronic and magnetic properties of epitaxial thin films for applications in oxide electronics.

We show that a ferromagnetic (F) slab with the in-plane magnetization sandwiched between two superconducting (S) films experiences strong demagnetization effect due to the Meissner screening of the stray magnetic field by the superconductors. In the extreme case the transition of the S films from normal to the superconducting state can switch the demagnetization factor from 0 to 1 which is in a sharp contrast with the S/F bilayers where such transition affects the magnetic field inside the F film only slightly. The giant demagnetization effect is shown to be qualitatively robust against the decreasing of the superconducting film thickness and may provide a hint towards the explanation of the anomalously large ferromagnetic resonance frequency shift recently observed for the S/F/S structures [I. A. Golovchanskiy, N. N. Abramov, V. S. Stolyarov, V. I. Chichkov, M. Silaev, I. V. Shchetinin, A. A. Golubov, V. V. Ryazanov, A. V. Ustinov, and M. Yu. Kuprianov, Phys. Rev. Appl. 14, 024086 (2020)]., Comment: 7 pages, 3 fugures

The tetrachalcogenide TaTe4 is known as an excellent example of a charge-density wave (CDW) system that has a commensurately modulated structure at room temperature. Using density function perturbation theory, we find that the unmodulated phase of TaTe4 has a giant Kohn anomaly at room temperature, which manifests itself as softened phonon modes at the CDW vector (1/2a*,1/2b*,1/3c*). Interestingly, after the application of 8 GPa hydrostatic pressure, this CDW instability can be effectively suppressed and disappears at room temperature. By studying the topology of the Fermi surface and the phonon linewidth, we show that the Kohn anomaly in TaTe4 is driven by a large electron–phonon coupling coefficient at the CDW vector and not by Fermi surface nesting.

The gate-tunable Josephson junction, generally achieved in planar Josephson field-effect transistors (JoFETs), is a key element for the applications of superconducting devices. At present, the performance of these systems with planar JoFETs is often impeded by the large channel length, which, at best, lies in the range of tens of nanometers. In contrast, the channel length in vertical junctions can be easily scaled down to nano-scale to realize the strong Josephson coupling. However, the vertical junctions are believed to be insensitive to the field-effect due to the atomic screening of electric fields in metals. Here, we report on a novel realization of few-layer black phosphorus (BP)-based vertical JoFETs using an electric-double-layer configuration. In transport experiments, using junctions of different shape, superconducting quantum interference device-like magnetic diffraction patterns of the junction critical current and anomalous Shapiro steps on current voltage characteristics are observed, strongly indicating that the critical current density in the junctions is highly inhomogeneous and peaked at the edges or even near the junction corners. The electric-field tunability of the Josephson coupling could be attributed to the edge- or corner-dominated supercurrent density profile combining with the carrier diffusivity in the few-layer BP. The ability to control the vertical Josephson coupling provides us with new opportunities to study high-performance and high-temperature superconducting Josephson field-effect transistors operating on an atomic-scale channel length.

We report on the effect of epitaxial strain on magnetic and optical properties of perovskite LaCrO3 (LCO) single crystal thin films. Epitaxial LCO thin films are grown by pulsed laser deposition on proper choice of substrates to impose different strain states. A combined experimental and theoretical approach is used to demonstrate the direct correlation between lattice-strain and functional properties. The magnetization results show that the lattice anisotropy plays a critical role in controlling the magnetic behavior of LCO films. The strain induced tetragonality in the film lattice strongly affects the optical transitions and charge transfer gap in LCO. This study opens new possibilities to tailoring the functional properties of LCO and related materials by strain engineering in epitaxial growth.

In this work, we investigate the electronic properties and thermoelectric performance of triangulene π-dimer junctions with the twist angle from 0° to 60° by using first-principles calculations in combination with a non-equilibrium Green's function method. It is found that the triangulene π-dimer can be transformed between nonmagnetic state and antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic state by varying the twist angle. The reason is that the relative rotation between the monomers weakens the overlap of two single occupied molecular orbital. More importantly, our theoretical analysis shows that the ferromagnetic states of the triangulene π-dimer junctions at the twist angle of 20°, 30°, and 60° have outstanding thermoelectric performance. The corresponding ZT value is as high as around 6, which is mainly contributed from the spin splitting nature. This work is instructive to improve the thermoelectric properties of π-stacking molecular junctions or organic polymers.

SnS that exhibits strong lattice anharmonicity and a structural phase transition between the Pnma and Cmcm phases has emerged as a high-performance thermoelectric material. Herein, the lattice dynamics of SnS have been investigated by molecular dynamics to reveal the soft mode mechanisms across the phase transition. We construct a first-principles-based machine-learning potential, which is capable of reproducing the dynamical nature of the structural phase transition of SnS. We reproduce an explicit softening of the zone-center phonon mode and unveil a similar behavior at the zone boundary U = (0.5, 0.0, 0.5) of SnS, which are attributed to the large anharmonicity induced by the phase transition. Our results reveal a non-monotonic temperature dependence of the linewidth of the soft modes beyond the perturbative regime. The zone-center optical soft mode collapses across the structural phase transition, corresponding to a second-order nature. These results pave the way for further phonon engineering of SnS and the related IV–VI thermoelectrics.

The response of non-magnetic impurities to superconductivity is useful to characterize the superconducting pairing symmetry. The s-wave superconductivity is not affected by the presence of non-magnetic impurities. However, the unconventional superconductivity responds to the non-magnetic impurities, inducing in-gap states in the superconducting gap. However, this characterization fails if non-magnetic impurities could induce magnetic moments in superconductors. Here, we used scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy to elucidate if non-magnetic impurities are irrelevant to magnetism in FeSe. To study this, we have grown FeSe films on the Pb(111) substrate. We find that the FeSe films are proximity-induced s-wave superconductors. By investigating various non-magnetic impurities and native defects of FeSe, we explicitly show that these impurities and defects can directly induce local magnetism in FeSe.

Recently, the issue of ferromagnetism enhancement in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered magnetic systems has been highly concerned. It is believed that ion intercalation in vdW layered ferromagnets, targeting either enhanced interlayer spin exchanges or intralayer ones, can be an efficient scheme. In this work, by means of the first-principles calculations, we investigate the Li-ion intercalation between the two monolayers of the ferromagnetic (FM) vdW Fe3GeTe2 (FGT) bilayer and its impact on the ferromagnetism. It is revealed that the Li-ion intercalation provides hopping carriers between the two interfacial Te sublayers, beneficial for the enhancement of the interlayer FM coupling at a relatively low intercalation level. On the other hand, the Li-ion intercalation lifted Fermi level promotes the electron transfer from the minority spin channel to the majority one for the Fe-3d bands, favoring the stronger intralayer FM coupling. However, the over-intercalation generated carriers may fill up the majority spin channel, reversely leading to the reduced interlayer FM coupling. Consequently, an optimized intercalation level is expected in terms of ferromagnetism enhancement. This work not only helps to explain the recent experimental finding on the gate-controlled Li-ion intercalation in vdW FGT few-layers but also suggests a general scheme for ferromagnetism enhancement in 2D vdW layered ferromagnets using the ion intercalation approach.

Polarized infrared reflectance spectra from β-Ga2O3 (001) unintentionally doped (undoped) and Sn-doped substrates were investigated. Spectra from an undoped homoepitaxial film grown on the Sn-doped substrate were also investigated. By setting the electric field vector of the incident light E parallel to the crystallographic b-axis in the s-polarized configuration, the spectra for pure transverse optical phonons of Au modes were well reproduced by the Drude–Lorentz model. Subsequently, the free-carrier concentrations and carrier mobilities were determined to be in reasonable agreement with those determined by Hall-effect measurements, and at the same time, the film thickness was determined for the homoepitaxial layer. The results ensure the validity of the simplified optical model analyses for any arbitrary surface orientations where the b-axis is parallel to the surface only if no birefringence effects are present by choosing as E//b in s-polarized configuration.

Superconducting proximity effect in the heterostructures opens up access to engineer superconductivity at the interface, and has inspired substantial research interest in the past decade. Here, we fabricate the van der Waals 2H-TaS2/NbSe2 heterostructure through the mechanical exfoliation and dry transfer technique. Enhanced superconductivity in 2H-TaS2 flakes with increased superconducting transition temperature by about 0.8 K is observed. Such enhancement is believed to be related to the leakage of the Cooper pairs from NbSe2 flakes to 2H-TaS2 flakes. In addition, the critical current of the superconducting transition of NbSe2 flakes is also increased in the heterostructures, which is related to the strengthened pairing strength of Cooper pairs in NbSe2 flakes arising from the interfacial coupling between NbSe2 flakes and 2H-TaS2 flakes. Our findings will open perspectives for insight into the superconducting proximity effect in the van der Waals heterostructures.

In superconducting quantum circuits, Josephson junctions are a key component to provide nonlinearity and enable superconducting qubits. Fabricating junctions with precise critical currents is crucial to defining qubit frequency. Here we suppress the critical current variation of Josephson junctions by varying the critical current density Jc and junction areas. The relative standard deviation of the critical current Ic is controlled to be below 0.8%. This uniform fabrication is promising for realizing scalable superconducting quantum computation.

Crystals of FeSb2 correlated narrow-gap semiconductor host colossal thermopower values. By tuning the impurity level here, we show that electron–phonon scattering that transfers phonon momentum to electrons is efficient only for certain optimal carrier concentration in the low-mobility band. Phonon drag acting on such states in crystals with high phonon mean free path enhances thermopower to colossal values, whereas for different carrier concentration, dominant thermal transport mechanism is electronic diffusion. This highlights the dual nature of correlated in-gap states that take part in the phonon drag but also reduce phonon mean free path.

We have demonstrated a vertical UV-C LED composed of the Ga-face n-contact electrodes using the circular shape holes on mesa. In order to understand the dependence of optical performance on the mesa hole density, we varied the number of holes. As the number of holes on mesa increased, both the light output power and the external quantum efficiency of vertical chips have enhanced while preserving the operation voltage. In spite of reduced active area, the efficiency of current injection could be improved by reducing the current density per hole. The increased mesa hole density of vertical chips induces the enhanced light extraction through the sidewall of holes.

We report on the depinning of nearly commensurate charge-density waves in 1T-TaS2 thin films at room temperature. A combination of the differential current–voltage measurements with the low-frequency noise spectroscopy provides unambiguous means for detecting the depinning threshold field in quasi-2D materials. The depinning process in 1T-TaS2 is not accompanied by an observable abrupt increase in electric current—in striking contrast to depinning in the conventional charge-density-wave materials with quasi-1D crystal structure. We explained it by the fact that the current density from the charge-density waves in the 1T-TaS2 devices is orders of magnitude smaller than the current density of the free carriers available in the discommensuration network surrounding the commensurate charge-density wave islands. The depinning fields in 1T-TaS2 thin-film devices are several orders of magnitude larger than those in quasi-1D van der Waals materials. Obtained results are important for the proposed applications of the charge-density wave devices in electronics.

We investigate the Ti-doping effect on the charge density wave (CDW) of 1T-TaS2 by combining scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements and first-principle calculations. Although the Ti-doping induced phase evolution seems regular with increasing of the doping concentration (x), an unexpected chiral CDW phase is observed in the sample with x = 0.08, in which Ti atoms almost fully occupy the central Ta atoms in the CDW clusters. The emergence of the chiral CDW is proposed to be from the doping-enhanced orbital order. Only when x = 0.08, the possible long-range orbital order can trigger the chiral CDW phase. Compared with other 3d-elements doped 1T-TaS2, the Ti-doping retains the electronic flat band and the corresponding CDW phase, which is a prerequisite for the emergence of chirality. We expect that introducing elements with a strong orbital character may induce a chiral charge order in a broad class of CDW systems. The present results open up another avenue for further exploring the chiral CDW materials., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

We present a comparative study of the charge density wave (CDW) sliding at low temperatures in NbSe3 between two configurations: the conventional one with the current applied along the chain axis and that, the CDW being driven by the Hall electric field, with the current applied along micrometer-sized bridge-type structures cut perpendicular to the chain axis. In this Hall bar configuration, nonlinear properties can be easily extended to much lower temperatures. The threshold electric field, Et, for CDW depinning is very sharp and has been measured down to 0.1 mK. It is found that Et becomes temperature independent below T ≈ 4.2 K, which suggests a crossover from thermal fluctuations to a tunneling mechanism for CDW depinning.

Doped SrTiO3 is a superconductor whose pairing mechanism is still not fully understood. The response of a superconductor to impurities has long been used to obtain insights into the nature of the superconducting state. Here, the superconductivity of SrTiO3 films that are doped or alloyed with different rare earth ions, which carry a magnetic moment, is investigated. It is shown that large concentrations (up to a few percent) of rare earth ions with unpaired f-electrons, such as Sm and Eu, do not reduce the superconducting critical temperature and critical fields. The finding is independent of whether the rare earth ion acts as a dopant or is an isovalent impurity. The interactions between the superconducting condensate and the magnetic dopants that could result in the observed insensitivity to magnetic impurities are discussed.

Transition-edge sensors (TESs) are two-dimensional superconducting films utilized as highly sensitive detectors of energy or power. These detectors are voltage biased in the superconducting-normal transition where the film resistance is both finite and a strong function of temperature. Unfortunately, the amount of electrical noise observed in TESs exceeds the predictions of existing noise theories. We describe a possible mechanism for the unexplained excess noise, which we term “mixed-down noise.” The source is Johnson noise, which is mixed down to low frequencies by Josephson oscillations in devices with a nonlinear current–voltage relationship. We derive an expression for the power spectral density of this noise and show that its predictions agree with measured data.

The layered transition metal dichalcogenide has attracted tremendous attention for its unique structure and electrical and optoelectronic properties. As an emerging two-dimensional material, PdSe2 plays a key role in optoelectronic applications due to its distinct optical and tunable electrical properties. The carrier dynamic and low-frequency phonon modes and how they evolve with the number of layers are important for future device fabrication in photonics, optoelectronics, and nanomechanics. Here, by employing ultrafast optical pump–probe spectroscopy, we have investigated systematically the photocarrier dynamics as well as the thickness dependent interlayer coherent phonon modes in PdSe2 films. Two low-frequency phonon modes in PdSe2 films are identified after photoexcitation at 780 nm. The higher-frequency mode is ascribed to the interlayer breathing mode, and the lower one is assigned to the standing wave mode, and both of the mode frequencies decrease with increasing the number of layers of films. Analysis based on simple one-dimensional chain model produces interlayer force constant K = 5.74 × 1019 N/m3 for the interlayer breathing mode, and sound velocity of v = 8.27 × 104 cm/s for the standing wave mode in PdSe2 film. Our experimental finding paves the way for designing and developing PdSe2-based optoelectronic and nanomechanic devices.

Twisted bilayer and multilayer two-dimensional materials linked by van der Waals interactions exhibit various unique physical properties. The phonon properties of such systems are of great importance, but have not been explored in detail. In this work, we use a hybrid neural-network potential to systematically investigate the evolution of the phonon structure of twisted multilayer graphene under out-of-plane strain. With increasing out-of-plane strain, the evolution of the phonon structure of the moire superlattice exhibits different behavior from that of AA and AB stacked multilayer graphene. Meanwhile, with twisting of the interlayer, a higher Gruneisen parameter and a lower phonon group velocity can be obtained. A possible method is revealed by which phonon anharmonic scattering in stacked multilayer graphene could be enhanced by varying the twist angle in combination with out-of-plane strain. Our work shows that the application of out-of-plane strain can serve as an effective way to amplify the effect of twist angle on phonon structures of twisted multilayer two-dimensional systems, with potential application to thermoelectric and thermal logical devices.

In this work, we have studied the transport properties of two different single crystals, Sb2Te2Se and Sn-doped Sb2Te2Se. By analyzing the Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations for the devices made from both the crystals, we have extracted the Berry phase. The non-trivial value of the Berry phase for both the samples unambiguously indicates the robustness of the topological surface states against the impurity doping. The parent compound is n-type due to excess Te vacancies, and we could show from the sign of the intercept in the Landau level fan diagram and from the Hall effect measurements that doping with Sn makes it p-type. This demonstrates the tuning of the Fermi level in a topological insulator upon Sn doping.

We study the interplay of superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and the Kondo effect in a single system, using vertical geometry and planar magnetic tunnel junction devices, in which a thin CoFe layer is inserted in the middle of the MgO layer, forming a quantum dot like system. It is shown that the Kondo resonance peak at the zero bias coexists with a sharp Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer gap on double tunnel junctions, Al/MgO/CoFe nanodot/MgO/Al. It is also found that the competition between superconductivity and the Kondo effect is tunable with magnetic fields and the temperature. The coexistence of Kondo screening and superconductivity survives long range magnetic order in CoFe nanodots with a spin polarization of 0.2; however, it disappears when the CoFe layer becomes a continuous film with a spin polarization of 0.5. The competition between SC and the Kondo effect in the presence of magnetic ordering opens exciting possibilities to control information in nanomagnets.

The transverse thermoelectric effect refers to the conversion of a temperature gradient into a transverse charge current, or vice versa, which appears in a conductor under a magnetic field or in a magnetic material with spontaneous magnetization. Among such phenomena, the anomalous Nernst effect in magnetic materials has been receiving increased attention from the viewpoints of fundamental physics and thermoelectric applications owing to the rapid development of spin caloritronics and topological materials science. In this research trend, a conceptually different transverse thermoelectric conversion phenomenon appearing in thermoelectric/magnetic hybrid materials has been demonstrated, enabling the generation of a large transverse thermopower. Here, we review the recent progress in fundamental and applied studies on the transverse thermoelectric generation using magnetic materials. We anticipate that this perspective will further stimulate research activities on the transverse thermoelectric generation and lead to the development of next-generation thermal energy harvesting and heat-flux sensing technologies., 18 pages, 5 figures

We measure the maximal distance at which two absorbed photons can jointly trigger a detection event in NbN nanowire superconducting single photon detector microbridges by comparing the one-photon and two-photon efficiencies of bridges of different overall lengths, from 0 to 400 nm. We find a length of 23 ± 2 nm. This value is in good agreement with the size of the quasiparticle cloud at the time of the detection event.Nanowire superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs)1 are a crucial technology for a variety of applications.2 These devices consist of a thin superconducting film which detects photons when biased to a significant fraction of its critical current. Although details of the microscopic mechanism are still in dispute,3 the present understanding of this process in Niobium Nitride (NbN) SSPDs is as follows:4–13 after the absorption of a photon, a cloud of quasiparticles is created, which is known as a hotspot. This cloud diffuses, spreading out over some area of the wire. This causes the redistribution of bias current, which unbinds a vortex from the edge of the wire, if the applied bias current is such that the current for vortex entry is exceeded. The transition of a vortex across the wire creates a normal-state region, which grows under the influence of Joule heating from the bias current, leading to a voltage pulse and a detection event.14

Characterizing superconducting microwave resonators with highly dissipative elements is a technical challenge, but a requirement for implementing and understanding the operation of hybrid quantum devices involving dissipative elements, e.g., for thermal engineering and detection. We present experiments on λ/4 superconducting niobium coplanar waveguide resonators, terminating at the antinode by a dissipative copper microstrip via aluminum leads, such that the resonator response is difficult to measure in a typical microwave environment. By measuring the transmission both above and below the superconducting transition of aluminum, we are able to isolate the resonance. We then experimentally verify this method with copper microstrips of increasing thicknesses, from 50 nm to 150 nm, and measure quality factors in the range of 10-67 in a consistent way.

Very low activation energy for hole generation reaching 5.7 meV to realize the ionization rate of 100% at room temperature by surface doping of molybdenum oxide on rubrene single crystals was observed from the temperature dependence of the hole concentration directly measured by the Hall effect. Hole mobility having band-conductive nature was maintained after surface doping. Very low activation energy can be explained by the overlap of shielded Coulomb potentials. By increasing the concentration of charge transfer states at the interface between the crystal and the dopant, high doping efficiency can be achieved.

The Seebeck effect or thermopower relates the temperature gradient to the electric voltage drop. Seebeck coefficient α measures the transport entropy, which could either linearly increase with temperature T like metallic conducting or decrease as 1 / T like semiconducting behavior. It could become more complicated in the temperature dependence for a number of disordered systems but still in a monotonic way. However, several recent experiments reported the “abnormal” non-monotonic temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient in doped conducting polymers, for instance, first increasing and then decreasing. Through a one-dimensional tight-binding model coupled with the Boltzmann transport equation, we investigate theoretically the doping effect for the Seebeck coefficient. We find that the abnormal behavior comes from multi bands' contribution and a two-band model (conduction or valence band plus a narrow polaronic band) can address such an abnormal Seebeck effect, namely, if there exists (i) a small bandgap accessible for thermal activation between the two bands; and (ii) a large difference in the bandwidth between the polaronic band and the conduction band (or valence band), then the Seebeck coefficient increases with temperature first, then levels off, and finally drops down.

The performance of magnetoresistive sensors is today mainly limited by their 1/f low-frequency noise. Here, we study this noise component in vortex-based TMR sensors. We compare the noise level in different magnetization configurations of the device, i.e., vortex state or uniform parallel or antiparallel states. We find that the vortex state is at least an order of magnitude noisier than the uniform states. Nevertheless, by activating the spin-transfer-induced dynamics of the vortex configuration, we observe a reduction of the 1/f noise, close to the values measured in the AP state, as the vortex core has a lower probability of pinning into defect sites. Additionally, by driving the dynamics of the vortex core by a non-resonant rf field or current, we demonstrate that the 1/f noise can be further decreased. The ability to reduce the 1/f low-frequency noise in vortex-based devices by leveraging their spin-transfer dynamics thus enhances their applicability in the magnetic sensors' landscape.

We study experimentally the resistive behaviors of a niobium nitride superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) device driven by magnetic field and terahertz radiation. We find that the resistance of the superconducting HEB device emerges due to time-dependent changes of the macroscopic quantum phase by flux-flow events. The flux-flow resistance is found to be increased linearly with magnetic field at low vortex velocities and is enhanced by terahertz radiation. At high vortex velocities, there is an obvious non-linear change, which can be well interpreted by viscous flux-flow instability predicted by the Larkin and Ovchinnikov theory. In addition, we demonstrate a technique taking use of the device resistance dependence on magnetic field to stabilize the superconducting HEB device.

The local crystal symmetry and crystal structure at CaTiO3 twin boundaries were examined using convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED). CBED patterns obtained right at the twin boundaries exhibited one mirror symmetry not observed in the bulk form. Two types of crystal structures were identified at the boundaries on different boundary widths and symmetry breaking. Quantitative analysis using CBED patterns revealed atomic shifts of Ti and Ca. A distortion of oxygen octahedra was also produced, which was smaller than the corresponding distortion obtained in the bulk form. The refined crystal structure conforms to the polar structure expected only at CaTiO3 twin boundaries.

Topological insulators (TIs) with unique band structures have wide application prospects in the fields of ultrafast optical and spintronic devices. The dynamics of hot carriers plays a key role in these TI-based devices. In this work, using the time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy technique, the relaxation process of the hot carriers in Cr-doped Bi2Se3 has been systematically studied since the ferromagnetic TI is one of the key building blocks for next-generation spintronics. It is found that electronic temperature (Te) and chemical potential (μ) decrease faster with the increase in the Cr doping concentration. Similarly, the lifetime (τ) of the excited electrons also decreases with more Cr doped into Bi2Se3. The results suggest a mechanism of impurity band-assisted carrier relaxation, where the impurity band within the bulk bandgap introduced by Cr doping provides significant recombination channels for the excited electrons. This work directly illustrates the dynamic process of the photon-generated carriers in Cr-doped Bi2Se3, which is expected to promote the applications of (Bi1-xCrx)2Se3 in photoelectric devices.

Hyperdoping with gallium (Ga) has been established as a route to observe superconductivity in silicon (Si). The relatively large critical temperatures (T$_{\rm c}$) and magnetic fields (B$_{\rm c}$) make this phase attractive for cryogenic circuit applications, particularly for scalable hybrid superconductor--semiconductor platforms. However, the robustness of Si:Ga superconductivity at millikelvin temperatures is yet to be evaluated. Here, we report the presence of a reentrant resistive transition below T$_{\rm c}$ for Si:Ga whose strength strongly depends on the distribution of the Ga clusters that precipitate in the implanted Si after annealing. By monitoring the reentrant resistance over a wide parameter space of implantation energies and fluences, we determine conditions that significantly improve the coherent coupling of Ga clusters, therefore, eliminating the reentrant transition even at temperatures as low as 20~mK.