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The engineering of defects in low-dimensional materials can enable the modulation of their optical, electrical, thermal, and structural properties. We have previously shown the ability to engineer precision patterned defects in graphene by electron beam irradiation in a controlled water vapor ambient within an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). However, the relationship between instrumental parameters and structural changes in graphene are unexplored. Here, we investigate the relationships between parameters such as pressure, electron dose, and acceleration voltage on the electronic and structural properties of graphene as probed by Raman spectroscopy. There are dependencies on all of the studied parameters but electron dose is the dominant parameter that shows the most intense levels of structural modulation. Interestingly, control of instrumental parameters allows for the precision tailoring of features such as resolution (as determined by the beamskirting effect), doping, and functionalization – all of which make this process powerful for precision tuning of 2D materials and adds an enhanced technique for the development of next-generation electronics.

Spin-orbit torque (SOT)-driven deterministic control of the magnetic state of a ferromagnet with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is key to next-generation spintronic applications including non-volatile, ultrafast and energy-efficient data-storage devices. However, field-free deterministic switching of perpendicular magnetization remains a challenge because it requires an out-of-plane antidamping torque, which is not allowed in conventional spin-source materials such as heavy metals and topological insulators due to the system's symmetry. The exploitation of low-crystal symmetries in emergent quantum materials offers a unique approach to achieve SOTs with unconventional forms. Here we report an experimental realization of field-free deterministic magnetic switching of a perpendicularly polarized van der Waals magnet employing an out-of-plane antidamping SOT generated in layered WTe

Integrating the carrier tunability of a functional two-dimensional material electronic device with a direct probe of energy- and momentum-resolved electronic excitations is essential to gain insights on how many-body interactions are influenced during device operation. Here, we use micro-focused angle-resolved photoemission in order to analyze many-body interactions in back-gated graphene supported on hexagonal boron nitride. By extracting the doping-dependent quasiparticle dispersion and self-energy, we observe how these interactions renormalize the Dirac cone and impact the electron mobility of our device. Our results are not only limited to a finite energy range around the Fermi level, as in electron transport measurements, but describe interactions on a much wider energy scale, extending beyond the regime of hot carrier excitations., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

We show the first direct observation of minibands in the electronic structure of a twisted heterobilayer using microfocused ARPES., Stacking two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials with different interlayer atomic registry in a heterobilayer causes the formation of a long-range periodic superlattice that may bestow the heterostructure with properties such as new quantum fractal states or superconductivity. Recent optical measurements of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers have revealed the presence of hybridized interlayer electron-hole pair excitations at energies defined by the superlattice potential. The corresponding quasiparticle band structures, so-called minibands, have remained elusive, and no such features have been reported for heterobilayers composed of a TMD and another type of 2D material. We introduce a new x-ray capillary technology for performing microfocused angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with a spatial resolution of ~1 μm, and directly observe minibands at certain twist angles in mini Brillouin zones (mBZs). We discuss their origin in terms of initial and final state effects by analyzing their dispersion in distinct mBZs.

A mismatch of atomic registries between single-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in a two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructure produces a moiré superlattice with a periodic potential, which can be fine-tuned by introducing a twist angle between the materials. This approach is promising both for controlling the interactions between the TMDs and for engineering their electronic band structures, yet direct observation of the changes to the electronic structure introduced with varying twist angle has so far been missing. Here, we probe heterobilayers comprised of single-layer MoS2 and WS2 with twist angles ranging from 2∘ to 20∘ and determine the twist angle-dependent evolution of the electronic band structure using micro-focused angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find strong interlayer hybridization between MoS2 and WS2 electronic states at the Γ ˉ -point of the Brillouin zone, leading to a shift of the valence band maximum in the heterostructure. Replicas of the hybridized states are observed at the center of twist angle-dependent moiré mini Brillouin zones. We confirm that these replica features arise from the inherent moiré potential by comparing our experimental observations with density functional theory calculations of the superlattice dispersion. Our direct visualization of these features underscores the potential of using twisted heterobilayer semiconductors to engineer hybrid electronic states and superlattices that alter the electronic and optical properties of 2D heterostructures for a wide range of twist angles.

In two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), new electronic phenomena such as tunable band gaps and strongly bound excitons and trions emerge from strong many-body effects, beyond spin-orbit coupling- and lattice symmetry-induced spin and valley degrees of freedom. Combining single-layer (SL) TMDs with other 2D materials in van der Waals heterostructures offers an intriguing means of controlling the electronic properties through these many-body effects via engineered interlayer interactions. Here, we employ micro-focused angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (microARPES) and in-situ surface doping to manipulate the electronic structure of SL WS$_2$ on hexagonal boron nitride (WS$_2$/h-BN). Upon electron doping, we observe an unexpected giant renormalization of the SL WS$_2$ valence band (VB) spin-orbit splitting from 430~meV to 660~meV, together with a band gap reduction of at least 325~meV, attributed to the formation of trionic quasiparticles. These findings suggest that the electronic, spintronic and excitonic properties are widely tunable in 2D TMD/h-BN heterostructures, as these are intimately linked to the quasiparticle dynamics of the materials., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Address correspondence to ulstrup@phys.au.dk or cmjozwiak@lbl.gov

The quality of the tunnel barrier at the ferromagnet/graphene interface plays a pivotal role in graphene spin valves by circumventing the impedance mismatch problem, decreasing interfacial spin dephasing mechanisms and decreasing spin absorption back into the ferromagnet. It is thus crucial to integrate superior tunnel barriers to enhance spin transport and spin accumulation in graphene. Here, we employ a novel tunnel barrier, strontium oxide (SrO), onto graphene to realize high quality spin transport as evidenced by room-temperature spin relaxation times exceeding a nanosecond in graphene on silicon dioxide substrates. Furthermore, the smooth and pinhole-free SrO tunnel barrier grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), which can withstand large charge injection current densities, allows us to experimentally realize large spin accumulation in graphene at room temperature. This work puts graphene on the path to achieve efficient manipulation of nanomagnet magnetization using spin currents in graphene for logic and memory applications.

The presence of an electrical transport current in a material is one of the simplest and most important realisations of non-equilibrium physics. The current density breaks the crystalline symmetry and can give rise to dramatic phenomena, such as sliding charge density waves [1], insulator-to-metal transitions [2,3] or gap openings in topologically protected states [4]. Almost nothing is known about how a current influences the electron spectral function, which characterizes most of the solid's electronic, optical and chemical properties. Here we show that angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with a nano-scale light spot (nanoARPES) provides not only a wealth of information on local equilibrium properties, but also opens the possibility to access the local non-equilibrium spectral function in the presence of a transport current. Unifying spectroscopic and transport measurements in this way allows non-invasive local measurements of the composition, structure, many-body effects and carrier mobility in the presence of high current densities., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures

It is important to study the van der Waals interface in emerging vertical heterostructures based on layered two-dimensional (2D) materials. Being atomically thin, 2D materials are susceptible to significant strains as well as charge transfer doping across the interfaces. Here we use Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy to study the interface between monolayer graphene/MoS2 heterostructures prepared by mechanical exfoliation and layer-by-layer transfer. By using correlation analysis between the Raman modes of graphene and MoS2 we show that both layers are subjected to compressive strain and charge transfer doping following mechanical exfoliation and thermal annealing. Furthermore, we show that both strain and carrier concentration can be modulated in the heterostructures with additional thermal annealing. Our study highlights the importance of considering both mechanical and electronic coupling when characterizing the interface in van der Waals heterostructures, and demonstrates a method to tune their electromechanical properties., Comment: 5 Figures, 1 table

Layered Zintl phase van der Waals (vdW) materials are of interest due to their strong spin-orbit coupling and potential for high mobility. Here, we report the successful growth of large area CaGe 2 films, as a model of layered Zintl phase materials, on atomically flat Ge(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using an alternating layer growth (ALG) protocol. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns of the Ge buffer layer and CaGe 2 indicate high quality two dimensional surfaces, which is further confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), showing atomically flat and uniform CaGe 2 films. The appearance of Laue oscillations in X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Kiessig fringes in the X-ray reflectivity (XRR), which are absent in co-deposited CaGe 2 , confirms the uniformity of the CaGe 2 film and the smoothness of the interface. These results demonstrate a novel method of deposition of CaGe 2 that could be also applied to other layered Zintl phase vdW materials. Also, the high quality of the CaGe 2 film is promising for the exploration of novel properties of germanane.

The discovery of new families of exfoliatable 2D crystals that have diverse sets of electronic, optical, and spin-orbit coupling properties, enables the realization of unique physical phenomena in these few-atom thick building blocks and in proximity to other materials. Herein, using NaSn2As2 as a model system, we demonstrate that layered Zintl phases having the stoichiometry ATt2Pn2 (A = Group 1 or 2 element, Tt = Group 14 tetrel element and Pn = Group 15 pnictogen element) and feature networks separated by van der Waals gaps can be readily exfoliated with both mechanical and liquid-phase methods. We identified the symmetries of the Raman active modes of the bulk crystals via polarized Raman spectroscopy. The bulk and mechanically exfoliated NaSn2As2 samples are resistant towards oxidation, with only the top surface oxidizing in ambient conditions over a couple of days, while the liquid-exfoliated samples oxidize much more quickly in ambient conditions. Employing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), density functional theory (DFT), and transport on bulk and exfoliated samples, we show that NaSn2As2 is a highly conducting 2D semimetal, with resistivities on the order of 10-6 {\Omega} m. Due to peculiarities in the band structure, the dominating p-type carriers at low temperature are nearly compensated by the opening of n-type conduction channels as temperature increases. This work further expands the family of exfoliatable 2D materials to layered van der Waals Zintl phases, opening up opportunities in electronics and spintronics.

The possibility of triggering correlated phenomena by placing a singularity of the density of states near the Fermi energy remains an intriguing avenue towards engineering the properties of quantum materials. Twisted bilayer graphene is a key material in this regard because the superlattice produced by the rotated graphene layers introduces a van Hove singularity and flat bands near the Fermi energy that cause the emergence of numerous correlated phases, including superconductivity. While the twist angle-dependence of these properties has been explored, direct demonstration of electrostatic control of the superlattice bands over a wide energy range has, so far, been critically missing. This work examines a functional twisted bilayer graphene device using in-operando angle-resolved photoemission with a nano-focused light spot. A twist angle of 12.2$^{\circ}$ is selected such that the superlattice Brillouin zone is sufficiently large to enable identification of van Hove singularities and flat band segments in momentum space. The doping dependence of these features is extracted over an energy range of 0.4 eV, expanding the combinations of twist angle and doping where they can be placed at the Fermi energy and thereby induce new correlated electronic phases in twisted bilayer graphene., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures. A revised version of the manuscript has been accepted for publication in Advanced Materials

Introduction Autism spectrum disorders(ASD) and sleep has hand to hand relationship and few recently published studies have shown that, disturbed infant sleep is associated with Attention deficit hyperactive disorder and Autism. The aim of the study is to evaluate the sleep disturbance in first year of life among the children with ASD. Methods In this case control study, pre-diagnosed ASD children between 3-12 year of age (group 1) and controls; sibling of autistic children and community dwelling children(group 2), were enrolled in between June 2014 to November 2017. After giving consent every child underwent, Detailed Clinical [Childhood Autism rating scale-2(CARS-2)] and Sleep evaluation [Brief Infant sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) - Retrospectively, Child sleep habits questionnaire (CSHQ)]. Results Sixty children in group1 and 60 in group 2 were enrolled and both groups were age [Median 7(2.5-12) vs. 8.5 (2.5-12), p = 0.14] and sex [53(88.33%) vs. 45(75.00 %), p=0.15] matched. On CHSQ poor sleepers are more common among the group 1[40(66.66%) vs. 20(33.33%), p=.003, respectively]. On BISQ children had severe sleep problems during infancy were significantly more among the group 1 [46(76.66%) vs. 6(10%), p= Conclusion Sleep is significantly disturbed since infancy among children with autism spectrum disorder and duration of nocturnal awakenings during infancy is strongly correlated with severity of autism. Support NA

The bias dependence of spin injection in graphene lateral spin valves is systematically studied to determine the factors affecting the tunneling spin injection efficiency. Three types of junctions are investigated, including MgO and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) tunnel barriers and direct contacts. A DC bias current applied to the injector electrode induces a strong nonlinear bias dependence of the nonlocal spin signal for both MgO and hBN tunnel barriers. Furthermore, this signal reverses its sign at a negative DC bias for both kinds of tunnel barriers. The analysis of the bias dependence for injector electrodes with a wide range of contact resistances suggests that the sign reversal correlates with bias voltage rather than current. We consider different mechanisms for nonlinear bias dependence and conclude that the energy-dependent spin-polarized electronic structure of the ferromagnetic electrodes, rather than the electrical field-induced spin drift effect or spin filtering effect of the tunnel barrier, is the most likely explanation of the experimental observations., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is misdiagnosed due to a variety of clinical presentations and lack of a diagnostic biomarker. Sociocultural differences in patients' reporting of symptoms further contribute to this under diagnosis. We developed an expanded diagnostic tool for RLS, incorporating all International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) diagnostic criteria with a number of additional questions mainly focusing on specific sociocultural influences in RLS symptom reporting among Indians. The purpose of this study was to examine the change in the diagnostic yield of RLS, if any, through administration of this expanded questionnaire. Materials and Methods: The AIIMS RLS questionnaire for Indian patients (ARQIP) was developed in English language, and then translated into Hindi. All consecutive patients attending Neurology and sleep disorders clinic with complaints of leg discomfort were recruited in the study. Two examiners evaluated all patients with complaints of leg discomfort seen by a senior Sleep Medicine expert, one using only IRLSSG diagnostic criteria and the other using the ARQIP. Patients were categorized as RLS or “no-RLS” by the expert, and this was considered as the “standard” for analysis. Results: A total of 155 participants (78 males, 50.3%) with a mean age of 44.1 ± 14.5 years were enrolled. A total of 105 patients were diagnosed as having RLS (group 1) and the rest as having “non-RLS” (group 2). The ARQIP was found to have a much higher sensitivity (100% vs 73%), specificity (44% vs 32.7%), negative predictive value (100% vs 36.4%), and positive predictive value (79% vs 70%) compared to the standard questionnaire. The diagnostic yield of this tool was 26.7% (Confidence interval = 100–73.3). Conclusions: The ARQIP for RLS diagnosis, validated in this study, has been observed to have a high sensitivity and a negative predictive value with a high diagnostic accuracy.

Graphene is extremely sensitive to its environment: such sensitivity can be exploited for sensing applications as well as for adatom-based engineering of material properties. Decorating graphene’s surface with adatoms can be used to derive new graphene based versatile materials, induce magnetic moments, and enhance spin–orbit coupling. This review article discusses experiments highlighting different adatom-induced phenomena in graphene. Though the focus is mainly on the experimental results, reference to theoretical predictions is made throughout the article.

Graphene has remarkable opportunities for spintronics due to its high mobility and long spin diffusion length, especially when encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Here, we demonstrate gate-tunable spin transport in such encapsulated graphene-based spin valves with one-dimensional (1D) ferromagnetic edge contacts. An electrostatic backgate tunes the Fermi level of graphene to probe different energy levels of the spin-polarized density of states (DOS) of the 1D ferromagnetic contact, which interact through a magnetic proximity effect (MPE) that induces ferromagnetism in graphene. In contrast to conventional spin valves, where switching between high- and low-resistance configuration requires magnetization reversal by an applied magnetic field or a high-density spin-polarized current, we provide an alternative path with the gate-controlled spin inversion in graphene., Owing to its long spin diffusion length, graphene shows promise for spintronics applications, especially when encapsulated within hexagonal boron nitride. Here, the authors demonstrate gate-tunable spin transport in encapsulated graphene-based spin valves with one-dimensional ferromagnetic edge contacts via magnetic proximity effect.

We report the experimental observation of sublattice-resolved resonant scattering in bilayer graphene by performing simultaneous cryogenic atomic hydrogen doping and electron transport measurements in ultrahigh vacuum. This allows us to monitor the hydrogen adsorption on the different sublattices of bilayer graphene without atomic-scale microscopy. Specifically, we detect two distinct resonant scattering peaks in the gate-dependent resistance, which evolve as a function of atomic hydrogen dosage. Theoretical calculations show that one of the peaks originates from resonant scattering by hydrogen adatoms on the {\alpha}-sublattice (dimer site) while the other originates from hydrogen adatoms on the \b{eta}-sublattice (non-dimer site), thereby enabling a method for characterizing the relative sublattice occupancy via transport measurements. Utilizing this new capability, we investigate the adsorption and thermal desorption of hydrogen adatoms via controlled annealing and conclude that hydrogen adsorption on the \b{eta}-sublattice is energetically favored. Through site-selective desorption from the {\alpha}-sublattice, we realize hydrogen doping with adatoms primarily on a single sublattice, which is highly desired for generating ferromagnetism.

Two dimensional (2D) materials provide a unique platform to explore the full potential of magnetic proximity driven phenomena, which can be further used for applications in next generation spintronic devices. Of particular interest is to understand and control spin currents in graphene by the magnetic exchange field of a nearby ferromagnetic material in graphene/ferromagnetic-insulator (FMI) heterostructures. Here, we present the experimental study showing the strong modulation of spin currents in graphene layers by controlling the direction of the exchange field due to FMI magnetization. Owing to clean interfaces, a strong magnetic exchange coupling leads to the experimental observation of complete spin modulation at low externally applied magnetic fields in short graphene channels. Additionally, we discover that the graphene spin current can be fully dephased by randomly fluctuating exchange fields. This is manifested as an unusually strong temperature dependence of the non-local spin signals in graphene, which is due to spin relaxation by thermally-induced transverse fluctuations of the FMI magnetization.

There is a substantial interest in the heterostructures of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) among each other or with arbitrary materials, through which the control of the chemical, structural, electronic, spintronic, and optical properties can lead to a change in device paradigms. A critical need is to understand the interface between TMDCs and insulating substrates, for example, high-κ dielectrics, which can strongly impact the electronic properties such as the optical gap. Here, we show that the chemical and electronic properties of the single-layer (SL) TMDC, WS

The discovery of new families of exfoliatable 2D crystals that have diverse sets of electronic, optical, and spin-orbit coupling properties enables the realization of unique physical phenomena in these few-atom-thick building blocks and in proximity to other materials. Herein, using NaSn

Large variability of carrier mobility of graphene-based field effect transistors hampers graphene science and technology. We show that the number of the scatterer responsible for the observed variability on graphene devices on silicon oxide can be determined by finding the number of hydrogen that can be chemisorbed on graphene. We use the relationship between the number of the scatterer and the mobility of graphene devices to determine that the variability-inducing scatterer possesses scattering strength 10 times smaller than that of adsorbed potassium atoms and 50 times smaller than that of ion-beam induced vacancies. Our results provide an important, quantitative input towards determining the origin of the variability.

There is a substantial interest in the heterostructures of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) amongst each other or with arbitrary materials, through which the control of the chemical, structural, electronic, spintronic, and optical properties can lead to a change in device paradigms. A critical need is to understand the interface between TMDCs and insulating substrates, for example high-$\kappa$ dielectrics, which can strongly impact the electronic properties such as the optical gap. Here we show that the chemical and electronic properties of the single-layer (SL) TMDC, WS$_2$, can be transferred onto high-$\kappa$ transition metal oxide substrates TiO$_2$ and SrTiO$_3$. The resulting samples are much more suitable for measuring their electronic and chemical structures with angle-resolved photoemission than their native-grown SiO$_2$ substrates. We probe the WS$_2$ on the micron scale across 100-micron flakes, and find that the occupied electronic structure is exactly as predicted for freestanding SL WS$_2$ with a strong spin-orbit splitting of 420~meV and a direct band gap at the valence band maximum. Our results suggest that TMDCs can be combined with arbitrary multi-functional oxides, which may introduce alternative means of controlling the optoelectronic properties of such materials., Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures

We present an experimental study of spin transport in single layer graphene using atomic sheets of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) as a tunnel barrier for spin injection. While h-BN is expected to be favorable for spin injection, previous experimental studies have been unable to achieve spin relaxation times in the nanosecond regime, suggesting potential problems originating from the contacts. Here, we investigate spin relaxation in graphene spin valves with h-BN barriers and observe room temperature spin lifetimes in excess of a nanosecond, which provides experimental confirmation that h-BN is indeed a good barrier material for spin injection into graphene. By carrying out measurements with different thicknesses of h-BN, we show that few layer h-BN is a better choice than monolayer for achieving high non-local spin signals and longer spin relaxation times in graphene., Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures and supplementary material, [accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letters]

Over the past decade, it has become apparent that the extreme sensitivity of 2D crystals to surface interactions presents a unique opportunity to tune material properties through surface functionalization and the mechanical assembly of 2D heterostructures. However, this opportunity carries with it a concurrent challenge: an enhanced sensitivity to surface contamination introduced by standard patterning techniques that is exacerbated by the difficulty in cleaning these atomically thin materials. Here, we report a templated MoS2 growth technique wherein Mo is deposited onto atomically stepped sapphire substrates through a SiN stencil with feature sizes down to 100 nm and subsequently sulfurized at high temperature. These films have a quality comparable to the best MoS2 prepared by other methodologies, and the thickness of the resulting MoS2 patterns can be tuned layer-by-layer by controlling the initial Mo deposition. The quality and thickness of the films are confirmed by scanning electron, scanning tunnel...

Moire superlattices arising in bilayer graphene coupled to hexagonal boron nitride provide a periodic potential modulation on a length scale ideally suited to studying the fractal features of the Hofstadter energy spectrum in large magnetic fields. In 1976 Douglas Hofstadter predicted that electrons in a lattice subjected to electrostatic and magnetic fields would show a characteristic energy spectrum determined by the interplay between two quantizing fields. The expected spectrum would feature a repeating butterfly-shaped motif, known as Hofstadter's butterfly. The experimental realization of the phenomenon has proved difficult because of the problem of producing a sufficiently disorder-free superlattice where the length scales for magnetic and electric field can truly compete with each other. Now that goal has been achieved — twice. Two groups working independently produced superlattices by placing ultraclean graphene (Ponomarenko et al.) or bilayer graphene (Kim et al.) on a hexagonal boron nitride substrate and crystallographically aligning the films at a precise angle to produce moire pattern superstructures. Electronic transport measurements on the moire superlattices provide clear evidence for Hofstadter's spectrum. The demonstrated experimental access to a fractal spectrum offers opportunities for the study of complex chaotic effects in a tunable quantum system. Electrons moving through a spatially periodic lattice potential develop a quantized energy spectrum consisting of discrete Bloch bands. In two dimensions, electrons moving through a magnetic field also develop a quantized energy spectrum, consisting of highly degenerate Landau energy levels. When subject to both a magnetic field and a periodic electrostatic potential, two-dimensional systems of electrons exhibit a self-similar recursive energy spectrum1. Known as Hofstadter’s butterfly, this complex spectrum results from an interplay between the characteristic lengths associated with the two quantizing fields1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, and is one of the first quantum fractals discovered in physics. In the decades since its prediction, experimental attempts to study this effect have been limited by difficulties in reconciling the two length scales. Typical atomic lattices (with periodicities of less than one nanometre) require unfeasibly large magnetic fields to reach the commensurability condition, and in artificially engineered structures (with periodicities greater than about 100 nanometres) the corresponding fields are too small to overcome disorder completely11,12,13,14,15,16,17. Here we demonstrate that moire superlattices arising in bilayer graphene coupled to hexagonal boron nitride provide a periodic modulation with ideal length scales of the order of ten nanometres, enabling unprecedented experimental access to the fractal spectrum. We confirm that quantum Hall features associated with the fractal gaps are described by two integer topological quantum numbers, and report evidence of their recursive structure. Observation of a Hofstadter spectrum in bilayer graphene means that it is possible to investigate emergent behaviour within a fractal energy landscape in a system with tunable internal degrees of freedom.

Noncovalent functionalization of graphene using peptides is a promising method for producing novel sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity. Here we perform atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate peptide-binding behavior to graphene and graphite. We studied a dodecamer peptide identified with phage display to possess affinity for graphite. Optical spectroscopy reveals that the peptide forms secondary structures both in powder form and in an aqueous medium. The dominant structure in the powder form is α-helix, which undergoes a transition to a distorted helical structure in aqueous solution. The peptide forms a complex reticular structure upon adsorption on graphene and graphite, having a helical conformation different from α-helix due to its interaction with the surface. Our observation is consistent with our molecular dynamics calculations, and our study paves the way for rational functionalization of graphene using biomolecules with defined structures and, therefore, functionalities.

We have measured the impact of calcium adsorbates on the transport property of graphene. Although calcium renders conductivity linearly dependent on the carrier density of graphene as predicted, our experimental results diverge from the existing theoretical calculations. Our data expose the inadequacy of any existing theory to describe the minimum conductivity of graphene and indicate that a more complete testing of the impurity scattering calculations will require improving the experimental capabilities by minimizing the contribution from the substrate-bound charged impurities and developing an ability to count the number of adsorbates while measuring transport., 8 pages, 5 figures

We have performed temperature-dependent electrical transport measurements on known structure single wall carbon nanotubes at low bias. The experiments show a superlinear increase in nanotube resistivity with temperature, which is in contradiction with the linear dependence expected from nanotube acoustic-phonon scattering. The measured electron mean free path is also much lower than expected, especially at medium to high temperatures ($g100\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$). A theoretical model that includes scattering due to surface polar phonon modes of the substrates reproduces the experiments very well. The role of surface phonons is further confirmed by resistivity measurements of nanotubes on aluminum nitride.

We report multiphonon Raman scattering in graphene samples. Higher order combination modes involving 3 phonons and 4 phonons are observed in single-layer (SLG), bi-layer (BLG), and few layer (FLG) graphene samples prepared by mechanical exfoliation. The intensity of the higher order phonon modes (relative to the G peak) is highest in SLG and decreases with increasing layers. In addition, all higher order modes are observed to upshift in frequency almost linearly with increasing graphene layers, betraying the underlying interlayer van der Waals interactions., Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B

We have observed new combination modes in the range from 1650 - 2300 cm-1 in single-(SLG), bi-, few-layer and incommensurate bilayer graphene (IBLG) on silicon dioxide substrates. The M band at ~1750 cm-1 is suppressed for both SLG and IBLG. A peak at ~1860 cm-1 (iTALO-) is observed due to a combination of the iTA and LO phonons. The intensity of this peak decreases with increasing number of layers and this peak is absent in bulk graphite. Two previously unidentified modes at ~1880 cm-1 (iTALO+) and ~2220 cm-1 (iTOTA) in SLG are tentatively assigned as combination modes around the K point of the graphene Brillouin zone. The peak frequencies of the iTALO+ (iTOTA) modes are observed to increase (decrease) linearly with increasing graphene layers., 11 Pages, 4 Figures

We have measured the impact of atomic hydrogen adsorption on the electronic transport properties of graphene sheets as a function of hydrogen coverage and initial, pre-hydrogenation field-effect mobility. Our results are compatible with hydrogen adsorbates inducing intervalley mixing by exerting a short-range scattering potential. The saturation coverages for different devices are found to be proportional to their initial mobility, indicating that the number of native scatterers is proportional to the saturation coverage of hydrogen. By extrapolating this proportionality, we show that the field-effect mobility can reach $1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{4}\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{2}/\text{V}\text{ }\text{s}$ in the absence of the hydrogen-adsorbing sites. This affinity to hydrogen is the signature of the most dominant type of native scatterers in graphene-based field-effect transistors on ${\text{SiO}}_{2}$.

Previous experimental studies have shown qualitative dependence of transport property of graphene nanoribbons on external charged impurities. We have measured transport properties of a graphene nanoribbon at increasing coverage of charged impurities in an ultra high vacuum environment. We discovered an exact relationship between the source-drain and gate gaps at increasing charged impurity density. In addition, we found that graphene nanoribbons have different electronic screening as compared to bulk graphene. Our study paves the way for controlling transport property of nanoribbons using extrinsic impurities.

Pin grid arrays are often used for packaging devices for nanoscale and atomic physics experiments performed in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). These arrays require their complementary socket arrays for measurements, yet UHV-compatible sockets are not commercially available. In this paper, the authors describe the design and construction of fully UHV-compatible sockets, which provide reliable electronic contact down to cryogenic temperatures and survive repeated insertion–retraction cycles.