Deterministic switching of a perpendicularly polarized magnet using unconventional spin-orbit torques in WTe2.

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 WTe2, a quantum material with a low-symmetry crystal structure. Our numerical simulations suggest that the out-of-plane antidamping torque in WTe2 is essential to explain the observed magnetization switching.

Accessing the Spectral Function in a Current-Carrying Device.

The presence of an electrical transport current in a material is one of the simplest and most important realizations of nonequilibrium physics. The current density breaks the crystalline symmetry and can give rise to dramatic phenomena, such as sliding charge density waves, insulator-to-metal transitions, or gap openings in topologically protected states. 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 nanoscale light spot provides not only a wealth of information on local equilibrium properties, but also opens the possibility to access the local nonequilibrium spectral function in the presence of a transport current. Unifying spectroscopic and transport measurements in this way allows simultaneous noninvasive local measurements of the composition, structure, many-body effects, and carrier mobility in the presence of high current densities. In the particular case of our graphene-based device, we are able to correlate the presence of structural defects with locally reduced carrier lifetimes in the spectral function and a locally reduced mobility with a spatial resolution of 500 nm.

Transport Spectroscopy of Sublattice-Resolved Resonant Scattering in Hydrogen-Doped Bilayer Graphene.

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 an 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 the atomic hydrogen dosage. Theoretical calculations show that one of the peaks originates from resonant scattering by hydrogen adatoms on the α sublattice (dimer site) while the other originates from hydrogen adatoms on the ß sublattice (nondimer 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 ß sublattice is energetically favored. Through site-selective desorption from the α sublattice, we realize hydrogen doping with adatoms primarily on a single sublattice, which is highly desired for generating ferromagnetism.

Strontium Oxide Tunnel Barriers for High Quality Spin Transport and Large Spin Accumulation in Graphene.

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.

Evaluation of the diagnostic yield of ARQIP: A new restless legs syndrome diagnostic questionnaire and validation of its Hindi translation.

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.

Strong Modulation of Spin Currents in Bilayer Graphene by Static and Fluctuating Proximity Exchange Fields.

Two-dimensional 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 nonlocal spin signals in graphene, which is due to spin relaxation by thermally induced transverse fluctuations of the FMI magnetization.

Observation of interlayer plasmon polaron in graphene/WS2 heterostructures.

Harnessing electronic excitations involving coherent coupling to bosonic modes is essential for the design and control of emergent phenomena in quantum materials. In situations where charge carriers induce a lattice distortion due to the electron-phonon interaction, the conducting states get "dressed", which leads to the formation of polaronic quasiparticles. The exploration of polaronic effects on low-energy excitations is in its infancy in two-dimensional materials. Here, we present the discovery of an interlayer plasmon polaron in heterostructures composed of graphene on top of single-layer WS2. By using micro-focused angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy during in situ doping of the top graphene layer, we observe a strong quasiparticle peak accompanied by several carrier density-dependent shake-off replicas around the single-layer WS2 conduction band minimum. Our results are explained by an effective many-body model in terms of a coupling between single-layer WS2 conduction electrons and an interlayer plasmon mode. It is important to take into account the presence of such interlayer collective modes, as they have profound consequences for the electronic and optical properties of heterostructures that are routinely explored in many device architectures involving 2D transition metal dichalcogenides.

Structure of a peptide adsorbed on graphene and graphite.

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.

Strain-Induced 2H to 1T' Phase Transition in Suspended MoTe2 Using Electric Double Layer Gating.

MoTe2 can be converted from the semiconducting (2H) phase to the semimetallic (1T') phase by several stimuli including heat, electrochemical doping, and strain. This type of phase transition, if reversible and gate-controlled, could be useful for low-power memory and logic. In this work, a gate-controlled and fully reversible 2H to 1T' phase transition is demonstrated via strain in few-layer suspended MoTe2 field effect transistors. Strain is applied by the electric double layer gating of a suspended channel using a single ion conducting solid polymer electrolyte. The phase transition is confirmed by simultaneous electrical transport and Raman spectroscopy. The out-of-plane vibration peak (A1g)─a signature of the 1T' phase─is observed when VSG ≥ 2.5 V. Further, a redshift in the in-plane vibration mode (E2g) is detected, which is a characteristic of a strain-induced phonon shift. Based on the magnitude of the shift, strain is estimated to be 0.2-0.3% by density functional theory. Electrically, the temperature coefficient of resistance transitions from negative to positive at VSG ≥ 2 V, confirming the transition from semiconducting to metallic. The approach to gate-controlled, reversible straining presented here can be extended to strain other two-dimensional materials, explore fundamental material properties, and introduce electronic device functionalities.

Low bias electron scattering in structure-identified single wall carbon nanotubes: role of substrate polar phonons.

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 (>100 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.

Direct observation of minibands in a twisted graphene/WS2 bilayer.

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.

Observation of Electrically Tunable van Hove Singularities in Twisted Bilayer Graphene from NanoARPES.

The possibility of triggering correlated phenomena by placing a singularity of the density of states near the Fermi energy remains an intriguing avenue toward 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. Direct demonstration of electrostatic control of the superlattice bands over a wide energy range has, so far, been critically missing. This work examines the effect of electrical doping on the electronic band structure of twisted bilayer graphene using a back-gated device architecture for angle-resolved photoemission measurements with a nano-focused light spot. A twist angle of 12.2° 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.

Spin inversion in graphene spin valves by gate-tunable magnetic proximity effect at one-dimensional contacts.

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.

Scattering strength of the scatterer inducing variability in graphene on silicon oxide.

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.

Spatially Resolved Electronic Properties of Single-Layer WS2 on Transition Metal Oxides.

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, WS2, can be transferred onto high-κ transition metal oxide substrates TiO2 and SrTiO3. The resulting samples are much more suitable for measuring their electronic and chemical structures with angle-resolved photoemission than their native-grown SiO2 substrates. We probe the WS2 on the micron scale across 100 µm flakes and find that the occupied electronic structure is exactly as predicted for free-standing SL WS2 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 multifunctional oxides, which may introduce alternative means of controlling the optoelectronic properties of such materials.

NaSn2As2: An Exfoliatable Layered van der Waals Zintl Phase.

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 toward 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, density functional theory, 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 Ω·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.

Effects of layer stacking on the combination Raman modes in graphene.

We have observed new combination modes in the range from 1650 to 2300 cm(-1) in single-(SLG), bi-, few-layer and incommensurate bilayer graphene (IBLG) on silicon dioxide substrates. A peak at ∼1860 cm(-1) (iTALO-) is observed due to a combination of the in-plane transverse acoustic (iTA) and the longitudinal optical (LO) phonons. The intensity of this peak decreases with increasing number of layers and this peak is absent for bulk graphite. The overtone of the out-of-plane transverse optical (oTO) phonon at ∼1750 cm(-1), also called the M band, is suppressed for both SLG and IBLG. In addition, two previously unidentified modes at ∼2200 and ∼1880 cm(-1) are observed in SLG. The 2220 cm(-1) (1880 cm(-1)) mode is tentatively assigned to the combination mode of in-plane transverse optical (iTO) and TA phonons (oTO+LO phonons) around the K point in the graphene Brillouin zone. Finally, the peak frequency of the 1880 (2220) cm(-1) mode is observed to increase (decrease) linearly with increasing graphene layers.