Tuning metal/superconductor to insulator/superconductor coupling via control of proximity enhancement between NbSe2monolayers.

The interplay between charge transfer and electronic disorder in transition-metal dichalcogenide multilayers gives rise to superconductive coupling driven by proximity enhancement, tunneling and superconducting fluctuations, of a yet unwieldy variety. Artificial spacer layers introduced with atomic precision change the density of states by charge transfer. Here, we tune the superconductive coupling betweenNbSe2monolayers from proximity-enhanced to tunneling-dominated. We correlate normal and superconducting properties inSnSe1+δmNbSe21tailored multilayers with varying SnSe layer thickness (m=1-15). From high-field magnetotransport the critical fields yield Ginzburg-Landau coherence lengths with an increase of140%cross-plane (m=1-9), trending towards two-dimensional superconductivity form>9. We show cross-overs between three regimes: metallic with proximity-enhanced coupling (m=1-4), disordered-metallic with intermediate coupling (m=5-9) and insulating with Josephson tunneling (m>9). Our results demonstrate that stacking metal mono- and dichalcogenides allows to convert a metal/superconductor into an insulator/superconductor system, prospecting the control of two-dimensional superconductivity in embedded layers.

Transport Properties and Finite Size Effects in ß-Ga2O3 Thin Films.

Thin films of the wide band gap semiconductor ß-Ga2O3 have a high potential for applications in transparent electronics and high power devices. However, the role of interfaces remains to be explored. Here, we report on fundamental limits of transport properties in thin films. The conductivities, Hall densities and mobilities in thin homoepitaxially MOVPE grown (100)-orientated ß-Ga2O3 films were measured as a function of temperature and film thickness. At room temperature, the electron mobilities ((115 ± 10) cm2/Vs) in thicker films (>150 nm) are comparable to the best of bulk. However, the mobility is strongly reduced by more than two orders of magnitude with decreasing film thickness ((5.5 ± 0.5) cm2/Vs for a 28 nm thin film). We find that the commonly applied classical Fuchs-Sondheimer model does not explain sufficiently the contribution of electron scattering at the film surfaces. Instead, by applying an electron wave model by Bergmann, a contribution to the mobility suppression due to the large de Broglie wavelength in ß-Ga2O3 is proposed as a limiting quantum mechanical size effect.

The Effect of the MEMS Measurement Platform Design on the Seebeck Coefficient Measurement of a Single Nanowire.

In order to study the thermoelectric properties of individual nanowires, a thermoelectric nanowire characterization platform (TNCP) has been previously developed and used in our chair. Here, we report on a redesigned platform aiming to optimize performance, mechanical stability and usability. We compare both platforms for electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient for an individual Ag nanowire of the previously-used batch and for comparable measurement conditions. By this, the measurement performance of both designs can be investigated. As a result, whereas the electrical conductivity is comparable, the Seebeck coefficient shows a 50% deviation with respect to the previous studies. We discuss the possible effects of the platform design on the thermoelectric measurements. One reason for the deviation of the Seebeck coefficient is the design of the platform leading to temperature gradients along the bond pads. We further analyze the effect of bonding materials Au and Pt, as well as the effect of temperature distributions along the bond pads used for the thermovoltage acquisition. Another major reason for the variation of the measurement results is the non-homogeneous temperature distribution along the thermometer. We conclude that for the measurement of small Seebeck coefficients, an isothermal positioning of voltage-probing bond pads, as well as a constant temperature profile at the measurement zone are essential.

High-temperature quantum oscillations of the Hall resistance in bulk Bi2Se3.

Helically spin-polarized Dirac fermions (HSDF) in protected topological surface states (TSS) are of high interest as a new state of quantum matter. In three-dimensional (3D) materials with TSS, electronic bulk states often mask the transport properties of HSDF. Recently, the high-field Hall resistance and low-field magnetoresistance indicate that the TSS may coexist with a layered two-dimensional electronic system (2DES). Here, we demonstrate quantum oscillations of the Hall resistance at temperatures up to 50 K in nominally undoped bulk Bi2Se3 with a high electron density n of about 2·1019 cm-3. From the angular and temperature dependence of the Hall resistance and the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations we identify 3D and 2D contributions to transport. Angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy proves the existence of TSS. We present a model for Bi2Se3 and suggest that the coexistence of TSS and 2D layered transport stabilizes the quantum oscillations of the Hall resistance.

Superconducting ferecrystals: turbostratically disordered atomic-scale layered (PbSe)1.14(NbSe2)n thin films.

Hybrid electronic heterostructure films of semi- and superconducting layers possess very different properties from their bulk counterparts. Here, we demonstrate superconductivity in ferecrystals: turbostratically disordered atomic-scale layered structures of single-, bi- and trilayers of NbSe2 separated by PbSe layers. The turbostratic (orientation) disorder between individual layers does not destroy superconductivity. Our method of fabricating artificial sequences of atomic-scale 2D layers, structurally independent of their neighbours in the growth direction, opens up new possibilities of stacking arbitrary numbers of hybrid layers which are not available otherwise, because epitaxial strain is avoided. The observation of superconductivity and systematic Tc changes with nanostructure make this synthesis approach of particular interest for realizing hybrid systems in the search of 2D superconductivity and the design of novel electronic heterostructures.

2D layered transport properties from topological insulator Bi2Se3 single crystals and micro flakes.

Low-field magnetotransport measurements of topological insulators such as Bi2Se3 are important for revealing the nature of topological surface states by quantum corrections to the conductivity, such as weak-antilocalization. Recently, a rich variety of high-field magnetotransport properties in the regime of high electron densities (∼10(19) cm(-3)) were reported, which can be related to additional two-dimensional layered conductivity, hampering the identification of the topological surface states. Here, we report that quantum corrections to the electronic conduction are dominated by the surface states for a semiconducting case, which can be analyzed by the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka model for two coupled surfaces in the case of strong spin-orbit interaction. However, in the metallic-like case this analysis fails and additional two-dimensional contributions need to be accounted for. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and quantized Hall resistance prove as strong indications for the two-dimensional layered metallic behavior. Temperature-dependent magnetotransport properties of high-quality Bi2Se3 single crystalline exfoliated macro and micro flakes are combined with high resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, confirming the structure and stoichiometry. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy proves a single-Dirac-cone surface state and a well-defined bulk band gap in topological insulating state. Spatially resolved core-level photoelectron microscopy demonstrates the surface stability.

Free-standing millimetre-long Bi2Te3 sub-micron belts catalyzed by TiO2 nanoparticles.

Physical vapour deposition (PVD) is used to grow millimetre-long Bi2Te3 sub-micron belts catalysed by TiO2 nanoparticles. The catalytic efficiency of TiO2 nanoparticles for the nanostructure growth is compared with the catalyst-free growth employing scanning electron microscopy. The catalyst-coated and catalyst-free substrates are arranged side-by-side, and overgrown at the same time, to assure identical growth conditions in the PVD furnace. It is found that the catalyst enhances the yield of the belts. Very long belts were achieved with a growth rate of 28 nm/min. A ∼1-mm-long belt with a rectangular cross section was obtained after 8 h of growth. The thickness and width were determined by atomic force microscopy, and their ratio is ∼1:10. The chemical composition was determined to be stoichiometric Bi2Te3 using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Temperature-dependent conductivity measurements show a characteristic increase of the conductivity at low temperatures. The room temperature conductivity of 0.20 × 10(5) S m (-1) indicates an excellent sample quality.

Dielectrophoretic investigation of Bi2Te3 nanowires-a microfabricated thermoelectric characterization platform for measuring the thermoelectric and structural properties of single nanowires.

In this article a microfabricated thermoelectric nanowire characterization platform to investigate the thermoelectric and structural properties of single nanowires is presented. By means of dielectrophoresis (DEP), a method to manipulate and orient nanowires in a controlled way to assemble them onto our measurement platform is introduced. The thermoelectric platform fabricated with optimally designed DEP electrodes results in a yield of nanowire assembly of approximately 90% under an applied peak-to-peak ac signal Vpp = 10 V and frequency f = 20 MHz within a series of 200 experiments. Ohmic contacts between the aligned single nanowire and the electrodes on the platform are established by electron beam-induced deposition. The Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of electrochemically synthesized Bi2Te3 nanowires are measured to be -51 µV K(-1) and (943 ± 160)/(Ω(-1) cm(-1)), respectively. Chemical composition and crystallographic structure are obtained using transmission electron microscopy. The selected nanowire is observed to be single crystalline over its entire length and no grain boundaries are detected. At the surface of the nanowire, 66.1 ± 1.1 at.% Te and 34.9 ± 1.1 at.% Bi are observed. In contrast, chemical composition of 64.2 at.% Te and 35.8 at.% Bi is detected in the thick center of the nanowire.

Synthesis of inorganic structural isomers by diffusion-constrained self-assembly of designed precursors: a novel type of isomerism.

The structure of precursors is used to control the formation of six possible structural isomers that contain four structural units of PbSe and four structural units of NbSe2: [(PbSe)1.14]4[NbSe2]4, [(PbSe)1.14]3[NbSe2]3[(PbSe)1.14]1[NbSe2]1, [(PbSe)1.14]3[NbSe2]2[(PbSe)1.14]1[NbSe2]2, [(PbSe)1.14]2[NbSe2]3[(PbSe)1.14]2[NbSe2]1, [(PbSe)1.14]2[NbSe2]2[(PbSe)1.14]1[NbSe2]1[(PbSe)1.14]1[NbSe2]1, [(PbSe)1.14]2[NbSe2]1[(PbSe)1.14]1[NbSe2]2[(PbSe)1.14]1[NbSe2]1. The electrical properties of these compounds vary with the nanoarchitecture. For each pair of constituents, over 20,000 new compounds, each with a specific nanoarchitecture, are possible with the number of structural units equal to 10 or less. This provides opportunities to systematically correlate structure with properties and hence optimize performance.

Suppressing a charge density wave by changing dimensionality in the ferecrystalline compounds ([SnSe]1.15)1(VSe2)n with n = 1, 2, 3, 4.

The compounds, ([SnSe]1.15)1(VSe2)n with n = 1, 2, 3, and 4, were prepared using designed precursors in order to investigate the influence of the thickness of the VSe2 constituent on the charge density wave transition. The structure of each of the compounds was determined using X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The charge density wave transition observed in the resistivity of ([SnSe]1.15)1(VSe2)1 was confirmed. The electrical properties of the n = 2 and 3 compounds are distinctly different. The magnitude of the resistivity change at the transition temperature is dramatically lowered and the temperature of the resistivity minimum systematically increases from 118 K (n = 1) to 172 K (n = 3). For n = 1, this temperature correlates with the onset of the charge density wave transition. The Hall-coefficient changes sign when n is greater than 1, and the temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient of the n = 2 and 3 compounds is very similar to the bulk, slowly decreasing as the temperature is decreased, while for the n = 1 compound the Hall coefficient increases dramatically starting at the onset of the charge density wave. The transport properties suggest an abrupt change in electronic properties on increasing the thickness of the VSe2 layer beyond a single layer.