Quasi-One-Dimensional Transition-Metal Chalcogenide Semiconductor (Nb4Se15I2)I2.

The discovery of new low-dimensional transition-metal chalcogenides is contributing to the already prosperous family of these materials. In this study, needle-shaped single crystals of a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) material, (Nb4Se15I2)I2, were grown by chemical vapor transport, and the structure was solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The structure has 1D (Nb4Se15I2)n chains along the [101] direction, with two I- ions per formula unit directly bonded to Nb5+. The other two I- ions are loosely coordinated and intercalated between the chains. Individual chains are chiral and stack along the b axis in opposing directions, giving space group P21/c. The phase purity and crystal structure were verified by powder XRD. Density functional theory calculations show (Nb4Se15I2)I2 to be a semiconductor with a direct band gap of around 0.6 eV. Resistivity measurements of bulk crystals and micropatterned devices demonstrate that (Nb4Se15I2)I2 has an activation energy of around 0.1 eV, and no anomaly or transition was seen upon cooling. Low-temperature XRD shows that (Nb4Se15I2)I2 does not undergo a structural phase transformation from room temperature to 8.2 K, unlike related compounds (NbSe4)nI (n = 2, 3, or 3.33), which all exhibit charge-density waves. This compound represents a well-characterized and valence-precise member of a diverse family of anisotropic transition-metal chalcogenides.

Asymmetric Fraunhofer spectra in a topological insulator-based Josephson junction.

Josephson junctions with topological insulators as their weak link (S-TI-S junctions) are predicted to host Majorana fermions, which are key to creating qubits for topologically protected quantum computing. But the details of the S-TI-S current-phase relation and its interplay with magnetic fields are not well understood. We fabricate a Bi2Se3junction with NbTi leads and measure the Fraunhofer patterns of the junction with applied in-plane fields. We observe that asymmetric Fraunhofer patterns appear in the resistance maps ofBzvsBx,y, with aperiodic node spacings. These asymmetric patterns appear even at zero parallel field and for temperatures up to 1 K. The anomalous features are compared to asymmetric Fraunhofer patterns expected for finite Cooper pair momentum shifts as well as geometric effects. We show that the geometric effects can dominate, independent of in-plane field magnitude. These results are important for differentiating geometrical phase shifts from those caused by Cooper pair momentum shifting, Majorana mode signatures, or other unconventional superconducting behavior.

Observation of an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point in high-purity LaNiO3.

Amongst the rare-earth perovskite nickelates, LaNiO3 (LNO) is an exception. While the former have insulating and antiferromagnetic ground states, LNO remains metallic and non-magnetic down to the lowest temperatures. It is believed that LNO is a strange metal, on the verge of an antiferromagnetic instability. Our work suggests that LNO is a quantum critical metal, close to an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point (QCP). The QCP behavior in LNO is manifested in epitaxial thin films with unprecedented high purities. We find that the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the resistivity of LNO at low temperatures are consistent with scatterings of charge carriers from weak disorder and quantum fluctuations of an antiferromagnetic nature. Furthermore, we find that the introduction of a small concentration of magnetic impurities qualitatively changes the magnetotransport properties of LNO, resembling that found in some heavy-fermion Kondo lattice systems in the vicinity of an antiferromagnetic QCP.

Author Correction: Atomically precise graphene etch stops for three dimensional integrated systems from two dimensional material heterostructures.

The original version of this Article contained an error in the second sentence of the second paragraph of the 'Electrical properties of fluorinated graphene contacts' section of the Results, which incorrectly read 'The mobility was calculated by the Drude model, µ = ne/σ where µ, n, e, and σ are the carrier mobility, carrier density, electron charge, and sheet conductivity, respectively'. The correct version states 'µ = σ/ne ' in place of 'µ = ne/σ '. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Selective-Area Superconductor Epitaxy to Ballistic Semiconductor Nanowires.

Semiconductor nanowires such as InAs and InSb are promising materials for studying Majorana zero modes and demonstrating non-Abelian particle exchange relevant for topological quantum computing. While evidence for Majorana bound states in nanowires has been shown, the majority of these experiments are marked by significant disorder. In particular, the interfacial inhomogeneity between the superconductor and nanowire is strongly believed to be the main culprit for disorder and the resulting "soft superconducting gap" ubiquitous in tunneling studies of hybrid semiconductor-superconductor systems. Additionally, a lack of ballistic transport in nanowire systems can create bound states that mimic Majorana signatures. We resolve these problems through the development of selective-area epitaxy of Al to InSb nanowires, a technique applicable to other nanowires and superconductors. Epitaxial InSb-Al devices generically possess a hard superconducting gap and demonstrate ballistic 1D superconductivity and near-perfect transmission of supercurrents in the single mode regime, requisites for engineering and controlling 1D topological superconductivity. Additionally, we demonstrate that epitaxial InSb-Al superconducting island devices, the building blocks for Majorana-based quantum computing applications, prepared using selective-area epitaxy can achieve micron-scale ballistic 1D transport. Our results pave the way for the development of networks of ballistic superconducting electronics for quantum device applications.

Atomically precise graphene etch stops for three dimensional integrated systems from two dimensional material heterostructures.

Atomically precise fabrication methods are critical for the development of next-generation technologies. For example, in nanoelectronics based on van der Waals heterostructures, where two-dimensional materials are stacked to form devices with nanometer thicknesses, a major challenge is patterning with atomic precision and individually addressing each molecular layer. Here we demonstrate an atomically thin graphene etch stop for patterning van der Waals heterostructures through the selective etch of two-dimensional materials with xenon difluoride gas. Graphene etch stops enable one-step patterning of sophisticated devices from heterostructures by accessing buried layers and forming one-dimensional contacts. Graphene transistors with fluorinated graphene contacts show a room temperature mobility of 40,000 cm2 V-1 s-1 at carrier density of 4 × 1012 cm-2 and contact resistivity of 80 Ω·µm. We demonstrate the versatility of graphene etch stops with three-dimensionally integrated nanoelectronics with multiple active layers and nanoelectromechanical devices with performance comparable to the state-of-the-art.

Finite momentum Cooper pairing in three-dimensional topological insulator Josephson junctions.

Unconventional superconductivity arising from the interplay between strong spin-orbit coupling and magnetism is an intensive area of research. One form of unconventional superconductivity arises when Cooper pairs subjected to a magnetic exchange coupling acquire a finite momentum. Here, we report on a signature of finite momentum Cooper pairing in the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3. We apply in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields to proximity-coupled Bi2Se3 and find that the in-plane field creates a spatially oscillating superconducting order parameter in the junction as evidenced by the emergence of an anomalous Fraunhofer pattern. We describe how the anomalous Fraunhofer patterns evolve for different device parameters, and we use this to understand the microscopic origin of the oscillating order parameter. The agreement between the experimental data and simulations shows that the finite momentum pairing originates from the coexistence of the Zeeman effect and Aharonov-Bohm flux.

Strain Modulation of Graphene by Nanoscale Substrate Curvatures: A Molecular View.

Spatially nonuniform strain is important for engineering the pseudomagnetic field and band structure of graphene. Despite the wide interest in strain engineering, there is still a lack of control on device-compatible strain patterns due to the limited understanding of the structure-strain relationship. Here, we study the effect of substrate corrugation and curvature on the strain profiles of graphene via combined experimental and theoretical studies of a model system: graphene on closely packed SiO2 nanospheres with different diameters (20-200 nm). Experimentally, via quantitative Raman analysis, we observe partial adhesion and wrinkle features and find that smaller nanospheres induce larger tensile strain in graphene; theoretically, molecular dynamics simulations confirm the same microscopic structure and size dependence of strain and reveal that a larger strain is caused by a stronger, inhomogeneous interaction force between smaller nanospheres and graphene. This molecular-level understanding of the strain mechanism is important for strain engineering of graphene and other two-dimensional materials.

Kondo-like zero-bias conductance anomaly in a three-dimensional topological insulator nanowire.

Zero-bias anomalies in topological nanowires have recently captured significant attention, as they are possible signatures of Majorana modes. Yet there are many other possible origins of zero-bias peaks in nanowires--for example, weak localization, Andreev bound states, or the Kondo effect. Here, we discuss observations of differential-conductance peaks at zero-bias voltage in non-superconducting electronic transport through a 3D topological insulator (Bi(1.33)Sb(0.67))Se3 nanowire. The zero-bias conductance peaks show logarithmic temperature dependence and often linear splitting with magnetic fields, both of which are signatures of the Kondo effect in quantum dots. We characterize the zero-bias peaks and discuss their origin.

Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a quasi-ballistic three-dimensional topological insulator nanowire.

Aharonov-Bohm oscillations effectively demonstrate coherent, ballistic transport in mesoscopic rings and tubes. In three-dimensional topological insulator nanowires, they can be used to not only characterize surface states but also to test predictions of unique topological behaviour. Here we report measurements of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in (Bi1.33Sb0.67)Se3 that demonstrate salient features of topological nanowires. By fabricating quasi-ballistic three-dimensional topological insulator nanowire devices that are gate-tunable through the Dirac point, we are able to observe alternations of conductance maxima and minima with gate voltage. Near the Dirac point, we observe conductance minima for zero magnetic flux through the nanowire and corresponding maxima (having magnitudes of almost a conductance quantum) at magnetic flux equal to half a flux quantum; this is consistent with the presence of a low-energy topological mode. The observation of this mode is a necessary step towards utilizing topological properties at the nanoscale in post-CMOS applications.

Mechanical Control of Graphene on Engineered Pyramidal Strain Arrays.

Strain can tune desirable electronic behavior in graphene, but there has been limited progress in controlling strain in graphene devices. In this paper, we study the mechanical response of graphene on substrates patterned with arrays of mesoscale pyramids. Using atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate that the morphology of graphene can be controlled from conformal to suspended depending on the arrangement of pyramids and the aspect ratio of the array. Nonuniform strains in graphene suspended across pyramids are revealed by Raman spectroscopy and supported by atomistic modeling, which also indicates strong pseudomagnetic fields in the graphene. Our results suggest that incorporating mesoscale pyramids in graphene devices is a viable route to achieving strain-engineering of graphene.

Dependence of global superconductivity on inter-island coupling in arrays of long SNS junctions.

We present measurements of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, for arrays of mesoscopic Nb islands patterned on Au films, for large island spacings d. We show that Tc ∼ 1/d(2), and explain this dependence in terms of the quasiclassical prediction that the Thouless energy, rather than the superconducting gap, governs the inter-island coupling at large spacings. We also find that the temperature dependence of the critical current, Ic(T), in our arrays is similar to that of single SNS junctions. However, our results deviate from the quasiclassical theory in that Tc is sensitive to island height, because the islands are mesoscopic.

Symmetry protected Josephson supercurrents in three-dimensional topological insulators.

Coupling the surface state of a topological insulator to an s-wave superconductor is predicted to produce the long-sought Majorana quasiparticle excitations. However, superconductivity has not been measured in surface states when the bulk charge carriers are fully depleted, that is, in the true topological regime relevant for investigating Majorana modes. Here we report measurements of d.c. Josephson effects in topological insulator-superconductor junctions as the chemical potential is moved through the true topological regime characterized by the presence of only surface currents. We compare our results with three-dimensional quantum transport simulations, and determine the effects of bulk/surface mixing, disorder and magnetic field; in particular, we show that the supercurrent is largely carried by surface states, due to the inherent topology of the bands, and that it is robust against disorder. Our results thus clarify key open issues regarding the nature of supercurrents in topological insulators.

Layer-by-layer transfer of multiple, large area sheets of graphene grown in multilayer stacks on a single SiC wafer.

Here we report a technique for transferring graphene layers, one by one, from a multilayer deposit formed by epitaxial growth on the Si-terminated face of a 6H-SiC substrate. The procedure uses a bilayer film of palladium/polyimide deposited onto the graphene coated SiC, which is then mechanically peeled away and placed on a target substrate. Orthogonal etching of the palladium and polyimide leaves isolated sheets of graphene with sizes of square centimeters. Repeating these steps transfers additional sheets from the same SiC substrate. Raman spectroscopy, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, together with scanning tunneling, atomic force, optical, and scanning electron microscopy reveal key properties of the materials. The sheet resistances determined from measurements of four point probe devices were found to be ∼2 kΩ/square, close to expectation. Graphene crossbar structures fabricated in stacked configurations demonstrate the versatility of the procedures.

Conjugated carbon monolayer membranes: methods for synthesis and integration.

Monolayer membranes of conjugated carbon represent a class of nanomaterial with demonstrated uses in various areas of electronics, ranging from transparent, flexible, and stretchable thin film conductors, to semiconducting materials in moderate and high-performance field-effect transistors. Although graphene represents the most prominent example, many other more structurally and chemically diverse systems are also of interest. This article provides a review of demonstrated synthetic and integration strategies, and speculates on future directions for the field.

Magnetoresistance in single-layer graphene: weak localization and universal conductance fluctuation studies.

We report measurements of magnetoresistance in single-layer graphene as a function of gate voltage (carrier density) at 250 mK. By examining signatures of weak localization (WL) and universal conductance fluctuations (UCF), we find a consistent picture of phase coherence loss due to electron-electron interactions. The gate dependence of the elastic scattering terms suggests that the effect of trigonal warping, i.e. the nonlinearity of the dispersion curves, may be strong at high carrier densities, while intra-valley scattering may dominate close to the Dirac point. In addition, a decrease in UCF amplitude with decreasing carrier density can be explained by a corresponding loss of phase coherence.

Nonequilibrium tunneling spectroscopy in carbon nanotubes.

We report measurements of the nonequilibrium electron energy distribution in carbon nanotubes. Using tunneling spectroscopy via a superconducting probe, we study the shape of the local electron distribution functions, and hence energy relaxation rates, in nanotubes that have bias voltages applied between their ends. At low temperatures, electrons interact weakly in nanotubes of a few microns channel length, independent of end-to-end-conductance values. Surprisingly, the energy relaxation rate can increase substantially when the temperature is raised to only 1.5 K.