Gate-Tunable Berry Curvature Dipole Polarizability in Dirac Semimetal Cd_{3}As_{2}.

We reveal the gate-tunable Berry curvature dipole polarizability in Dirac semimetal Cd_{3}As_{2} nanoplates through measurements of the third-order nonlinear Hall effect. Under an applied electric field, the Berry curvature exhibits an asymmetric distribution, forming a field-induced Berry curvature dipole, resulting in a measurable third-order Hall voltage with a cubic relationship to the longitudinal electric field. Notably, the magnitude and polarity of this third-order nonlinear Hall effect can be effectively modulated by gate voltages. Furthermore, our scaling relation analysis demonstrates that the sign of the Berry curvature dipole polarizability changes when tuning the Fermi level across the Dirac point, in agreement with theoretical calculations. The results highlight the gate control of nonlinear quantum transport in Dirac semimetals, paving the way for promising advancements in topological electronics.

Broad and colossal edge supercurrent in Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 Josephson junctions.

Edge supercurrent has attracted great interest recently due to its crucial role in achieving and manipulating topological superconducting states. Proximity-induced superconductivity has been realized in quantum Hall and quantum spin Hall edge states, as well as in higher-order topological hinge states. Non-Hermitian skin effect, the aggregation of non-Bloch eigenstates at open boundaries, promises an abnormal edge channel. Here we report the observation of broad edge supercurrent in Dirac semimetal Cd3As2-based Josephson junctions. The as-grown Cd3As2 nanoplates are electron-doped by intrinsic defects, which enhance the non-Hermitian perturbations. The superconducting quantum interference indicates edge supercurrent with a width of ~1.6 µm and a magnitude of ~1 µA at 10 mK. The wide and large edge supercurrent is inaccessible for a conventional edge system and suggests the presence of non-Hermitian skin effect. A supercurrent nonlocality is also observed. The interplay between band topology and non-Hermiticity is beneficial for exploiting exotic topological matter.

Room-temperature orbit-transfer torque enabling van der Waals magnetoresistive memories.

The non-volatile magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) is believed to facilitate emerging applications, such as in-memory computing, neuromorphic computing and stochastic computing. Two-dimensional (2D) materials and their van der Waals heterostructures promote the development of MRAM technology, due to their atomically smooth interfaces and tunable physical properties. Here we report the all-2D magnetoresistive memories featuring all-electrical data reading and writing at room temperature based on WTe2/Fe3GaTe2/BN/Fe3GaTe2 heterostructures. The data reading process relies on the tunnel magnetoresistance of Fe3GaTe2/BN/Fe3GaTe2. The data writing is achieved through current induced polarization of orbital magnetic moments in WTe2, which exert torques on Fe3GaTe2, known as the orbit-transfer torque (OTT) effect. In contrast to the conventional reliance on spin moments in spin-transfer torque and spin-orbit torque, the OTT effect leverages the natural out-of-plane orbital moments, facilitating field-free perpendicular magnetization switching through interface currents. Our results indicate that the emerging OTT-MRAM is promising for low-power, high-performance memory applications.

Biodegradability enhancement of waste lubricating oil regeneration wastewater using electrocoagulation pretreatment.

As a sustainable management of fossil fuel resources and ecological environment protection, recycling used lubricating oil has received widespread attention. However, large amounts of waste lubricating-oil regeneration wastewater (WLORW) are inevitably produced in the recycling process, and challenges are faced by traditional biological treatment of WLORW. Thus, this study investigated the effectiveness of electrocoagulation (EC) as pretreatment and its removal mechanism. The electrolysis parameters (current density, initial pH, and inter-electrode distance) were considered, and maximal 60.06% of oil removal was achieved at a current density of 15 mA/cm2, initial pH of 7, and an inter-electrode distance of 2 cm. The dispersed oil of WLORW was relatively easily removed, and most of the oil removal was contributed by emulsified oil within 5-10 µm. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that effective removal of the biorefractory organic compounds could contribute to the improvement of biodegradability of WLORW. Thus, the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand/chemical oxygen demand ratio (BOD5/COD) was significantly enhanced by 4.31 times, which highly benefits future biological treatment. The routes of WLORW removal could be concluded as charge neutralization, adsorption bridging, sweep flocculation, and air flotation. The results demonstrate that EC has potential as an effective pretreatment technology for WLORW biological treatment.

Control over Berry Curvature Dipole with Electric Field in WTe_{2}.

Berry curvature dipole plays an important role in various nonlinear quantum phenomena. However, the maximum symmetry allowed for nonzero Berry curvature dipole in the transport plane is a single mirror line, which strongly limits its effects in materials. Here, via probing the nonlinear Hall effect, we demonstrate the generation of Berry curvature dipole by applied dc electric field in WTe_{2}, which is used to break the symmetry constraint. A linear dependence between the dipole moment of Berry curvature and the dc electric field is observed. The polarization direction of the Berry curvature is controlled by the relative orientation of the electric field and crystal axis, which can be further reversed by changing the polarity of the dc field. Our Letter provides a route to generate and control Berry curvature dipole in broad material systems and to facilitate the development of nonlinear quantum devices.

Topological nature of higher-order hinge states revealed by spin transport.

One-dimensional (1D) gapless hinge states are predicated in the three-dimensional (3D) higher-order topological insulators and topological semimetals, because of the higher-order bulk-boundary correspondence. Nevertheless, the topologically protected property of the hinge states is still not demonstrated so far, because it is not accessible by conventional methods, such as spectroscopy experiments and quantum oscillations. Here, we reveal the topological nature of hinge states in the higher-order topological semimetal Cd3As2 nanoplate through spin potentiometric measurements. The results of current induced spin polarization indicate that the spin-momentum locking of the higher-order hinge state is similar to that of the quantum spin Hall state, showing the helical characteristics. The spin-polarized hinge states are robust up to room temperature and can nonlocally diffuse a long distance larger than 5µm, further indicating their immunity protected by topology. Our work deepens the understanding of transport properties of the higher-order topological materials and should be valuable for future electronic and spintronic applications.

Metasurface Enabled Photothermoelectric Photoresponse of Semimetal Cd3As2 for Broadband Photodetection.

The artificial engineering of photoresponse is crucial for optoelectronic applications, especially for photodetectors. Here, we designed and fabricated a metasurface on a semimetallic Cd3As2 nanoplate to improve its thermoelectric photoresponse. The metasurface can enhance light absorption, resulting in a temperature gradient. This temperature gradient can contribute to thermoelectric photoresponse through the photothermoelectric effect. Furthermore, power-dependent measurements showed a linearly dependent photoresponse of the Cd3As2 metasurface device, indicating a second-order photocurrent response. Wavelength-dependent measurements showed that the metasurface can efficiently separate photoexcited carriers in the broadband range of 488 nm to 4 µm. The photoresponse near the metasurface boundaries exhibits a responsivity of ∼1 mA/W, which is higher than that near the electrode junctions. Moreover, the designed metasurface device provided an anisotropic polarization-dependent photoresponse rather than the isotropic photoresponse of the original Cd3As2 device. This study demonstrates that metasurfaces have excellent potential for artificial controllable photothermoelectric photoresponse of various semimetallic materials.

Superconducting Proximity in Intrinsic Magnetic Topological Insulator MnBi2Te4-NbN Hybrid Device Modulated by Coulomb Blockade Effect.

The combination of nontrivial topology, magnetism, and superconductivity could offer the potential to realize exotic excitations of quasiparticles. MnBi2Te4, as an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator, may be a good platform to create Majorana fermions if coupled to an s-wave superconductor. Here, we report the transport properties of a MnBi2Te4-NbN hybrid device. This device exhibits clear Coulomb blockade oscillations. We observe a large zero-bias conductance peak that exists over considerable changes in gate voltage, magnetic field, and temperature, which is interpreted as a not fully developed supercurrent. The zero-bias peak shows a nonmonotonic evolution with a magnetic field and an abrupt π phase shift with changing temperature. Zero-energy bound states and a topological phase transition may exist in this hybrid system. Our results provide the first experimental investigation into the properties of the intrinsic magnetic topological insulator/superconductor hybrid structures modulated by the Coulomb blockade effect.

Light Controllable Electronic Phase Transition in Ionic Liquid Gated Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.

Ionic liquid gating has proved to be effective in inducing emergent quantum phenomena such as superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and topological states. The electrostatic doping at two-dimensional interfaces relies on ionic motion, which thus is operated at sufficiently high temperature. Here, we report the in situ tuning of quantum phases by shining light on an ionic liquid-gated interface at cryogenic temperatures. The light illumination enables flexible switching of the quantum transition in monolayer WS2 from an insulator to a superconductor. In contrast to the prevailing picture of photoinduced carriers, we find that in the presence of a strong interfacial electric field conducting electrons could escape from the surface confinement by absorbing photons, mimicking the field emission. Such an optical tuning tool in conjunction with ionic liquid gating greatly facilitates continuous modulation of carrier densities and hence electronic phases, which would help to unveil novel quantum phenomena and device functionality in various materials.

Surface Engineering of Antisymmetric Linear Magnetoresistance and Spin-Polarized Surface State Transport in Dirac Semimetals.

Topological materials that possess spin-momentum locked surface states provide an ideal platform to manipulate the quantum spin states by electrical means. However, an antisymmetric magnetoresistance (MR) superimposed on the spin-polarized transport signals is usually observed in the spin potentiometric measurements of topological materials, rendering more power loss and reduced signal-to-noise ratio. Here we reveal the mechanism of surface-bulk interaction for the observed antisymmetric linear MR in the spin transport of Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 nanoplates. The antisymmetric linear MR can be eliminated through sample surface modifications. As a consequence, clean signals of charge current induced spin-polarized transport are observed, robust up to room temperature. The purification of spin signals can be attributed to the isolation of surface and bulk transport channels via forming a charge depletion layer with surface modifications. This surface engineering strategy should be valuable for high-performance spintronic devices on topological materials.

Topological Transition of Superconductivity in Dirac Semimetal Nanowire Josephson Junctions.

We report the topological transition by gate control in a Cd_{3}As_{2} Dirac semimetal nanowire Josephson junction with diameter of about 64 nm. In the electron branch, the quantum confinement effect enforces the surface band into a series of gapped subbands and thus nontopological states. In the hole branch, however, because the hole mean free path is smaller than the nanowire perimeter, the quantum confinement effect is inoperative and the topological property maintained. The superconductivity is enhanced by gate tuning from electron to hole conduction, manifested by a larger critical supercurrent and a larger critical magnetic field, which is attributed to the topological transition from gapped surface subbands to a gapless surface band. The gate-controlled topological transition of superconductivity should be valuable for manipulation of Majorana zero modes, providing a platform for future compatible and scalable design of topological qubits.

Reducing Electronic Transport Dimension to Topological Hinge States by Increasing Geometry Size of Dirac Semimetal Josephson Junctions.

The notion of topological phases has been extended to higher-order and has been generalized to different dimensions. As a paradigm, Cd_{3}As_{2} is predicted to be a higher-order topological semimetal, possessing three-dimensional bulk Dirac fermions, two-dimensional Fermi arcs, and one-dimensional hinge states. These topological states have different characteristic length scales in electronic transport, allowing one to distinguish their properties when changing sample size. Here, we report an anomalous dimensional reduction of supercurrent transport by increasing the size of Dirac semimetal Cd_{3}As_{2}-based Josephson junctions. An evolution of the supercurrent quantum interferences from a standard Fraunhofer pattern to a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)-like one is observed when the junction channel length is increased. The SQUID-like interference pattern indicates the supercurrent flowing through the 1D hinges. The identification of 1D hinge states should be valuable for deeper understanding of the higher-order topological phase in a 3D Dirac semimetal.

Topological Semimetal Nanostructures: From Properties to Topotronics.

Characterized by bulk Dirac or Weyl cones and surface Fermi-arc states, topological semimetals have sparked enormous research interest in recent years. The nanostructures, with large surface-to-volume ratio and easy field-effect gating, provide ideal platforms to detect and manipulate the topological quantum states. Exotic physical properties originating from these topological states endow topological semimetals attractive for future topological electronics (topotronics). For example, the linear energy dispersion relation is promising for broadband infrared photodetectors, the spin-momentum locking nature of topological surface states is valuable for spintronics, and the topological superconductivity is highly desirable for fault-tolerant qubits. For real-life applications, topological semimetals in the form of nanostructures are necessary in terms of convenient fabrication and integration. Here, we review the recent progresses in topological semimetal nanostructures and start with the quantum transport properties. Then topological semimetal-based electronic devices are introduced. Finally, we discuss several important aspects that should receive great effort in the future, including controllable synthesis, manipulation of quantum states, topological field effect transistors, spintronic applications, and topological quantum computation.

Electric Control of Fermi Arc Spin Transport in Individual Topological Semimetal Nanowires.

The exotic topological surface states of Dirac or Weyl semimetals, namely Fermi arcs, are predicted to be spin polarized, while their spin polarization nature is still not revealed by transport measurements. Here, we report the spin-polarized transport in a Dirac semimetal Cd_{3}As_{2} nanowire employing the ferromagnetic electrodes for spin detection. The spin-up and spin-down states can be changed by reversing the current polarity, showing the spin-momentum locking property. Moreover, the nonlocal measurements show a high fidelity of the spin signals, indicating the topological protection nature of the spin transport. As tuning the Fermi level away from the Dirac point by gate voltages, the spin signals gradually decrease and finally are turned off, which is consistent with the fact that the Fermi arc surface state has the maximum ratio near the Dirac point and disappears above the Lifshitz transition point. Our results should be valuable for revealing the transport properties of the spin-polarized Fermi arc surface states in topological semimetals.

Graphene/ZnO Nanowire/p-GaN Vertical Junction for a High-Performance Nanoscale Light Source.

We report on a high-brightness ultraviolet (UV) nanoscale light source. The light emission diodes are constructed with graphene/ZnO nanowire/p-GaN vertical junctions, which exhibit strong UV electroluminescence (EL) emissions centered at a wavelength of 397 nm at one end of the ZnO nanowire. Compared to the horizontal heterojunction, the vertical junction based on the ZnO nanowire increases the interface area of the heterojunction along with a high-quality interface, thus making the device robust under a large excitation current. In this structure, transparent flexible graphene is used as the top electrode, which can effectively improve performance by increasing the carrier injection area. Moreover, by analyzing the relationship between the integrated light intensity and applied bias, a superlinear dependency with a slope of 3.99 is observed, which means high electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency. Three electron-hole irradiation recombination processes are distinguished according to the EL emission spectra.

Fermi-arc supercurrent oscillations in Dirac semimetal Josephson junctions.

One prominent hallmark of topological semimetals is the existence of unusual topological surface states known as Fermi arcs. Nevertheless, the Fermi-arc superconductivity remains elusive. Here, we report the critical current oscillations from surface Fermi arcs in Nb-Dirac semimetal Cd3As2-Nb Josephson junctions. The supercurrent from bulk states are suppressed under an in-plane magnetic field ~0.1 T, while the supercurrent from the topological surface states survives up to 0.5 T. Contrary to the minimum normal-state conductance, the Fermi-arc carried supercurrent shows a maximum critical value near the Dirac point, which is consistent with the fact that the Fermi arcs have maximum density of state at the Dirac point. Moreover, the critical current exhibits periodic oscillations with a parallel magnetic field, which is well understood by considering the in-plane orbital effect from the surface states. Our results suggest the Dirac semimetal combined with superconductivity should be promising for topological quantum devices.

MoS2 Memtransistors Fabricated by Localized Helium Ion Beam Irradiation.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductors have recently emerged as attractive building blocks for next-generation low-power nonvolatile memories. However, challenges remain in the controllable fabrication of bipolar resistive switching circuit components from these materials. Here, the experimental realization of lateral memtransistors from monolayer single-crystal molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) utilizing a focused helium ion beam is reported. Site-specific irradiation with the focused probe of a helium ion microscope creates a nanometer-scale defect-rich region, bisecting the MoS2 lattice. The reversible drift of these defects in the applied electric field modulates the resistance of the channel, enabling versatile memristive functionality. The device can reliably retain its resistance ratios and set/reset biases for 1180 switching cycles. Long-term potentiation and depression with sharp habituation are demonstrated. This work establishes the feasibility of ion irradiation for controllable fabrication of 2D memristive devices with promising key performance parameters, such as low power consumption. The applicability of these devices for synaptic emulation may address the demands of future neuromorphic architectures.

Observation of an Odd-Integer Quantum Hall Effect from Topological Surface States in Cd_{3}As_{2}.

The quantum Hall effect (QHE) in a 3D Dirac semimetal thin film is attributed to either the quantum confinement induced bulk subbands or the Weyl orbits that connect the opposite surfaces via bulk Weyl nodes. However, it is still unknown whether the QHE based on the Weyl orbit can survive as the bulk Weyl nodes are gapped. Moreover, there are closed Fermi loops rather than open Fermi arcs on the Dirac semimetal surface, which can also host the QHE. Here we report the QHE in the 3D Dirac semimetal Cd_{3}As_{2} nanoplate by tuning the gate voltage under a fixed 30 T magnetic field. The quantized Hall plateaus at odd filling factors are observed as a magnetic field along the [001] crystal direction, indicating a Berry's phase π from the topological surface states. Furthermore, even filling factors are observed when the magnetic field is along the [112] direction, indicating the C_{4} rotational symmetry breaking and a topological phase transition. The results shed light on the understanding of QHE in 3D Cd_{3}As_{2}.

Pooled analysis of the clinical benefit of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of the interventions for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) including chemotherapy alone and chemotherapy plus COX-2 inhibitors to identify and discuss the cause of any variation across studies and to explore the best currently available evidence. METHODS: The literature was comprehensively searched to identify relevant meta-analyses, and the Jadad decision algorithm was used to select the best evidence from the included meta-analyses. Quality assessment of the meta-analyses was performed using the Quality of Reporting (QUOROM) checklist and the Oxman-Guyatt quality index. RESULTS: Five meta-analyses were selected for inclusion in this study. Three were published prior to 2018 and had Oxman-Guyatt scores of 5. Only one study had the highest QUOROM and Oxman-Guyatt scores, and that study concluded that first-line treatment with chemotherapy plus COX-2 inhibitors was superior to chemotherapy alone in terms of the overall response rate (ORR). However, no significant difference in clinical benefit, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), or 1-year survival rate was found. In addition, toxicities of the drugs had some influence on patients with heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: The Jadad algorithm identified the optimal current meta-analysis. COX-2 inhibitors increased the ORR when combined with chemotherapy, but did not improve the survival indices. In addition, they may increase the risk of cardiovascular events and hematological toxicities in NSCLC patients.