Giant Quantum Hall Plateau in Graphene Coupled to an InSe van der Waals Crystal.

We report on a "giant" quantum Hall effect plateau in a graphene-based field-effect transistor where graphene is capped by a layer of the van der Waals crystal InSe. The giant quantum Hall effect plateau arises from the close alignment of the conduction band edge of InSe with the Dirac point of graphene. This feature enables the magnetic-field- and electric-field-effect-induced transfer of charge carriers between InSe and the degenerate Landau level states of the adjacent graphene layer, which is coupled by a van der Waals heterointerface to the InSe.

Phonon-Assisted Resonant Tunneling of Electrons in Graphene-Boron Nitride Transistors.

We observe a series of sharp resonant features in the differential conductance of graphene-hexagonal boron nitride-graphene tunnel transistors over a wide range of bias voltages between 10 and 200 mV. We attribute them to electron tunneling assisted by the emission of phonons of well-defined energy. The bias voltages at which they occur are insensitive to the applied gate voltage and hence independent of the carrier densities in the graphene electrodes, so plasmonic effects can be ruled out. The phonon energies corresponding to the resonances are compared with the lattice dispersion curves of graphene-boron nitride heterostructures and are close to peaks in the single phonon density of states.

Subterahertz chaos generation by coupling a superlattice to a linear resonator.

We investigate the effects of a linear resonator on the high-frequency dynamics of electrons in devices exhibiting negative differential conductance. We show that the resonator strongly affects both the dc and ac transport characteristics of the device, inducing quasiperiodic and high-frequency chaotic current oscillations. The theoretical findings are confirmed by experimental measurements of a GaAs/AlAs miniband semiconductor superlattice coupled to a linear microstrip resonator. Our results are applicable to other active solid state devices and provide a generic approach for developing modern chaos-based high-frequency technologies including broadband chaotic wireless communication and superfast random-number generation.

Controlling high-frequency collective electron dynamics via single-particle complexity.

We demonstrate, through experiment and theory, enhanced high-frequency current oscillations due to magnetically-induced conduction resonances in superlattices. Strong increase in the ac power originates from complex single-electron dynamics, characterized by abrupt resonant transitions between unbound and localized trajectories, which trigger and shape propagating charge domains. Our data demonstrate that external fields can tune the collective behavior of quantum particles by imprinting configurable patterns in the single-particle classical phase space.

Laser location and manipulation of a single quantum tunneling channel in an InAs quantum dot.

We use a femtowatt focused laser beam to locate and manipulate a single quantum tunneling channel associated with an individual InAs quantum dot within an ensemble of dots. The intensity of the directed laser beam tunes the tunneling current through the targeted dot with an effective optical gain of 10(7) and modifies the curvature of the dot's confining potential and the spatial extent of its ground state electron eigenfunction. These observations are explained by the effect of photocreated hole charges which become bound close to the targeted dot, thus acting as an optically induced gate electrode.

High magnetic field quantum transport in Au nanoparticle-cellulose films.

We report the magneto-transport properties of cellulose films comprising interconnected networks of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). Cellulose is a biopolymer that can be made electrically conducting by cellulose regeneration in Au NP dispersions. The mechanism of electronic conduction in the Au-cellulose films changes from variable range hopping to metallic-like conduction with decreasing resistivity. Our experiments in high magnetic fields (up to 45 T) reveal negative magnetoresistance in the highly resistive films. This is attributed to the spin polarization of the Au NPs and the magnetic field induced suppression of electron spin flips during spin-polarized tunneling in the NP network.

Resonance and antiresonance in Raman scattering in GaSe and InSe crystals.

The temperature effect on the Raman scattering efficiency is investigated in [Formula: see text]-GaSe and [Formula: see text]-InSe crystals. We found that varying the temperature over a broad range from 5 to 350 K permits to achieve both the resonant conditions and the antiresonance behaviour in Raman scattering of the studied materials. The resonant conditions of Raman scattering are observed at about 270 K under the 1.96 eV excitation for GaSe due to the energy proximity of the optical band gap. In the case of InSe, the resonant Raman spectra are apparent at about 50 and 270 K under correspondingly the 2.41 eV and 2.54 eV excitations as a result of the energy proximity of the so-called B transition. Interestingly, the observed resonances for both materials are followed by an antiresonance behaviour noticeable at higher temperatures than the detected resonances. The significant variations of phonon-modes intensities can be explained in terms of electron-phonon coupling and quantum interference of contributions from different points of the Brillouin zone.

Optical imaging of electrical carrier injection into individual InAs quantum dots.

We image the micro-electroluminescence (EL) spectra of self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in the intrinsic region of a GaAs p-i-n diode and demonstrate optical detection of carrier injection into a single QD. Tunneling of electrons and holes into the QDs at bias voltages below the flat-band condition leads to a spectrum of sharp EL lines from a small number of bright spots on the diode surface, characteristic of emission from individual QDs. We explain this behavior in terms of Coulomb interaction effects and the selective excitation of a small number of QDs within the ensemble due to preferential tunneling paths for carriers.

Manipulating and imaging the shape of an electronic wave function by magnetotunneling spectroscopy.

We measure the current due to electrons tunneling through the ground state of hydrogenic Si donors placed in a GaAs quantum well in the presence of a magnetic field tilted at an angle to the plane of the well. The component of B parallel to the direction of current compresses the donor wave function. By measuring the current as a function of the perpendicular component of B, we probe how the magnetocompression affects the spatial form of the wave function and observe directly the transition from Coulombic to magnetic confinement at high fields.

Chaotic electron diffusion through stochastic webs enhances current flow in superlattices.

Understanding how complex systems respond to change is of fundamental importance in the natural sciences. There is particular interest in systems whose classical newtonian motion becomes chaotic as an applied perturbation grows. The transition to chaos usually occurs by the gradual destruction of stable orbits in parameter space, in accordance with the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theorem--a cornerstone of nonlinear dynamics that explains, for example, gaps in the asteroid belt. By contrast, 'non-KAM' chaos switches on and off abruptly at critical values of the perturbation frequency. This type of dynamics has wide-ranging implications in the theory of plasma physics, tokamak fusion, turbulence, ion traps, and quasicrystals. Here we realize non-KAM chaos experimentally by exploiting the quantum properties of electrons in the periodic potential of a semiconductor superlattice with an applied voltage and magnetic field. The onset of chaos at discrete voltages is observed as a large increase in the current flow due to the creation of unbound electron orbits, which propagate through intricate web patterns in phase space. Non-KAM chaos therefore provides a mechanism for controlling the electrical conductivity of a condensed matter device: its extreme sensitivity could find applications in quantum electronics and photonics.

Gaussian Processes with Physiologically-Inspired Priors for Physical Arousal Recognition.

While machine learning algorithms are able to detect subtle patterns of interest in data, expert knowledge may contain crucial information that is not easily extracted from a given dataset, especially when the latter is small or noisy. In this paper we investigate the suitability of Gaussian Process Classification (GPC) as an effective model to implement the domain knowledge in an algorithm's training phase. Building on their Bayesian nature, we proceed by injecting problem- specific domain knowledge in the form of an a-priori distribution on the GPC latent function. We do this by extracting handcrafted features from the input data, and correlating them to the logits of the classification problem through fitting a prior function informed by the physiology of the problem. The physiologically-informed prior of the GPC is then updated through the Bayes formula using the available dataset. We apply the methods discussed here to a two-class classification problem associated to a dataset comprising Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) signals collected from 26 subjects who were exposed to a physical stressor aimed at altering their autonomic nervous systems dynamics. We provide comparative computational experiments on the selection of appropriate physiologically-inspired GPC prior functions. We find that the recognition of the presence of the physical stressor is significantly enhanced when the physiologically-inspired prior knowledge is injected into the GPC model.

Imaging the electron wave function in self-assembled quantum dots.

Magnetotunneling spectroscopy is used as a noninvasive and nondestructive probe to produce two-dimensional spatial images of the probability density of an electron confined in a self-assembled semiconductor quantum dot. The technique exploits the effect of the classical Lorentz force on the motion of a tunneling electron and can be regarded as the momentum (k) space analog of scanning tunneling microscopy imaging. The images reveal the elliptical symmetry of the ground state and the characteristic lobes of the higher energy states.

Tailoring the physical properties of thiol-capped PbS quantum dots by thermal annealing.

We show that the thermal annealing of thiol-capped PbS colloidal quantum dots provides a means of narrowing the nanoparticle size distribution, increasing the size of the quantum dots and facilitating their coalescence preferentially along the 100 crystallographic axes. We exploit these phenomena to tune the photoluminescence emission of an ensemble of dots and to narrow the optical linewidth to values that compare with those reported at room temperature for single PbS quantum dots. We probe the influence of annealing on the electronic properties of the quantum dots by temperature dependent studies of the photoluminescence and magneto-photoluminescence.

Tailoring the electrical conductivity of GaAs by nitrogen incorporation.

We investigate the electrical conductivity of the dilute nitride alloy GaAs(1-x)N(x), focusing on the range of concentrations of N over which this material system behaves as a good conductor. We report a large increase of the resistivity for x>0.2% and a strong reduction of the electron mobility, µ, at x∼0.1%. In the ultra-dilute regime (x∼0.1%) and at low electric fields (<1 kV cm(-1)), the electrical conductivity retains the characteristic features of electron transport through extended states, albeit with relatively low mobility (µâˆ¼0.1 m(2) V(-1) s(-1) at T = 293 K) due to scattering of electrons by N atoms. In contrast, at large electric fields (>1 kV cm(-1)), the conduction electrons gain sufficient energy to approach the energy of the resonant N level, where they become spatially localized. This resonant electron localization in an electric field (RELIEF) leads to negative differential velocity. The RELIEF effect could be observed in other III-N-V compounds, such as InAs(1-x)N(x) and InP(1-x)N(x), and has potential for applications in terahertz electronics.

Bifurcations and chaos in semiconductor superlattices with a tilted magnetic field.

We study the effects of dissipation on electron transport in a semiconductor superlattice with an applied bias voltage and a magnetic field that is tilted relative to the superlattice axis. In previous work, we showed that, although the applied fields are stationary, they act like a terahertz plane wave, which strongly couples the Bloch and cyclotron motion of electrons within the lowest miniband. As a consequence, the electrons exhibit a unique type of Hamiltonian chaos, which creates an intricate mesh of conduction channels (a stochastic web) in phase space, leading to a large resonant increase in the current flow at critical values of the applied voltage. This phase-space patterning provides a sensitive mechanism for controlling electrical resistance. In this paper, we investigate the effects of dissipation on the electron dynamics by modifying the semiclassical equations of motion to include a linear damping term. We demonstrate that, even in the presence of dissipation, deterministic chaos plays an important role in the electron transport process. We identify mechanisms for the onset of chaos and explore the associated sequence of bifurcations in the electron trajectories. When the Bloch and cyclotron frequencies are commensurate, complex multistability phenomena occur in the system. In particular, for fixed values of the control parameters several distinct stable regimes can coexist, each corresponding to different initial conditions. We show that this multistability has clear, experimentally observable, signatures in the electron transport characteristics.

Stable DHLA-PEG capped PbS quantum dots: from synthesis to near-infrared biomedical imaging.

The short shelf-life of water-soluble quantum dots (QDs) due to colloidal instability represents a major drawback to their exploitation. This work examines the colloidal stability of PbS nanoparticles capped with dihydrolipoic acid-polyethylene glycol (DHLA-PEG) ligands terminated with functional groups such as -NH2, -COOH, OMe and -N3. and their application for in vivo imaging. We prove a mechanism of colloidal instability and develop a strategy to produce for the first time stable PEG-capped PbS quantum dots with high quantum yield and optical emission in the first and the second near-infrared (NIR) windows of low absorption of biological tissues. The NIR imaging of in vivo biodistribution is demonstrated at wavelengths >1000 nm, with benefits of reduced tissue absorption and light scattering. The stability, biocompatibility and potential for further QD functionalization open up realistic prospects for non-invasive bioimaging applications.

Resonant Zener tunnelling via zero-dimensional states in a narrow gap diode.

Interband tunnelling of carriers through a forbidden energy gap, known as Zener tunnelling, is a phenomenon of fundamental and technological interest. Its experimental observation in the Esaki p-n semiconductor diode has led to the first demonstration and exploitation of quantum tunnelling in a condensed matter system. Here we demonstrate a new type of Zener tunnelling that involves the resonant transmission of electrons through zero-dimensional (0D) states. In our devices, a narrow quantum well of the mid-infrared (MIR) alloy In(AsN) is placed in the intrinsic (i) layer of a p-i-n diode. The incorporation of nitrogen in the quantum well creates 0D states that are localized on nanometer lengthscales. These levels provide intermediate states that act as "stepping stones" for electrons tunnelling across the diode and give rise to a negative differential resistance (NDR) that is weakly dependent on temperature. These electron transport properties have potential for the development of nanometre-scale non-linear components for electronics and MIR photonics.

The direct-to-indirect band gap crossover in two-dimensional van der Waals Indium Selenide crystals.

The electronic band structure of van der Waals (vdW) layered crystals has properties that depend on the composition, thickness and stacking of the component layers. Here we use density functional theory and high field magneto-optics to investigate the metal chalcogenide InSe, a recent addition to the family of vdW layered crystals, which transforms from a direct to an indirect band gap semiconductor as the number of layers is reduced. We investigate this direct-to-indirect bandgap crossover, demonstrate a highly tuneable optical response from the near infrared to the visible spectrum with decreasing layer thickness down to 2 layers, and report quantum dot-like optical emissions distributed over a wide range of energy. Our analysis also indicates that electron and exciton effective masses are weakly dependent on the layer thickness and are significantly smaller than in other vdW crystals. These properties are unprecedented within the large family of vdW crystals and demonstrate the potential of InSe for electronic and photonic technologies.

Tuneable paramagnetic susceptibility and exciton g-factor in Mn-doped PbS colloidal nanocrystals.

We report on PbS colloidal nanocrystals that combine within one structure solubility in physiological solvents with near-infrared photoluminescence, and magnetic and optical properties tuneable by the controlled incorporation of magnetic impurities (Mn). We use high magnetic fields (B up to 30 T) to measure the magnetization of the nanocrystals in liquid and the strength of the sp-d exchange interaction between the exciton and the Mn-ions. With increasing Mn-content from 0.1% to 7%, the mass magnetic susceptibility increases at a rate of ∼ 10(-7) m(3) kg(-1) per Mn percentage; correspondingly, the exciton g-factor decreases from 0.47 to 0.10. The controlled modification of the paramagnetism, fluorescence and exciton g-factor of the nanocrystals is relevant to the implementation of these paramagnetic semiconductor nanocrystals in quantum technologies ranging from quantum information to magnetic resonance imaging.

Linear magnetoresistance due to multiple-electron scattering by low-mobility islands in an inhomogeneous conductor.

Linear transverse magnetoresistance is commonly observed in many material systems including semimetals, narrow band-gap semiconductors, multi-layer graphene and topological insulators. It can originate in an inhomogeneous conductor from distortions in the current paths induced by macroscopic spatial fluctuations in the carrier mobility and it has been explained using a phenomenological semiclassical random resistor network model. However, the link between the linear magnetoresistance and the microscopic nature of the electron dynamics remains unknown. Here we demonstrate how the linear magnetoresistance arises from the stochastic behaviour of the electronic cycloidal trajectories around low-mobility islands in high-mobility inhomogeneous conductors and that this process is only weakly affected by the applied electric field strength. Also, we establish a quantitative link between the island morphology and the strength of linear magnetoresistance of relevance for future applications.