39 research outputs found
Hundredfold Enhancement of Light Emission via Defect Control in Monolayer Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides
Two dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) based
semiconductors have generated intense recent interest due to their novel
optical and electronic properties, and potential for applications. In this
work, we characterize the atomic and electronic nature of intrinsic point
defects found in single crystals of these materials synthesized by two
different methods - chemical vapor transport and self-flux growth. Using a
combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning transmission
electron microscopy (STEM), we show that the two major intrinsic defects in
these materials are metal vacancies and chalcogen antisites. We show that by
control of the synthetic conditions, we can reduce the defect concentration
from above to below . Because these point
defects act as centers for non-radiative recombination of excitons, this
improvement in material quality leads to a hundred-fold increase in the
radiative recombination efficiency
Magnetism in Semiconducting Molybdenum Dichalcogenides
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are interesting for understanding
fundamental physics of two-dimensional materials (2D) as well as for many
emerging technologies, including spin electronics. Here, we report the
discovery of long-range magnetic order below TM = 40 K and 100 K in bulk
semiconducting TMDs 2H-MoTe2 and 2H-MoSe2, respectively, by means of muon
spin-rotation (muSR), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), as well as density
functional theory (DFT) calculations. The muon spin rotation measurements show
the presence of a large and homogeneous internal magnetic fields at low
temperatures in both compounds indicative of long-range magnetic order. DFT
calculations show that this magnetism is promoted by the presence of defects in
the crystal. The STM measurements show that the vast majority of defects in
these materials are metal vacancies and chalcogen-metal antisites which are
randomly distributed in the lattice at the sub-percent level. DFT indicates
that the antisite defects are magnetic with a magnetic moment in the range of
0.9-2.8 mu_B. Further, we find that the magnetic order stabilized in 2H-MoTe2
and 2H-MoSe2 is highly sensitive to hydrostatic pressure. These observations
establish 2H-MoTe2 and 2H-MoSe2 as a new class of magnetic semiconductors and
opens a path to studying the interplay of 2D physics and magnetism in these
interesting semiconductors.Comment: 13 pages, 10 Figure
Moiréless correlations in ABCA graphene
Atomically thin van der Waals materials stacked with an interlayer twist have proven to be an excellent platform toward achieving gate-tunable correlated phenomena linked to the formation of flat electronic bands. In this work we demonstrate the formation of emergent correlated phases in multilayer rhombohedral graphene––a simple material that also exhibits a flat electronic band edge but without the need of having a moiré superlattice induced by twisted van der Waals layers. We show that two layers of bilayer graphene that are twisted by an arbitrary tiny angle host large (micrometer-scale) regions of uniform rhombohedral four-layer (ABCA) graphene that can be independently studied. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals that ABCA graphene hosts an unprecedentedly sharp van Hove singularity of 3–5-meV half-width. We demonstrate that when this van Hove singularity straddles the Fermi level, a correlated many-body gap emerges with peak-to-peak value of 9.5 meV at charge neutrality. Mean-field theoretical calculations for model with short-ranged interactions indicate that two primary candidates for the appearance of this broken symmetry state are a charge-transfer excitonic insulator and a ferrimagnet. Finally, we show that ABCA graphene hosts surface topological helical edge states at natural interfaces with ABAB graphene which can be turned on and off with gate voltage, implying that small-angle twisted double-bilayer graphene is an ideal programmable topological quantum material
Moiré metrology of energy landscapes in van der Waals heterostructures
The emerging field of twistronics, which harnesses the twist angle between two-dimensional materials, represents a promising route for the design of quantum materials, as the twist-angle-induced superlattices offer means to control topology and strong correlations. At the small twist limit, and particularly under strain, as atomic relaxation prevails, the emergent moiré superlattice encodes elusive insights into the local interlayer interaction. Here we introduce moiré metrology as a combined experiment-theory framework to probe the stacking energy landscape of bilayer structures at the 0.1 meV/atom scale, outperforming the gold-standard of quantum chemistry. Through studying the shapes of moiré domains with numerous nano-imaging techniques, and correlating with multi-scale modelling, we assess and refine first-principle models for the interlayer interaction. We document the prowess of moiré metrology for three representative twisted systems: bilayer graphene, double bilayer graphene and H-stacked MoSe2/WSe2. Moiré metrology establishes sought after experimental benchmarks for interlayer interaction, thus enabling accurate modelling of twisted multilayers
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Nanofilament Formation and Regeneration During Cu/Al₂O₃ Resistive Memory Switching.
Conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM) is a leading candidate to supersede flash memory, but poor understanding of its switching process impedes widespread implementation. The underlying physics and basic, unresolved issues such as the connecting filament's growth direction can be revealed with direct imaging, but the nanoscale target region is completely encased and thus difficult to access with real-time, high-resolution probes. In Pt/Al2O3/Cu CBRAM devices with a realistic topology, we find that the filament grows backward toward the source metal electrode. This observation, consistent over many cycles in different devices, corroborates the standard electrochemical metallization model of CBRAM operation. Time-resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) reveals distinct nucleation-limited and potential-limited no-growth periods occurring before and after a connection is made, respectively. The subfemtoampere ionic currents visualized move some thousands of atoms during a switch and lag the nanoampere electronic currents
Imaging interfacial electrical transport in graphene-MoS2 heterostructures with electron-beam-induced-currents.
Heterostructure devices with specific and extraordinary properties can be fabricated by stacking two-dimensional crystals. Cleanliness at the inter-crystal interfaces within a heterostructure is crucial for maximizing device performance. However, because these interfaces are buried, characterizing their impact on device function is challenging. Here, we show that electron-beam induced current (EBIC) mapping can be used to image interfacial contamination and to characterize the quality of buried heterostructure interfaces with nanometer-scale spatial resolution. We applied EBIC and photocurrent imaging to map photo-sensitive graphene-MoS2 heterostructures. The EBIC maps, together with concurrently acquired scanning transmission electron microscopy images, reveal how a device's photocurrent collection efficiency is adversely affected by nanoscale debris invisible to optical-resolution photocurrent mapping