Fiber-coupled Antennas for Ultrafast Coherent Terahertz Spectroscopy in Low Temperatures and High Magnetic Fields

For the purposes of measuring the high-frequency complex conductivity of correlated-electron materials at low temperatures and high magnetic fields, a method is introduced for performing coherent time-domain terahertz spectroscopy directly in the cryogenic bore of existing dc and pulsed magnets. Miniature fiber-coupled THz emitters and receivers are constructed and are demonstrated to work down to 1.5 Kelvin and up to 17 Tesla, for eventual use in higher-field magnets. Maintaining the sub-micron alignment between fiber and antenna during thermal cycling, obtaining ultrafast (${<200}$~fs) optical gating pulses at the end of long optical fibers, and designing highly efficient devices that work well with low-power optical gating pulses constitute the major technical challenges of this project. Data on a YBCO superconducting thin film and a high mobility 2D electron gas is shown.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Possible field-tuned SIT in high-Tc superconductors: implications for pairing at high magnetic fields

The behavior of some high temperature superconductors (HTSC) such as $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}$ and $\rm Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+\delta}$, at very high magnetic field, is similar to that of thin films of amorphous InOx near the magnetic field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition. Analyzing the InOx data at high fields in terms of persisting local pairing amplitude, we argue by analogy that local pairing amplitude also persists well into the dissipative state of the HTSCs, the regime commonly denoted as the "normal state" in very high magnetic field experiments.Comment: Revised figures and reference

Metal-to-Insulator Crossover in the Low-Temperature Normal State of Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_{x}CuO_{6+\delta}

We measure the normal-state in-plane resistivity of La-doped Bi-2201 single crystals at low temperatures by suppressing superconductivity with 60-T pulsed magnetic fields. With decreasing hole doping, we observe a crossover from a metallic to insulating behavior in the low-temperature normal state. This crossover is estimated to occur near 1/8 doping, well inside the underdoped regime, and not at optimum doping as reported for other cuprates. The insulating regime is marked by a logarithmic temperature dependence of the resistivity over two decades of temperature, suggesting that a peculiar charge localization is common to the cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PR

Room-Temperature Quantum Hall Effect in Graphene

The quantum Hall effect (QHE), one example of a quantum phenomenon that occur on a truly macroscopic scale, has been attracting intense interest since its discovery in 1980 and has helped elucidate many important aspects of quantum physics. It has also led to the establishment of a new metrological standard, the resistance quantum. Disappointingly, however, the QHE could only have been observed at liquid-helium temperatures. Here, we show that in graphene - a single atomic layer of carbon - the QHE can reliably be measured even at room temperature, which is not only surprising and inspirational but also promises QHE resistance standards becoming available to a broader community, outside a few national institutions.Comment: Published in Science online 15 February 200