Magneto-Infrared Spectroscopic Study of Ultrathin Bi2_{2}Te3_{3} Single Crystals

Ultrathin Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ single crystals laid on Scotch tape are investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy at $4$K and in a magnetic field up to $35$T. The magneto-transmittance spectra of the Bi$_{2}$% Te$_{3}$/tape composite are analyzed as a two-layer system and the optical conductivity of Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ at different magnetic fields are extracted. We find that magnetic field modifies the optical conductivity in the following ways: (1) Field-induced transfer of the optical weight from the lower frequency regime ($<250$cm$^{-1}$) to the higher frequency regime ($$cm$^{-1}$) due to the redistribution of charge carriers across the Fermi surface. (2) Evolving of a Fano-resonance-like spectral feature from an anti-resonance to a resonance with increasing magnetic field. Such behavior can be attributed to the electron-phonon interactions between the $$ optical phonon mode and the continuum of electronic transitions. (3) Cyclotron resonance resulting from the inter-valence band Landau level transitions, which can be described by the electrodynamics of massive Dirac holes

Interaction-induced shift of the cyclotron resonance of graphene using infrared spectroscopy

We report a study of the cyclotron resonance (CR) transitions to and from the unusual $n=0$ Landau level (LL) in monolayer graphene. Unexpectedly, we find the CR transition energy exhibits large (up to 10%) and non-monotonic shifts as a function of the LL filling factor, with the energy being largest at half-filling of the $n=0$ level. The magnitude of these shifts, and their magnetic field dependence, suggests that an interaction-enhanced energy gap opens in the $n=0$ level at high magnetic fields. Such interaction effects normally have limited impact on the CR due to Kohn's theorem [W. Kohn, Phys. Rev. {\bf 123}, 1242 (1961)], which does not apply in graphene as a consequence of the underlying linear band structure.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Version 2, edited for publication. Includes a number of edits for clarity; also added a paragraph contrasting our work w/ previous CR expts. in 2D Si and GaA

Measurement of graphite tight-binding parameters using high field magneto-reflectance

frared reflectance spectroscopy at 4K in fields up to 31T. Both Schr\"odinger-like (K-point) and Dirac-like (H-point) Landau level transitions have been observed, and their magnetic field dispersion are analyzed by a newly-derived limiting case of the Slonczewski-Weiss-McClure model. The values of the band parameters are evaluated without using sophisticated conductivity peak lineshape analysis. In this work, several less-explored band parameters are determined from the experimental results and they are known to result in electron-hole asymmetry and the opening of an energy gap between the electron and hole bands in multilayer and bilayer graphene systems

LIGA microsystems aging : evaluation and mitigation.

The deployment of LIGA structures in DP applications requires a thorough understanding of potential long term physical and chemical changes that may occur during service. While these components are generally fabricated from simple metallic systems such as copper, nickel and nickel alloys, the electroplating process used to form them creates microstructural features which differ from those found in conventional (e.g. ingot metallurgy) processing of such materials. Physical changes in non-equilibrium microstructures may occur due to long term exposure to temperatures sufficient to permit atomic and vacancy mobility. Chemical changes, particularly at the surfaces of LIGA parts, may occur in the presence of gaseous chemical species (e.g. water vapor, HE off-gassing compounds) and contact with other metallic structures. In this study, we have characterized the baseline microstructure of several nickel-based materials that are used to fabricate LIGA structures. Solute content and distribution was found to have a major effect on the electroplated microstructures. Microstructural features were correlated to measurements of hardness and tensile strength. Dormancy testing was conducted on one of the baseline compositions, nickel-sulfamate. Groups of specimens were exposed to controlled thermal cycles; subsequent examinations compared properties of 'aged' specimens to the baseline conditions. Results of our testing indicate that exposure to ambient temperatures (-54 C to 71 C) do not result in microstructural changes that might be expected to significantly effect mechanical performance. Additionally, no localized changes in surface appearance were found as a result of contact between electroplated parts

Reversing non-local transport through a superconductor by electromagnetic excitations

Superconductors connected to normal metallic electrodes at the nanoscale provide a potential source of non-locally entangled electron pairs. Such states would arise from Cooper pairs splitting into two electrons with opposite spins tunnelling into different leads. In an actual system the detection of these processes is hindered by the elastic transmission of individual electrons between the leads, yielding an opposite contribution to the non-local conductance. Here we show that electromagnetic excitations on the superconductor can play an important role in altering the balance between these two processes, leading to a dominance of one upon the other depending on the spatial symmetry of these excitations. These findings allow to understand some intriguing recent experimental results and open the possibility to control non-local transport through a superconductor by an appropriate design of the experimental geometry.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Multicomponent fractional quantum Hall effect in graphene

We report observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) in high mobility multi-terminal graphene devices, fabricated on a single crystal boron nitride substrate. We observe an unexpected hierarchy in the emergent FQHE states that may be explained by strongly interacting composite Fermions with full SU(4) symmetric underlying degrees of freedom. The FQHE gaps are measured from temperature dependent transport to be up 10 times larger than in any other semiconductor system. The remarkable strength and unusual hierarcy of the FQHE described here provides a unique opportunity to probe correlated behavior in the presence of expanded quantum degrees of freedom.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure