52 research outputs found
Charge doping and large lattice expansion in oxygen-deficient heteroepitaxial WO3
Tungsten trioxide is a versatile material with widespread applications
ranging from electrochromic and optoelectronic devices to water splitting and
catalysis of chemical reactions. For technological applications, thin films of
WO3 are particularly appealing, taking advantage from high surface-to-volume
ratio and tunable physical properties. However, the growth of stoichiometric,
crystalline thin films is challenging because the deposition conditions are
very sensitive to the formation of oxygen vacancies. In this work, we show how
background oxygen pressure during pulsed laser deposition can be used to tune
the structural and electronic properties of WO3 thin films. By performing X-ray
diffraction and low-temperature transport measurements, we find changes in WO3
lattice volume up to 10%, concomitantly with an insulator-to-metal transition
as a function of increased level of electron doping. We use advanced ab initio
calculations to describe in detail the properties of the oxygen vacancy defect
states, and their evolution in terms of excess charge concentration. Our
results depict an intriguing scenario where structural, electronic, optical,
and transport properties of WO3 single-crystal thin films can all be purposely
tuned by a suited control of oxygen vacancies formation during growth
Nanoscale Electrostatic Control of Oxide Interfaces
We develop a robust and versatile platform to define nanostructures at oxide
interfaces via patterned top gates. Using LaAlO/SrTiO as a model
system, we demonstrate controllable electrostatic confinement of electrons to
nanoscale regions in the conducting interface. The excellent gate response,
ultra-low leakage currents, and long term stability of these gates allow us to
perform a variety of studies in different device geometries from room
temperature down to 50 mK. Using a split-gate device we demonstrate the
formation of a narrow conducting channel whose width can be controllably
reduced via the application of appropriate gate voltages. We also show that a
single narrow gate can be used to induce locally a superconducting to
insulating transition. Furthermore, in the superconducting regime we see
indications of a gate-voltage controlled Josephson effect.Comment: Version after peer review; includes additional data on
superconductivit
Superconducting quantum point contact with split gates in the two dimensional LaAlO3/SrTiO3 superfluid
One of the hallmark experiments of quantum transport is the observation of
the quantized resistance in a point contact formed with split gates in
GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. Being carried out on a single material, they
represent in an ideal manner equilibrium reservoirs which are connected only
through a few electron mode channel with certain transmission coefficients. It
has been a long standing goal to achieve similar experimental conditions also
in superconductors, only reached in atomic scale mechanically tunable break
junctions of conventional superconducting metals, but here the Fermi wavelength
is so short that it leads to a mixing of quantum transport with atomic orbital
physics. Here we demonstrate for the first time the formation of a
superconducting quantum point contact (SQPC) with split gate technology in a
superconductor, utilizing the unique gate tunability of the two dimensional
superfluid at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) interface. When the constriction is
tuned through the action of metallic split gates we identify three regimes of
transport: (i) SQPC for which the supercurrent is carried only by a few quantum
transport channels. (ii) Superconducting island strongly coupled to the
equilibrium reservoirs. (iii) Charge island with a discrete spectrum weakly
coupled to the reservoirs. Our experiments demonstrate the feasibility of a new
generation of mesoscopic all-superconductor quantum transport devices.Comment: 18 page
An Advanced Real-Time Rainfall Monitoring System Based on Commercial Satellite Broadcasting Service
Correct regulation of meteoric surface and subsurface flow waters is a fundamental goal for the sustainable development of the territories. In this paper, a new system for real-time monitoring of rainfall and cumulated rainfall is resented and discussed. The system implements a Sensor Network based on the IoT paradigm and can cover a wide area with a relatively small number of sensors, strategically placed. A real application case, based on the implementation of the Monte Scarpino pilot plant, is also presented and discussed
Balanced electron-hole transport in spin-orbit semimetal SrIrO3 heterostructures
Relating the band structure of correlated semimetals to their transport
properties is a complex and often open issue. The partial occupation of
numerous electron and hole bands can result in properties that are seemingly in
contrast with one another, complicating the extraction of the transport
coefficients of different bands. The 5d oxide SrIrO3 hosts parabolic bands of
heavy holes and light electrons in gapped Dirac cones due to the interplay
between electron-electron interactions and spin-orbit coupling. We present a
multifold approach relying on different experimental techniques and theoretical
calculations to disentangle its complex electronic properties. By combining
magnetotransport and thermoelectric measurements in a field-effect geometry
with first-principles calculations, we quantitatively determine the transport
coefficients of different conduction channels. Despite their different
dispersion relationships, electrons and holes are found to have strikingly
similar transport coefficients, yielding a holelike response under field-effect
and thermoelectric measurements and a linear, electronlike Hall effect up to 33
T.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Bimodal Phase Diagram of the Superfluid Density in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Revealed by an Interfacial Waveguide Resonator
We explore the superconducting phase diagram of the two-dimensional electron
system at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface by monitoring the frequencies of the
cavity modes of a coplanar waveguide resonator fabricated in the interface
itself. We determine the phase diagram of the superconducting transition as a
function of temperature and electrostatic gating, finding that both the
superfluid density and the transition temperature follow a dome shape, but that
the two are not monotonically related. The ground state of this 2DES is
interpreted as a Josephson junction array, where a transition from long- to
short-range order occurs as a function of the electronic doping. The synergy
between correlated oxides and superconducting circuits is revealed to be a
promising route to investigate these exotic compounds, complementary to
standard magneto-transport measurements.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures and 10 pages of supplementary materia
Nanopatterning of weak links in superconducting oxide interfaces
The interface between two wide band-gap insulators, LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 (LAO/STO), hosts a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (q2DEG), two-dimensional superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and giant Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The co-existence of two-dimensional superconductivity with gate-tunable spin-orbit coupling and multiband occupation is of particular interest for the realization of unconventional superconducting pairing. To investigate the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter, phase sensitive measurements of the Josephson effect are required. We describe an approach for the fabrication of artificial superconducting weak links at the LAO/STO interface using direct high-resolution electron beam lithography and low-energy argon ion beam irradiation. The method does not require lift-off steps or sacrificial layers. Therefore, resolution is only limited by the electron beam lithography and pattern transfer. We have realized superconducting weak links with a barrier thickness of 30–100 nm. The barrier transparency of the weak links can be controlled by the irradiation dose and further tuned by a gate voltage. Our results open up new possibilities for the realization of quantum devices in oxide interfaces
Controlling magnetism with light in zero orbital angular momentum antiferromagnet
Antiferromagnetic materials feature intrinsic ultrafast spin dynamics, making them ideal candidates for future magnonic devices operating at THz frequencies. A major focus of current research is the investigation of optical methods for the efficient generation of coherent magnons in antiferromagnetic insulators. In magnetic lattices endowed with orbital angular momentum, spin-orbit coupling enables spin dynamics through the resonant excitation of low-energy electric dipoles such as phonons and orbital resonances which interact with spins. However, in magnetic systems with zero orbital angular momentum, microscopic pathways for the resonant and low-energy optical excitation of coherent spin dynamics are lacking. Here, we consider experimentally the relative merits of electronic and vibrational excitations for the optical control of zero orbital angular momentum magnets, focusing on a limit case: the antiferromagnet manganese phosphorous trisulfide (MnPS3), constituted by orbital singlet Mn2þ ions. We study the correlation of spins with two types of excitations within its band gap: a bound electron orbital excitation from the singlet orbital ground state of Mn2þ into an orbital triplet state, which causes coherent spin precession, and a vibrational excitation of the crystal field that causes thermal spin disorder. Our findings cast orbital transitions as key targets for magnetic control in insulators constituted by magnetic centers of zero orbital angular momentum
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