Proximity Enhanced Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene

Graphene is the first model system of two-dimensional topological insulator (TI), also known as quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator. The QSH effect in graphene, however, has eluded direct experimental detection because of its extremely small energy gap due to the weak spin-orbit coupling. Here we predict by ab initio calculations a giant (three orders of magnitude) proximity induced enhancement of the TI energy gap in the graphene layer that is sandwiched between thin slabs of Sb2Te3 (or MoTe2). This gap (1.5 meV) is accessible by existing experimental techniques, and it can be further enhanced by tuning the interlayer distance via compression. We reveal by a tight-binding study that the QSH state in graphene is driven by the Kane-Mele interaction in competition with Kekul\'e deformation and symmetry breaking. The present work identifies a new family of graphene-based TIs with an observable and controllable bulk energy gap in the graphene layer, thus opening a new avenue for direct verification and exploration of the long-sought QSH effect in graphene.Comment: 4 figures in Carbon, 201

Giant spin-vorticity coupling excited by shear-horizontal surface acoustic waves

A non-magnetic layer can inject spin-polarized currents into an adjacent ferromagnetic layer via spin vorticity coupling (SVC), inducing spin wave resonance (SWR). In this work, we present the theoretical model of SWR generated by shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) via SVC, which contains distinct vorticities from well-studied Rayleigh SAW. Both Rayleigh- and SH-SAW delay lines have been designed and fabricated with a Ni81Fe19/Cu bilayer integrated on ST-cut quartz. Given the same wavelength, the measured power absorption of SH-SAW is four orders of magnitudes higher than that of the Rayleigh SAW. In addition, a high-order frequency dependence of the SWR is observed in the SH-SAW, indicating SVC can be strong enough to compare with magnetoelastic coupling

Pairing in graphene: A quantum Monte Carlo study

To address the issue of electron correlation driven superconductivity in graphene, we perform a systematic quantum Monte Carlo study of the pairing correlation in the t-U-V Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice. For V=0 and close to half filling, we find that pairing with d+id symmetry dominates pairing with extended-s symmetry. However, as the system size or the on-site Coulomb interaction increases, the long-range part of the d+id pairing correlation decreases and tends to vanish in the thermodynamic limit. An inclusion of nearest-neighbor interaction V, either repulsive or attractive, has a small effect on the extended-s pairing correlation, but strongly suppresses the d+id pairing correlation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Graphene-based topological insulator with an intrinsic bulk band gap above room temperature

Topological insulators (TIs) represent a new quantum state of matter characterized by robust gapless states inside the insulating bulk gap. The metallic edge states of a two-dimensional (2D) TI, known as quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect, are immune to backscattering and carry fully spin-polarized dissipationless currents. However, existing 2D TIs realized in HgTe and InAs/GaSb suffer from small bulk gaps (<10 meV) well below room temperature, thus limiting their application in electronic and spintronic devices. Here, we report a new 2D TI comprising a graphene layer sandwiched between two Bi2Se3 slabs that exhibits a large intrinsic bulk band gap of 30 to 50 meV, making it viable for room-temperature applications. Distinct from previous strategies for enhancing the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling effect of the graphene lattice, the present graphene-based TI operates on a new mechanism of strong inversion between graphene Dirac bands and Bi2Se3 conduction bands. Strain engineering leads to effective control and substantial enhancement of the bulk gap. Recently reported synthesis of smooth graphene/Bi2Se3 interfaces demonstrates feasibility of experimental realization of this new 2D TI structure, which holds great promise for nanoscale device applications.Comment: 3 figures, 1 tabl

Opening Band Gap without Breaking Lattice Symmetry: A New Route toward Robust Graphene-Based Nanoelectronics

Developing graphene-based nanoelectronics hinges on opening a band gap in the electronic structure of graphene, which is commonly achieved by breaking the inversion symmetry of the graphene lattice via an electric field (gate bias) or asymmetric doping of graphene layers. Here we introduce a new design strategy that places a bilayer graphene sheet sandwiched between two cladding layers of materials that possess strong spin-orbit coupling (e.g., Bi2Te3). Our ab initio and tight-binding calculations show that proximity enhanced spin-orbit coupling effect opens a large (44 meV) band gap in bilayer graphene without breaking its lattice symmetry, and the band gap can be effectively tuned by interlayer stacking pattern and significantly enhanced by interlayer compression. The feasibility of this quantum-well structure is demonstrated by recent experimental realization of high-quality heterojunctions between graphene and Bi2Te3, and this design also conforms to existing fabrication techniques in the semiconductor industry. The proposed quantum-well structure is expected to be especially robust since it does not require an external power supply to open and maintain a band gap, and the cladding layers provide protection against environmental degradation of the graphene layer in its device applications

Intermediate ferroelectric orthorhombic and monoclinic MB phases in [110]- electric field cooled Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-30%PbTiO3 crystals

Structural phase transformations of [110] electric field cooled Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-30%PbTiO3 (PMN-30%PT) crystals have been performed by x-ray diffraction in a field-cooled (FC) condition. A phase sequence of cubic(C)-tetragonal(T)-orthorhombic (O)-monoclinic (MB) was found on field-cooling (FC); and a R-MB-O one was observed with increasing field beginning from the zero field-cooled (ZFC) condition at room temperature. The application of the [110] electric field induced a dramatic change in the phase sequence in the FC condition, compared to the corresponding data for PMN-30%PT crystals in a [001] field, which shows that the phase sequence in the FC condition is altered by the crystallographic direction along which a modest electric field (E) is applied. Only when E is applied along [110] are intermediate O and MB phases observed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Identification of Rice Transcription Factors Associated with Drought Tolerance Using the Ecotilling Method

The drought tolerance (DT) of plants is a complex quantitative trait. Under natural and artificial selection, drought tolerance represents the crop survival ability and production capacity under drought conditions (Luo, 2010). To understand the regulation mechanism of varied drought tolerance among rice genotypes, 95 diverse rice landraces or varieties were evaluated within a field screen facility based on the ‘line–source soil moisture gradient’, and their resistance varied from extremely resistant to sensitive. The method of Ecotype Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (Ecotilling) was used to analyze the diversity in the promoters of 24 transcription factor families. The bands separated by electrophoresis using Ecotilling were converted into molecular markers. STRUCTURE analysis revealed a value of K = 2, namely, the population with two subgroups (i.e., indica and japonica), which coincided very well with the UPGMA clusters (NTSYS-pc software) using distance-based analysis and InDel markers. Then the association analysis between the promoter diversity of these transcription factors and the DT index/level of each variety was performed. The results showed that three genes were associated with the DT index and that five genes were associated with the DT level. The sequences of these associated genes are complex and variable, especially at approximately 1000 bp upstream of the transcription initiation sites. The study illuminated that association analysis aimed at Ecotilling diversity of natural groups could facilitate the isolation of rice genes related to complex quantitative traits

Laser-induced ultrasonic measurements for the detection and reconstruction of surface defects

Laser-induced ultrasonic measurement is a non-contact non-destructive technology that can be employed for the testing and assessment of surface defects. In order to improve the correct identification of defects, the full matrix capture (FMC) and total focusing method (TFM) are applied on the imaging process. FMC data includes A-scans resulting from the combination of all measurement axes defined by the sequential generation and detection of utilized laser beams in the system. In this paper, an aluminium block with four holes whose diameters range from 1 mm to 2.5 mm is assessed through B-scans, the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) and FMC/TFM. The results demonstrate that the FMC/TFM technology can significantly improve the imaging quality and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In addition, this method has higher lateral resolution and larger imaging range compared with traditional B-scans

Polar EuO(111) on Ir(111): A two-dimensional oxide

Through reactive molecular-beam epitaxy or Eu postoxidation and postannealing, large EuO(111) bilayer islands of high quality and exceptional stability are grown on Ir(111). We use scanning tunneling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements, and density functional theory to characterize the properties of this ultrathin polar rare-earth metal oxide in atomistic detail. We analyze the crystallographic properties and their growth dependence, the film morphology including the atomic structure of defects, the mechanisms for reduction in the electrostatic potential related to the film polarity, as well as the work function, thermal stability, and magnetic properties, resulting in a comprehensive picture of this new two-dimensional material