The effect of rippling on the mechanical properties of graphene

Graphene is the stiffest material known so far but, due to its one-atom thickness, it is also very bendable. Consequently, free-standing graphene exhibit ripples that has major effects on its elastic properties. Here we will summarize three experiments where the influence of rippling is essential to address the results. Firstly, we observed that atomic vacancies lessen the negative thermal expansion coefficient of free-standing graphene. We also observed an increase of the Young's modulus with global applied strain and with the introduction of small density defects that we attributed to the decrease of rippling. Here, we will focus on a surprising feature observed in the data: the experiments consistently indicate that only the rippling with wavelengths between 5-10nm influences the mechanics of graphene. The rippling responsible of the negative TEC and anomalous elasticity is thought to be dynamic, i.e. flexural phonons. However, flexural phonons with these wavelengths should have minor effects on the mechanics of graphene, therefore other mechanisms must be considered to address our observations. We propose static ripples as one of the key elements to correctly understand the thermomechanics of graphene and suggest that rippling arises naturally due to a competition of symmetry breaking and anharmonic fluctuations

Environmental effects in mechanical properties of few-layer black phosphorus

We report on the mechanical properties of few-layer black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets, in high vacuum and as a function of time of exposure to atmospheric conditions. BP flakes with thicknesses ranging from 4 to 30 nm suspended over circular holes are characterized by nanoindentations using an atomic force microscope tip. From measurements in high vacuum an elastic modulus of 46 ± 10 GPa and breaking strength of 2.4 ± 1 GPa are estimated. Both magnitudes are independent of the thickness of the flakes. Our results show that the exposure to air has substantial influence in the mechanical response of flakes thinner than 6 nm but small effects on thicker flake

High-Power-Density Energy-Harvesting Devices Based on the Anomalous Nernst Effect of Co/Pt Magnetic Multilayers

The anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) is a thermomagnetic phenomenon with potential applications in thermal energy harvesting. While many recent works studied the approaches to increase the ANE coefficient of materials, relatively little effort was devoted to increasing the power supplied by the effect. Here, we demonstrate a nanofabricated device with record power density generated by the ANE. To accomplish this, we fabricate micrometer-sized devices in which the thermal gradient is 3 orders of magnitude higher than conventional macroscopic devices. In addition, we use Co/Pt multilayers, a system characterized by a high ANE thermopower (∼1 μV/K), low electrical resistivity, and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These innovations allow us to obtain power densities of around 13 ± 2 W/cm3. We believe that this design may find uses in harvesting wasted energy, e.g., in electronic devicesThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the projects PID2019-108075RB-C31 and MCIN/FEDER RTI2018-097895-B-C41. G.L.-P. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Juan de la Cierva program (FJCI-2017-32370). J.M.-M. acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through FPU Program No. FPU18/01738

Fatigue response of MoS2 with controlled introduction of atomic vacancies

Fatigue-induced failure resulting from repetitive stress-strain cycles is a critical concern in the development of robust and durable nanoelectromechanical devices founded on 2D semiconductors. Defects, such as vacancies and grain boundaries, inherent in scalable materials can act as stress concentrators and accelerate fatigue fracture. Here, we investigate MoS2 with controlled atomic vacancies, to elucidate its mechanical reliability and fatigue response as a function of atomic defect density. High-quality MoS2 demonstrates an exceptional fatigue response, enduring 109 cycles at 80% of its breaking strength (13.5 GPa), surpassing the fatigue resistance of steel and approaching that of graphene. The introduction of atomic defect densities akin to those generated during scalable synthesis processes (∼1012 cm-2) reduces the fatigue strength to half the breaking strength. Our findings also point toward a sudden defect reconfiguration prior to global failure as the primary fatigue mechanism, offering valuable insights into structure-property relationshipsS2018/NMT-432

Improved graphene blisters by ultrahigh pressure sealing

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To acces final work see “Improved Graphene Blisters by Ultrahigh Pressure Sealing”, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 12.33 (2020): 37750-37756, 10.1021/acsami.0c09765Graphene is a very attractive material for nanomechanical devices and membrane applications. Graphene blisters based on silicon oxide microcavities are a simple but relevant example of nanoactuators. A drawback of this experimental setup is that gas leakage through the graphene-SiO2 interface contributes significantly to the total leak rate. Here, we study the diffusion of air from pressurized graphene drumheads on SiO2 microcavities and propose a straightforward method to improve the already strong adhesion between graphene and the underlying SiO2 substrate, resulting in reduced leak rates. This is carried out by applying controlled and localized ultrahigh pressure (>10 GPa) with an atomic force microscopy diamond tip. With this procedure, we are able to significantly approach the graphene layer to the SiO2 surface around the drumheads, thus enhancing the interaction between them, allowing us to better seal the graphene-SiO2 interface, which is reflected in up to ∼4 times lower leakage rates. Our work opens an easy way to improve the performance of graphene as a gas membrane on a technological relevant substrate such as SiO2We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the “Marı́ ́ a de Maeztu” Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2018- 000805-M), projects PID2019-106268GB, S2018/NMT-451, and FLAG-ERA JTC2017, and the Ramon Areces Foundation. G.L.-P. acknowledges financial support through the “Juan de la Cierva” Fellowship FJCI-2017-3237

Magnetization Signature of Topological Surface States in a Non-Symmorphic Superconductor

Superconductors with nontrivial band structure topology represent a class of materials with unconventional and potentially useful properties. Recent years have seen much success in creating artificial hybrid structures exhibiting the main characteristics of 2D topological superconductors. Yet, bulk materials known to combine inherent superconductivity with nontrivial topology remain scarce, largely because distinguishing their central characteristic—the topological surface states—has proved challenging due to a dominant contribution from the superconducting bulk. In this work, a highly anomalous behavior of surface superconductivity in topologically nontrivial 3D superconductor In2Bi, where the surface states result from its nontrivial band structure, itself a consequence of the non-symmorphic crystal symmetry and strong spin–orbit coupling, is reported. In contrast to smoothly decreasing diamagnetic susceptibility above the bulk critical field, Hc2, as seen in conventional superconductors, a near-perfect, Meissner-like screening of low-frequency magnetic fields well above Hc2 is observed. The enhanced diamagnetism disappears at a new phase transition close to the critical field of surface superconductivity, Hc3. Using theoretical modeling, the anomalous screening is shown to be consistent with modification of surface superconductivity by the topological surface states. The possibility of detecting signatures of the surface states using macroscopic magnetization provides a new tool for the discovery and identification of topological superconductor

Magnetization Signature of Topological Surface States in a Non-Symmorphic Superconductor

Superconductors with nontrivial band structure topology represent a class of materials with unconventional and potentially useful properties. Recent years have seen much success in creating artificial hybrid structures exhibiting the main characteristics of 2D topological superconductors. Yet, bulk materials known to combine inherent superconductivity with nontrivial topology remain scarce, largely because distinguishing their central characteristic—the topological surface states—has proved challenging due to a dominant contribution from the superconducting bulk. In this work, a highly anomalous behavior of surface superconductivity in topologically nontrivial 3D superconductor In2Bi, where the surface states result from its nontrivial band structure, itself a consequence of the non-symmorphic crystal symmetry and strong spin–orbit coupling, is reported. In contrast to smoothly decreasing diamagnetic susceptibility above the bulk critical field, Hc2, as seen in conventional superconductors, a near-perfect, Meissner-like screening of low-frequency magnetic fields well above Hc2 is observed. The enhanced diamagnetism disappears at a new phase transition close to the critical field of surface superconductivity, Hc3. Using theoretical modeling, the anomalous screening is shown to be consistent with modification of surface superconductivity by the topological surface states. The possibility of detecting signatures of the surface states using macroscopic magnetization provides a new tool for the discovery and identification of topological superconductor

Integrating 2D materials and plasmonics on lithium niobate platforms for pulsed laser operation at the nanoscale

The current need for coherent light sources for integrated (nano)photonics motivates the search for novel laser designs emitting at technologically relevant wavelengths with high-frequency stability and low power consumption. Here, a new monolithic architecture that integrates monolayer MoS2 and chains of silver nanoparticles on a rare-earth (Nd3+) doped LiNbO3 platform is developed to demonstrate Q-switched lasing operation at the nanoscale. The localized surface plasmons provided by the nanoparticle chains spatially confine the gain generated by Nd3+ ions at subwavelength scales, and large-area monolayer MoS2 acts as saturable absorber. As a result, an ultra-compact coherent pulsed light source delivering stable train pulses with repetition rates of hundreds of kHz and pulse duration of 1 µs is demonstrated without the need of any voltage-driven optical modulation. Moreover, the monolithic integration of the different elements is achieved without sophisticated processing, and it is compatible with LiNbO3-based photonics. The results highlight the robustness of the approach, which can be extended to other 2D materials and solid-state gain media. Potential applications in communications, quantum computing, or ultra-sensitive sensing can benefit from the synergy of the materials involved in this approach, which provides a wealth of opportunities for light control at reduced scalesPID2019-108257GB-I00, PID2022-137444NB-I0, CEX2018-000805-M, PID2019-106268GB-C3

Broad adaptability of coronavirus adhesion revealed from the complementary surface affinity of membrane and spikes

Coronavirus stands for a large family of viruses characterized by protrudingspikes surrounding a lipidic membrane adorned with proteins. The presentstudy explores the adhesion of transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus (TGEV) particles on a variety of reference solid surfaces that emulate typicalvirus-surface interactions. Atomic force microscopy informs about trappingeffectivity and the shape of the virus envelope on each surface, revealing thatthe deformation of TGEV particles spans from 20% to 50% in diameter. Giventhis large deformation range, experimental Langmuir isotherms convey anunexpectedly moderate variation in the adsorption-free energy, indicating aviral adhesion adaptability which goes beyond the membrane. Thecombination of an extended Helfrich theory and coarse-grained simulationsreveals that, in fact, the envelope and the spikes present complementaryadsorption affinities. While strong membrane-surface interaction lead tohighly deformed TGEV particles, surfaces with strong spike attraction yieldsmaller deformations with similar or even larger adsorption-free energiesFIS2017-89549-R, FIS2017-90701-RED, PID2020-117752RB-I00, PDC2021-121441-C2

Magnetization Signature of Topological Surface States in a Non‐Symmorphic Superconductor

From Wiley via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-04-28, rev-recd 2021-06-16, pub-electronic 2021-08-08Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedFunder: European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme; Grant(s): 785219, 881603Funder: EPSRC; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000266; Grant(s): EP/L01548XAbstract: Superconductors with nontrivial band structure topology represent a class of materials with unconventional and potentially useful properties. Recent years have seen much success in creating artificial hybrid structures exhibiting the main characteristics of 2D topological superconductors. Yet, bulk materials known to combine inherent superconductivity with nontrivial topology remain scarce, largely because distinguishing their central characteristic—the topological surface states—has proved challenging due to a dominant contribution from the superconducting bulk. In this work, a highly anomalous behavior of surface superconductivity in topologically nontrivial 3D superconductor In2Bi, where the surface states result from its nontrivial band structure, itself a consequence of the non‐symmorphic crystal symmetry and strong spin–orbit coupling, is reported. In contrast to smoothly decreasing diamagnetic susceptibility above the bulk critical field, Hc2, as seen in conventional superconductors, a near‐perfect, Meissner‐like screening of low‐frequency magnetic fields well above Hc2 is observed. The enhanced diamagnetism disappears at a new phase transition close to the critical field of surface superconductivity, Hc3. Using theoretical modeling, the anomalous screening is shown to be consistent with modification of surface superconductivity by the topological surface states. The possibility of detecting signatures of the surface states using macroscopic magnetization provides a new tool for the discovery and identification of topological superconductors