Variation of the character of spin-orbit interaction by Pt intercalation underneath graphene on Ir(111)

The modification of the graphene spin structure is of interest for novel possibilities of application of graphene in spintronics. The most exciting of them demand not only high value of spin-orbit splitting of the graphene states, but non-Rashba behavior of the splitting and spatial modulation of the spin-orbit interaction. In this work we study the spin and electronic structure of graphene on Ir(111) with intercalated Pt monolayer. Pt interlayer does not change the 9.3×9.3 superlattice of graphene, while the spin structure of the Dirac cone becomes modified. It is shown that the Rashba splitting of the π state is reduced, while hybridization of the graphene and substrate states leads to a spin-dependent avoided-crossing effect near the Fermi level. Such a variation of spin-orbit interaction combined with the superlattice effects can induce a topological phase in graphene

Observation of a universal donor-dependent vibrational mode in graphene

Electron-phonon coupling and the emergence of superconductivity in intercalated graphite have been studied extensively. Yet, phonon-mediated superconductivity has never been observed in the 2D equivalent of these materials, doped monolayer graphene. Here we perform angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to try to find an electron donor for graphene that is capable of inducing strong electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity. We examine the electron donor species Cs, Rb, K, Na, Li, Ca and for each we determine the full electronic band structure, the Eliashberg function and the superconducting critical temperature Tc from the spectral function. An unexpected low-energy peak appears for all dopants with an energy and intensity that depend on the dopant atom. We show that this peak is the result of a dopant-related vibration. The low energy and high intensity of this peak are crucially important for achieving superconductivity, with Ca being the most promising candidate for realizing superconductivity in graphene

Effect of Hydrogen Fluoride Addition and Synthesis Temperature on the Structure of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Fluorinated by Molecular Fluorine

Double‐walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) have been fluorinated by pure molecular fluorine (F2) at room temperature or 200 °C and a mixture of F2 with hydrogen fluoride (HF) at 200 °C that resulted in products with compositions of CF0.12, CF0.39, and CF0.53 as determined by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The differences in the structures of three kinds of fluorinated DWCNTs were revealed using transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering, and near‐edge X‐ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. Quantum‐chemical modeling of the NEXAFS F K‐edge spectra detected a change in the fluorine pattern with the increase of the F2 treatment temperature. The presence of HF in fluorine gas was found to accelerate the fluorination process and cause a partial destruction of outer shells of the DWCNT

Site- and spin-dependent coupling at the highly ordered h-BN/Co(0001) interface

Using photoelectron diffraction and spectroscopy, we explore the structural and electronic properties of the hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer epitaxially grown on the Co(0001) surface. Perfect matching of the lattice parameters allows formation of a well-defined interface where the B atoms occupy the hollow sites while the N atoms are located above the Co atoms. The corrugation of the h-BN monolayer and its distance from the substrate were determined by means of R-factor analysis. The obtained results are in perfect agreement with the density functional theory (DFT) predictions. The electronic structure of the interface is characterized by a significant mixing of the h-BN and Co states. Such hybridized states appear in the h-BN band gap. This allows to obtain atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images from the formally insulating 2D material being in contact with ferromagnetic metal. The STM images reveal mainly the nitrogen sublattice due to a dominating contribution of nitrogen orbitals to the electronic states at the Fermi level. We believe that the high quality, well-defined structure and interesting electronic properties make the h-BN/Co(0001) interface suitable for spintronic applications.L.V.Ya. acknowledges the RSF (Grant No. 16-42-01093). A.V.T., V.O.S., K.A.B., O.Yu.V., and D.Yu.U. acknowledge St. Petersburg State University for research Grant No. 11.65.42.2017. M.V.K. and I.I.O. acknowledge the RFBR (Grant No. 16-29-06410). C.L. acknowledges the DFG (Grant Nos. LA655-17/1 and LA655-19/1).Peer reviewe

Non-Standard Errors

In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants

Revealing distortion of carbon nanotube walls via angle-resolved Xray spectroscopy

Arrays of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) produced by supergrowth method were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and angle-resolved near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, which defined that nanotube disorder is 10e13 and 23e27, respectively. The latter value was confirmed by X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy. The difference in the obtained angular deviations was attributed to distortion of the SWCNT walls, because the X-ray spectroscopy methods are sensitive to a local environment of probing atoms, while the SEM examines the nanotubes at a substantially larger length scale. Significant distortion (20e24) of SWCNT walls could be related to the defects introduced during the growth process

Visualization of graphene grain boundaries through oxygen intercalation

Efficient control over the grain boundaries (GBs) is a vital aspect in optimizing the graphene growth conditions. A number of methods for visualization of GBs were developed for graphene grown on weakly interacting surfaces. Here, we utilize oxygen intercalation to reveal GBs and study their morphology for graphene strongly bound to the cobalt surface. We demonstrate that upon the intercalation of oxygen, GBs in polycrystalline graphene become easily detectable due to graphene cracking and selective oxidation of the substrate, thus giving a direct insight into the graphene micro- and nanostructure by means of different electron microscopy methods, including scanning electron microscopy, photoemission microscopy and low-energy electron microscopy

Variation of the character of spin-orbit interaction by Pt intercalation underneath graphene on Ir(111)

The modification of the graphene spin structure is of interest for novel possibilities of application of graphene in spintronics. The most exciting of them demand not only high value of spin-orbit splitting of the graphene states, but non-Rashba behavior of the splitting and spatial modulation of the spin-orbit interaction. In this work we study the spin and electronic structure of graphene on Ir(111) with intercalated Pt monolayer. Pt interlayer does not change the 9.3×9.3 superlattice of graphene, while the spin structure of the Dirac cone becomes modified. It is shown that the Rashba splitting of the π state is reduced, while hybridization of the graphene and substrate states leads to a spin-dependent avoided-crossing effect near the Fermi level. Such a variation of spin-orbit interaction combined with the superlattice effects can induce a topological phase in graphene