785 research outputs found
Prediction of huge X-ray Faraday rotation at the Gd N_4,5 threshold
X-ray absorption spectra in a wide energy range around the 4d-4f excitation
threshold of Gd were recorded by total electron yield from in-plane magnetized
Gd metal films. Matching the experimental spectra to tabulated absorption data
reveals unprecedented short light absorption lengths down to 3 nm. The
associated real parts of the refractive index for circularly polarized light
propagating parallel or antiparallel to the Gd magnetization, determined
through the Kramers-Kronig transformation, correspond to a magneto-optical
Faraday rotation of 0.7 degrees per atomic layer. This finding shall allow the
study of magnetic structure and magnetization dynamics of lanthanide elements
in nanosize systems and dilute alloys.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, final version resubmitted to Phys. Rev. B, Brief
Reports. Minor change
Rashba Effect at Magnetic Metal Surfaces
We give experimental and theoretical evidence of the Rashba effect at the
magnetic rare-earth metal surface Gd(0001). The Rashba effect is substantially
enhanced and the Rashba parameter changes its sign when a metal-oxide surface
layer is formed. The experimental observations are quantitatively described by
ab initio calculations that give a detailed account of the near-surface charge
density gradients causing the Rashba effect. Since the sign of the Rashba
splitting depends on the magnetization direction, the findings open up new
opportunities for the study of surface and interface magnetism.Comment: 4 Fig
Revealing the atomic structure of the buffer layer between SiC(0001) and epitaxial graphene
On the SiC(0001) surface (the silicon face of SiC), epitaxial graphene is
obtained by sublimation of Si from the substrate. The graphene film is
separated from the bulk by a carbon-rich interface layer (hereafter called the
buffer layer) which in part covalently binds to the substrate. Its structural
and electronic properties are currently under debate. In the present work we
report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of the buffer layer and of
quasi-free-standing monolayer graphene (QFMLG) that is obtained by decoupling
the buffer layer from the SiC(0001) substrate by means of hydrogen
intercalation. Atomic resolution STM images of the buffer layer reveal that,
within the periodic structural corrugation of this interfacial layer, the
arrangement of atoms is topologically identical to that of graphene. After
hydrogen intercalation, we show that the resulting QFMLG is relieved from the
periodic corrugation and presents no detectable defect sites
Phase formation in hole- and electron-doped rare-earth nickelate single crystals
The recent discovery of superconductivity in hole-doped infinite-layer
nickelates has triggered a great interest in the synthesis of novel nickelate
phases, which have primarily been examined in thin film samples. Here, we
report the high-pressure optical floating zone (OFZ) growth of various
perovskite and perovskite-derived rare-earth nickelate single-crystals, and
investigate the effects of hole-, electron-, and self-doping. For hole-doping
with Ca and Sr, we observe phase separations during the growth process when a
substitution level of 8% is exceeded. A similar trend emerges for
electron-doping with Ce and Zr. Employing lower doping levels allows us to grow
sizeable crystals in the perovskite phase, which exhibit significantly
different electronic and magnetic properties than the undoped parent compounds,
such as a decreased resistivity and a suppressed magnetic response. Our
insights into the doping-dependent phase formation and the resulting properties
of the synthesized crystals reveal limitations and opportunities for the
exploration and manipulation of electronic states in rare-earth nickelates
Large area quasi-free standing monolayer graphene on 3C-SiC(111)
Large scale, homogeneous quasi-free standing monolayer graphene is obtained
on cubic silicon carbide, i.e. the 3C-SiC(111) surface, which represents an
appealing and cost effective platform for graphene growth. The quasi-free
monolayer is produced by intercalation of hydrogen under the interfacial,
(6root3x6root3)R30-reconstructed carbon layer. After intercalation, angle
resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) reveals sharp linear pi-bands. The
decoupling of graphene from the substrate is identified by X-ray photoemission
spectroscopy (XPS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). Atomic force
microscopy (AFM) and low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) demonstrate that
homogeneous monolayer domains extend over areas of hundreds of
square-micrometers.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Copyright (2011) American Institute of Physics.
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Deterministic direct growth of WS2 on CVD graphene arrays
The combination of the exciting properties of graphene with those of monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) makes this heterostack of great interest for electronic, optoelectronic and spintronic applications. The scalable synthesis of graphene/WS2 heterostructures on technologically attractive substrates like SiO2 would greatly facilitate the implementation of novel two-dimensional (2D) devices. In this work, we report the direct growth of monolayer WS2 via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on single-crystal graphene arrays on SiO2. Remarkably, spectroscopic and microscopic characterization reveals that WS2 grows only on top of the graphene crystals so that the vertical heterostack is selectively obtained in a bottom-up fashion. Spectroscopic characterization indicates that, after WS2 synthesis, graphene undergoes compressive strain and hole doping. Tailored experiments show that such hole doping is caused by the modification of the SiO2 stoichiometry at the graphene/SiO2 interface during the WS2 growth. Electrical transport measurements reveal that the heterostructure behaves like an electron-blocking layer at large positive gate voltage, which makes it a suitable candidate for the development of unipolar optoelectronic components
Spin-orbit splitting of image states
We quantify the effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the Rydberg-like
series of image state electrons at the (111) and (001) surface of Ir, Pt and
Au. Using relativistic multiple-scattering methods we find Rashba-like
dispersions with Delta E(K)=gamma K with values of gamma for n=1 states in the
range 38-88 meV Angstrom. Extending the phase-accumulation model to include
spin-orbit scattering we find that the splittings vary like 1/(n+a)^3 where a
is the quantum defect and that they are related to the probability of spin-flip
scattering at the surface. The splittings should be observable experimentally
being larger in magnitude than some exchange-splittings that have been resolved
by inverse photoemission, and are comparable to linewidths from inelastic
lifetimes.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
A new polymorphic material? Structural degeneracy of ZrMn_2
Based on density functional calculations, we propose that ZrMn_2 is a
polymorphic material. We predict that at low temperatures the cubic C15, and
the hexagonal C14 and C36 structures of the Laves phase compound ZrMn_2 are
nearly equally stable within 0.3 kJmol^{-1} or 30 K. This degeneracy occurs
when the Mn atoms magnetize spontaneously in a ferromagnetic arrangement
forming the states of lowest energy. From the temperature dependent free
energies at T approx 160K we predict a transition from the most stable C15 to
the C14 structure, which is the experimentally observed structure at elevated
temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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