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Topotactic chemical reaction (TCR) is a chemical process that transforms one crystalline phase to another while maintaining one or more of the original structural frameworks, typically induced by the local insertion, removal, or replacement of atoms in a crystal. The utilization of TCR in atomic-layer materials and surfaces of bulk crystals leads to exotic quantum phases, as highlighted by the control of topological phases, the emergence of two-dimensional (2D) superconductivity, and the realization of 2D ferromagnetism. Advanced surface-sensitive spectroscopies such as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are leading techniques to visualize the electronic structure of such exotic states and provide us a guide to further functionalize material properties. In this review article, we summarize the recent progress in this field, with particular emphasis on intriguing results obtained by combining spectroscopies and TCR in thin films., Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures

Interplay between fermiology and electron correlation is crucial for realizing exotic quantum phases. Transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) 1T-TaS2 has sparked a tremendous attention owing to its unique Mott-insulating phase coexisting with the charge-density wave (CDW). However, how the fermiology and electron correlation are associated with such properties has yet to be claried. Here we demonstrate that monolayer 1T-NbTe2 is a new class of two-dimensional TMD which has the star-of-David lattice similarly to bulk TaS2 and isostructural monolayer NbSe2, but exhibits a metallic ground state with an unusual lattice periodicity root19xroot19 characterized by the sparsely occupied star-of-David lattice. By using angle-resolved photoemission and scanning-tunneling spectroscopies in combination with first-principles band-structure calculations, we found that the hidden Fermi-surface nesting and associated CDW formation are a primary cause to realize this unique correlated metallic state with no signature of Mott gap. The present result points to a vital role of underlying fermiology to characterize the Mott phase of TMDs., Comment: To be published in Physical Review B

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy using a micro-focused beam spot (micro-ARPES) is becoming a powerful tool to elucidate key electronic states of exotic quantum materials. We have developed a versatile micro-ARPES system based on synchrotron radiation beam focused with a Kirkpatrick-Baez mirror optics. The mirrors are monolithically installed on a stage, which is driven with five-axes motion, and are vibrationally separated from the ARPES measurement system. Spatial mapping of the Auphotolithography pattern on Si signifies the beam spot size of 10 $\mu$m (horizontal) x 12 $\mu$m (vertical) at the sample position, which is well suited to resolve the fine structure in local electronic states. Utilization of the micro beam and the high precision sample motion system enables the accurate spatially resolved band-structure mapping, as demonstrated by the observation of a small band anomaly associated with tiny sample bending near the edge of a cleaved topological insulator single crystal., Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures

Combination of low-dimensionality and electron correlation is vital for exotic quantum phenomena such as the Mott-insulating phase and high-temperature superconductivity. Transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) 1T-TaS2 has evoked great interest owing to its unique nonmagnetic Mott-insulator nature coupled with a charge-density-wave (CDW). To functionalize such a complex phase, it is essential to enhance the CDW-Mott transition temperature TCDW-Mott, whereas this was difficult for bulk TMDs with TCDW-Mott < 200 K. Here we report a strong-coupling 2D CDW-Mott phase with a transition temperature onset of ~530 K in monolayer 1T-TaSe2. Furthermore, the electron correlation derived lower Hubbard band survives under external perturbations such as carrier doping and photoexcitation, in contrast to the bulk counterpart. The enhanced Mott-Hubbard and CDW gaps for monolayer TaSe2 compared to NbSe2, originating in the lattice distortion assisted by strengthened correlations and disappearance of interlayer hopping, suggest stabilization of a likely nonmagnetic CDW-Mott insulator phase well above the room temperature. The present result lays the foundation for realizing monolayer CDW-Mott insulator based devices operating at room temperature.

Three dimensionally curved graphene with a wide range of curvature radii from 25 nm to 1000 nm demonstrates that nano-scale curvature is a new degree of freedom to tune the transport properties of graphene by manipulating 2D electron kinetics on 3D curved surfaces.

We investigated the Dirac-cone state and its modulation when an ultrathin film of topological insulator Bi2Se3 was epitaxially grown on a van-der-Waals ferromagnet Cr2Si2Te6 (CST) by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We observed a gapless Dirac-cone surface state in 6 quintuple-layer (QL) Bi2Se3 on CST, whereas the Dirac cone exhibits a gap of 0.37 eV in 2QL counterpart. Intriguingly, this gap is much larger than those for Bi2Se3 films on Si(111). We also revealed no discernible change in the gap magnitude across the ferromagnetic transition of CST, suggesting the very small characteristic length and energy scale of the magnetic proximity effect. The present results suggest a crucial role of interfacial coupling for modulating Dirac electrons in topological-insulator hybrids.

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of Bi(111) thin films grown on Si(111), and investigated the evolution of band structure with temperature. We revealed an unexpectedly large temperature variation of the energy dispersion for the Rashba-split surface state and the quantum-well states, as seen in the highly momentum-dependent energy shift as large as 0.1 eV. A comparison of the band dispersion between experiment and first-principles band-structure calculations suggests that the interlayer spacing at the topmost Bi bilayer expands upon temperature increase. The present study provides a new pathway for investigating the interplay between lattice and electronic states through the temperature dependence of band structure., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

We investigated the electronic structure of monolayer VTe2 grown on bilayer graphene by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We found that monolayer VTe2 takes the octahedral 1T structure in contrast to the monoclinic one in the bulk, as evidenced by the good agreement in the Fermi-surface topology between ARPES results and first-principles band calculations for octahedral monolayer 1T-VTe2. We have revealed that monolayer 1T-VTe2 at low temperature is characterized by a metallic state whereas the nesting condition is better than that of isostructural monolayer VSe2 which undergoes a CDW transition to insulator at low temperature. The present result suggests an importance of Fermi-surface topology for characterizing the CDW properties of monolayer TMDs.

One of important challenges in condensed-matter physics is to realize new quantum states of matter by manipulating the dimensionality of materials, as represented by the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in atomic-layer pnictides and room-temperature quantum Hall effect in graphene. Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) provide a fertile platform for exploring novel quantum phenomena accompanied by the dimensionality change, since they exhibit a variety of electronic/magnetic states owing to quantum confinement. Here we report an anomalous metal-insulator transition induced by 3D-2D crossover in monolayer 1T-VSe2 grown on bilayer graphene. We observed a complete insulating state with a finite energy gap on the entire Fermi surface in monolayer 1T-VSe2 at low temperatures, in sharp contrast to metallic nature of bulk. More surprisingly, monolayer 1T-VSe2 exhibits a pseudogap with Fermi arc at temperatures above the charge-density-wave temperature, showing a close resemblance to high-temperature cuprates. This similarity suggests a common underlying physics between two apparently different systems, pointing to the importance of charge/spin fluctuations to create the novel electronic states, such as pseudogap and Fermi arc, in these materials., Comment: Nano Res. in press

Graphene with excellent 2D characters has been required to expand their potentials for meeting applicational demands in recent years. As one avenue, several approaches for fablicating 3D porous graphene network structures have been developed to realize multi-functional graphene materials with 2D graphene. Here we overview characteristics of 3D porous graphene for future electronic device applications along with physical insights into "2D to 3D graphene", where the characters of 2D graphene such as massless Dirac fermions are well preserved. The present review thus summarizes recent 3D porous graphene studies with a perspective for providing new and board graphene electronic device applications., Comment: 27 page, 12 figures

Graphene, as a promising material of post-silicon electronics, opens a new paradigm for the novel electronic properties and device applications. On the other hand, the 2D feature of graphene makes it technically challenging to be integrated into 3D transistors with a sufficient processor capacity. Although there are many attempts to assemble 2D graphene into 3D structures, the characteristics of massless Dirac fermions cannot be well preserved in these materials for transistor applications. Here we report a high-performance graphene transistor by utilizing 3D nanoporous graphene which is comprised of an interconnected single graphene sheet and a commodious open porosity to infuse an ionic liquid for a tunable electronic state by applying electric fields. The 3D nanoporous graphene transistor, with high carrier mobility of 5000-7500 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$, exhibits two to three orders of magnitude higher electric conductance and capacitance than those of 2D graphene devices, along with preserved ambipolor electronic nature of Dirac cones. Moreover, the 3D graphene networks with Dirac fermions turn out to exhibit a unique nonlinear Hall resistance in a wide range of the gate voltages. The high quality 3D nanoporous graphene EDLT may open a new field for utilizing Dirac fermions in 3D network structures for various fundamental and practical applications., Comment: 25 page, 11 Figures, 1 Tables