Search

The observation of chirality is ubiquitous in nature. Contrary to intuition, the population of opposite chiralities is surprisingly asymmetric at fundamental levels. Examples range from parity violation in the subatomic weak force to the homochirality in essential biomolecules. The ability to achieve chirality-selective synthesis (chiral induction) is of great importance in stereochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology. In condensed matter physics, a crystalline electronic system is geometrically chiral when it lacks any mirror plane, space inversion center or roto-inversion axis. Typically, the geometrical chirality is predefined by a material's chiral lattice structure, which is fixed upon the formation of the crystal. By contrast, a particularly unconventional scenario is the gyrotropic order, where chirality spontaneously emerges across a phase transition as the electron system breaks the relevant symmetries of an originally achiral lattice. Such a gyrotropic order, proposed as the quantum analogue of the cholesteric liquid crystals, has attracted significant interest. However, to date, a clear observation and manipulation of the gyrotropic order remain challenging. We report the realization of optical chiral induction and the observation of a gyrotropically ordered phase in the transition-metal dichalcogenide semimetal $1T$-TiSe$_2$. We show that shining mid-infrared circularly polarized light near the critical temperature leads to the preferential formation of one chiral domain. As a result, we are able to observe an out-of-plane circular photogalvanic current, whose direction depends on the optical induction. Our study provides compelling evidence for the spontaneous emergence of chirality in the correlated semimetal TiSe$_2$. Such chiral induction provides a new way of optical control over novel orders in quantum materials.

Nanoporous metals (np-M) have emerged as promising materials owing to their high surface area-to-volume ratio and electrical/thermal conductivity. There exists a group of processing methodologies by which np-M are formed through a top-down nanostructure evolution driven by the selective removal of a sacrificial component, all of which are a variation of dealloying. Nanoporosity evolution through current dealloying methodologies, however, is governed by strict requirements including sufficient separation in “reactivity” of the participating components and a homogeneous solid solution precursor alloy. This limits the viable alloy systems that may be used and the range of np-M's that may be formed. Here, we report thermal decomposition of crystalline transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as a new processing methodology for np-M formation, adding to the spectrum of dealloying protocols. We demonstrate application of this process to the formation of a broader class of np-M including W, Re, Mo, and Ta with feature sizes below 100 nm. The presented facile thermal treatment of TMDs offers a new methodology for the evolution of nanoporosity in a broad range of metals.

The CUPID Collaboration is designing a tonne-scale, background-free detector to search for double beta decay with sufficient sensitivity to fully explore the parameter space corresponding to the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy scenario. One of the CUPID demonstrators, CUPID-Mo, has proved the potential of enriched Li$$_{2}$$ 2 $$^{100}$$ 100 MoO$$_4$$ 4 crystals as suitable detectors for neutrinoless double beta decay search. In this work, we characterised cubic crystals that, compared to the cylindrical crystals used by CUPID-Mo, are more appealing for the construction of tightly packed arrays. We measured an average energy resolution of ($$6.7\pm 0.6$$ 6.7 ± 0.6 ) keV FWHM in the region of interest, approaching the CUPID target of 5 keV FWHM. We assessed the identification of $$\alpha $$ α particles with and without a reflecting foil that enhances the scintillation light collection efficiency, proving that the baseline design of CUPID already ensures a complete suppression of this $$\alpha $$ α -induced background contribution. We also used the collected data to validate a Monte Carlo simulation modelling the light collection efficiency, which will enable further optimisations of the detector.

International audience; Precise characterization of detector time resolution is of crucial importance for next-generation cryogenic-bolometer experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay, such as CUPID, in order to reject background due to pile-up of two-neutrino double-beta decay events. In this paper, we describe a technique developed to study the pile-up rejection capability of cryogenic bolometers. Our approach, which consists of producing controlled pile-up events with a programmable waveform generator, has the benefit that we can reliably and reproducibly control the time separation and relative energy of the individual components of the generated pile-up events. The resulting data allow us to optimize and benchmark analysis strategies to discriminate between individual and pile-up pulses. We describe a test of this technique performed with a small array of detectors at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, in Italy; we obtain a 90% rejection efficiency against pulser-generated pile-up events with rise time of ~15 ms down to time separation between the individual events of 2 ms.

A scintillating bolometer based on a large cubic Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystal (45 mm side) and a Ge wafer (scintillation detector) has been operated in the CROSS cryogenic facility at the Canfranc underground laboratory in Spain. The dual-readout detector is a prototype of the technology that will be used in the next-generation $0\nu2\beta$ experiment CUPID. The measurements were performed at 18 and 12 mK temperature in a pulse tube dilution refrigerator. This setup utilizes the same technology as the CUORE cryostat that will host CUPID and so represents an accurate estimation of the expected performance. The Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ bolometer shows a high energy resolution of 6 keV FWHM at the 2615 keV $\gamma$ line. The detection of scintillation light for each event triggered by the Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ bolometer allowed for a full separation ($\sim$8$\sigma$) between $\gamma$($\beta$) and $\alpha$ events above 2 MeV. The Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystal also shows a high internal radiopurity with $^{228}$Th and $^{226}$Ra activities of less than 3 and 8 $\mu$Bq/kg, respectively. Taking also into account the advantage of a more compact and massive detector array, which can be made of cubic-shaped crystals (compared to the cylindrical ones), this test demonstrates the great potential of cubic Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ scintillating bolometers for high-sensitivity searches for the $^{100}$Mo $0\nu2\beta$ decay in CROSS and CUPID projects., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 1 table

We investigate carrier and collective mode dynamics in $2H\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Nb}{\mathrm{Se}}_{2}$ using time-resolved optical pump-probe spectroscopy and compare the results with first-principles calculations. Broadband ultrafast reflectivity studies of $2H\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Nb}{\mathrm{Se}}_{2}$ in a wide temperature interval covering the normal, charge density wave (CDW) and superconducting phase were performed. Spectral features observed in the transient reflectivity experiment were associated with specific optical transitions obtained from band structure calculations. Displacive excitation of coherent phonons showed CDW-associated coherent oscillations of the soft phonon mode across the whole spectral range. Temperature evolution of this coherent phonon mode in the low-excitation linear regime shows softening of the mode down to the CDW transition temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{CDW}}$ with subsequent hardening below ${T}_{\mathrm{CDW}}$. The global fit of the broadband probe data reveals four different relaxation times associated with characteristic electron-electron, electron-phonon, and phonon-phonon relaxation processes. From first-principles calculations of electron-phonon coupling we associate the few picosecond electron-phonon relaxation time ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{2}$ with a specific group of phonons with frequencies around 20 meV. On the other hand, the anomalously long relaxation time of ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{3}\ensuremath{\sim}100\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ps}$ is associated with anharmonicity-driven phonon-phonon scattering. All relaxation processes result from anomalies near the second order CDW phase transition that are reflected in the temperature dependencies of the characteristic relaxation times and amplitudes of coherent oscillations. At the highest fluences we observe electronic melting of the CDW and disappearance of the mode hardening below ${T}_{\mathrm{CDW}}$.

A superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) with low-$T_c$ is essential in a high resolution calorimetric detection. With a motivation of developing sensitive calorimeters for applications in cryogenic neutrinoless double beta decay searches, we have been investigating methods to reduce the $T_c$ of an Ir film down to 20 mK. Utilizing the proximity effect between a superconductor and a normal metal, we found two room temperature fabrication recipes of making Ir-based low-$T_c$ films. In the first approach, an Ir film sandwiched between two Au films, a Au/Ir/Au trilayer, has a tunable $T_c$ in the range of 20-100 mK depending on the relative thicknesses. In the second approach, a paramagnetic Pt thin film is used to create Ir/Pt bilayer with a tunable $T_c$ in the same range. We present detailed study of fabrication and characterization of Ir-based low-$T_c$ films, and compare the experimental results to theoretical models. We show that Ir-based films with predictable and reproducible critical temperature can be consistently fabricated for use in large scale detector applications., 5 figures, accepted in the Journal of Applied Physics

CUPID (CUORE Upgrade with Particle ID) is a proposed tonne-scale $0\nu\beta\beta$ experiment that will use arrays of low-temperature calorimeters to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos. CUORE has already shown the power and scalability of tonne-scale array at low temperatures (~10 mK), and CUPID aims to improve on its search sensitivity by reducing backgrounds by at least two orders of magnitude. CUPID will do background rejection by reading out phonon and photon signals simultaneously from a scintillating crystal or a Cherenkov light-emitting crystal. We are developing sensitive low temperature calorimeters that can measure tiny amounts of scintillation/Cherenkov light. The detectors use a novel Ir/Pt bilayer superconducting transition-edge-sensor (TES) that can be operated below 40 mK. We will present an overview of the fabrication, characterization, and performance of TES based large area photon detectors for CUPID.

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are becoming a dominant technology in quantum optics and quantum communication, primarily because of their low timing jitter and capability to detect individual low-energy photons with high quantum efficiencies. However, other desirable characteristics, such as high detection rates, operation in cryogenic and high magnetic field environments, or high-efficiency detection of charged particles, are underrepresented in literature, potentially leading to a lack of interest in other fields that might benefit from this technology. We review the progress in use of superconducting nanowire technology in photon and particle detection outside of the usual areas of physics, with emphasis on the potential use in ongoing and future experiments in nuclear and high energy physics.

The charge density wave (CDW) instability in $1T\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{TiSe}}_{2}$ is revisited to investigate its electronic and structural origins using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), neutron diffraction, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The evidence for Jahn-Teller (JT)-like distortions in the CDW state is provided from the local structure analysis that shows splitting of the Ti-Se bonds into short and long. The magnitude of the split is inconsistent with the commonly accepted Di Salvo model for the structural distortions in the CDW phase. From the APRES data, it is deduced that a nontrivial temperature-dependent energy shift of the Se $4p$ valence bands occurs, but is absent for the Ti $3d$ conduction bands. Collectively, these observations suggest that a JT-like mechanism is most likely central to the CDW instability in $1T\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{TiSe}}_{2}$.

We report on structural and electronic properties of defects in chemical vapor-deposited monolayer and few-layer MoS2 films. Scanning tunneling microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to obtain high resolution images and quantitative measurements of the local density of states, work function and nature of defects in MoS2 films. We track the evolution of defects that are formed under heating and electron beam irradiation. We observe formation of metastable domains with different work function values after annealing the material in ultra-high vacuum to moderate temperatures. We attribute these metastable values of the work function to evolution of crystal defects forming during the annealing. The experiments show that sulfur vacancies formed after exposure to elevated temperatures diffuse, coalesce, and migrate bringing the system from a metastable to equilibrium ground state. The process could be thermally or e-beam activated with estimated energy barrier for sulfur vacancy migration of 0.6 eV in single unit cell MoS2. Even at equilibrium conditions, the work function and local density of states values are strongly affected near grain boundaries and edges. The results provide initial estimates of the thermal budgets available for reliable fabrication of MoS2-based integrated electronics and indicate the importance of defect control and layer passivation.

Laterally structured materials can exhibit properties uniquely suited for applications in electronics, magnetoelectric memory, photonics, and nanoionics. Here, a patterning approach is presented that combines the precise geometric control enabled by lithography with topochemical anionic manipulation of complex oxide films. Utilizing oxidation and fluorination reactions, striped patterns of SrFeO2.5/SrFeO3,SrFeO2.5/SrFeO2F, and SrFeO3/SrFeO2F have been prepared with lateral periodicities of 200, 20, and 4 μm. Coexistence of the distinct chemical phases is confirmed through x-ray diffraction, optical and photoemission microscopies, and optical spectroscopy. The lateral heterostructures exhibit highly anisotropic electronic transport and also enable transience and regeneration of patterns through reversible redox reactions. This approach can be broadly applied to a variety of metal-oxide systems, enabling chemically reconfigurable lateral heterostructures tailored for specific electronic, optical, ionic, thermal, or magnetic functionalities.

We present a new procedure that takes advantage of the magnetic flux quantization of superconducting vortices to calibrate the magnetic properties of tips for magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Indeed, a superconducting vortex, whose quantized flux is dependent upon Plank constant, speed of light and electron charge, behaves as a very well defined magnetic reference object. The proposed calibration procedure has been tested on new and worn tips and shows that the monopole point-like approximation of the probe is a reliable model. This procedure has been then applied to perform quantitative MFM experiments on a soft ferromagnetic thin film of permalloy, leading to the determination of the local out-of-plane component of the canted magnetization, together with its spatial variations across a few μm2 scan area.

Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy has been used to image the vortex core and the vortex lattice in FeSe single crystals. The local tunneling spectra acquired at the center of elliptical vortex cores display a strong particle-hole asymmetry with spatial oscillation, characteristic of the quantum-limit vortex core. Furthermore, a quasihexagonal vortex lattice at low magnetic field undergoes noticeable rhombic distortions above a certain field ∼1.5 T. This field H∗ also reveals itself as a kink in the magnetic field dependence of the specific heat. The observation of a nearly hexagonal vortex lattice at low field is very surprising for materials with an orthorhombic crystal structure and it is in apparent contradiction with the elliptical shape of the vortex cores. These observations can be directly connected to the multiband nature of superconductivity in this material, provided we attribute them to the suppression of superconducting order parameter in one of the energy bands. Above the field H∗ the superconducting coherence length for this band can well exceed the intervortex distance which strengthens the nonlocal effects. Therefore, in addition to multiple-band effects, other possible sources that can contribute to the observed evolution of the vortex-lattice structure include nonlocal effects which cause the field-dependent interplay between the symmetry of the crystal and vortex lattice or the magnetoelastic interactions due to the strain field generated by vortices. © 2019 American Physical Society. Citrus Research and Development Foundation, CRDF Government Council on Grants, Russian Federation Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 17-12-01383, 18-72-10027 Ministero dellâ Istruzione, dellâ Università e della Ricerca, MIUR Foundation for the Advancement of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics: 17-11-109 Ministero dellâ Istruzione, dellâ Università e della Ricerca, MIUR Kazan Federal University Office of Science, SC Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, DMSE Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 17-52-12044 Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka Temple University, TU Argonne National Laboratory, ANL Nanjing University of Science and Technology, NUST: K2-2017-084 Drexel University The authors would like to acknowledge fruitful discussions with V. Kogan and T. Hanaguri. We also would like to acknowledge technical support during the early stage of these measurements from S. A. Moore. The work at Temple University, where low temperature scanning tunneling measurements were performed, was supported by US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division under Award No. DE-SC0004556. The work at Drexel University and at the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University was supported by the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF Global). The work in Russia has been supported in part by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in the framework of the Increase Competitiveness Program of NUST MISiS Grant K2-2017-084, by Act 211 of the Government of Russian Federation, Contracts No. 02.A03.21.0004, No. 02.A03.21.0006, and No. 02.A03.21.0011 and by the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University. One of the authors (C.D.G.) would like to acknowledge partial support from MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research of the Italian Government). The work in IPM RAS (Nizhny Novgorod) was supported in part by the Russian Science Foundation (the calculation of the vortex-lattice characteristics Grant No. 18-72-10027; the calculation of the vortex-core deformation and the analysis of the experimental data Grant No. 17-12-01383), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 17-52-12044), and Foundation for the Advancement of Theoretical Physics and Mathematics “BASIS” (Grant No. 17-11-109). The work at Argonne National Laboratory was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Science, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division.

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are capable of single-photon detection across a large spectral range with near unity detection efficiency, picosecond timing jitter, and sub-10 μ m position resolution, at rates as high as 109 counts/s. In an effort to bring this technology into nuclear physics experiments, we fabricate niobium nitride (NbN) nanowire detectors using ion beam assisted sputtering and test their performance in strong magnetic fields. We demonstrate that these devices are capable of detection of 400 nm wavelength photons with saturated internal quantum efficiency at temperatures of 3 K and in magnetic fields of up to 5 T at high count rates and with nearly zero dark counts.

The design, fabrication, and characterization of ultra-high responsivity photodetectors based on mesoscopic multilayer MoS2 is presented, which is a less explored system compared to direct band gap monolayer MoS2 that has received increasing attention in recent years. The device architecture is comprised of a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector, where Mo was used as the contact metal to suspended MoS2 membranes. The photoresponsivity $${\boldsymbol{R}}$$ R was measured to be ~1.4 × 104 A/W, which is > 104 times higher compared to prior reports, while the detectivity D* was computed to be ~2.3 × 1011 Jones at 300 K at an optical power P of ~14.5 pW and wavelength λ of ~700 nm. In addition, the dominant photocurrent mechanism was determined to be the photoconductive effect (PCE), while a contribution from the photogating effect was also noted from trap-states that yielded a wide spectral photoresponse from UV-to-IR (400 nm to 1100 nm) with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) ~104. From time-resolved photocurrent measurements, a decay time τ d ~ 2.5 ms at 300 K was measured from the falling edge of the photogenerated waveform after irradiating the device with a stream of incoming ON/OFF white light pulses.

We present a thorough assessment of the compositional dependent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity and stability for Co-based mixed chalcogen, CoSxSe2−x, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). In direct contrast to other reports on mixed chalcogen TMDs that have been limited to Mo and W, we observe a decrease in HER activity for any departure from the pure, single chalcogen composition, CoS2 and CoSe2. The single chalcogen TMDs are found to have nearly identical HER activity. Bulk resistivity of the pure and mixed chalcogen TMDs as well as the charge transfer resistance for the HER are found to be most optimal for CoSe2. However, CoSe2 is predicted to have an endothermic hydrogen adsorption free energy in contrast to the slightly exothermic hydrogen adsorption free energy for CoS2. This highlights the convolution of hydrogen adsorption free energy and material conductivity in determining the HER activity for even metallic conducting TMDs. Sulfur-rich Co-based TMDs with a pyrite-type crystal structure are found to quickly deactivate through loss of Co and formation of passivating reduced sulfur species at the surface while Se-rich compositions are observed to be more stable. Therefore, with an HER activity matching that of CoS2, but with a dramatic improvement in stability, CoSe2 breaks away from the traditional inverse activity – stability relationship and represents a promising non-PGM HER electrocatalyst for acidic PEM electrolyzers. © 2018 Elsevier Inc.

We present a three-dimensional study on the anisotropy of the charge density wave (CDW) in $1T\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{TiS}{\mathrm{e}}_{2}$, by means of in situ atomically resolved electron microscopy at cryogenic temperatures in both reciprocal and real spaces. Using coherent nanoelectron diffraction, we observed short-range coherence of the in-plane CDW component while the long-range coherence of out-of-plane CDW component remains intact. An in-plane CDW coherence length of $\ensuremath{\sim}10\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$ and an out-of-plane CDW coherence length of 17.5 nm, as a lower bound, were determined. The electron modulation was observed using electron energy-loss spectroscopy and verified by an orbital-projected density of states. Our integrated approach reveals anisotropic CDW domains at the nanoscale, and illustrates electron modulation-induced symmetry breaking of a two-dimensional material in three dimensions, offering an opportunity to study the effect of reduced dimensionality in strongly correlated systems.

This article examines the occurrence of mesoscopic effects in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids. It begins with an overview of theories underpinning superconducting/ferromagnetic (S/F) hybrid structures, focusing on their vortex nucleation conditions and vortex behavior as well as the localized nucleation of superconductivity in an ideal S/F system. It then presents experimental measurements of the localized superconducting state in the cases of domain wall and reverse domain superconductivity, along with the vortex state in planar S/F hybrids. In particular, it considers nucleation thresholds for superconducting vortices and equilibrium vortex configurations. Finally, it discusses the results of local scanning probe measurements of the novel mesoscopic effects that emerge in magnetically coupled S/F hybrid structures in the absence of proximity effects.

We report a model that can be used to calculate superconducting transition temperature of a transition-edge sensor (TES), which is either a normal metal–superconductor–normal metal trilayer or a normal metal–superconductor bilayer. The model allows the $T_{C}$ estimation of a trilayer when the normal metals at the bottom and at the top are different. Furthermore, the model includes the spin flip time of the normal metals. We use the $T_{C}$ calculations from this model for selected Ir-based trilayers and bilayers to help understand potential designs of low $T_{C}$ TESs. A Au/Ir/Au trilayer can have a low $T_{C}$ because the superconducting order parameter is reduced with normal metals at both sides. On the other hand, an Ir/Pt bilayer can have a low $T_{C}$ because the much larger electron density of states of Pt reduces the superconducting order parameter more effectively. Moreover, the spin flip scattering of paramagnetic Pt also contributes to the $T_{C}$ reduction.

The design, fabrication, and characterization of ultra-high responsivity photodetectors based on mesoscopic multilayer MoS2 is presented, which is a less explored system compared to direct band gap monolayer MoS2 that has received increasing attention in recent years. The device architecture is comprised of a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector, where Mo was used as the contact metal to suspended MoS2 membranes. The photoresponsivity \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\boldsymbol{R}}$$\end{document}R was measured to be ~1.4 × 104 A/W, which is > 104 times higher compared to prior reports, while the detectivity D* was computed to be ~2.3 × 1011 Jones at 300 K at an optical power P of ~14.5 pW and wavelength λ of ~700 nm. In addition, the dominant photocurrent mechanism was determined to be the photoconductive effect (PCE), while a contribution from the photogating effect was also noted from trap-states that yielded a wide spectral photoresponse from UV-to-IR (400 nm to 1100 nm) with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) ~104. From time-resolved photocurrent measurements, a decay time τd ~ 2.5 ms at 300 K was measured from the falling edge of the photogenerated waveform after irradiating the device with a stream of incoming ON/OFF white light pulses.

X-ray diffraction was employed to study the evolution of the charge density wave (CDW) in Cu_{x}TiSe_{2} as a function of copper intercalation in order to clarify the relationship between the CDW and superconductivity. The results show a CDW incommensuration arising at an intercalation value coincident with the onset of superconductivity at around x=0.055(5). Additionally, it was found that the charge density wave persists to higher intercalant concentrations than previously assumed, demonstrating that the CDW does not terminate inside the superconducting dome. A charge density wave peak was observed in samples up to x=0.091(6), the highest copper concentration examined in this study. The phase diagram established in this work suggests that charge density wave incommensuration may play a role in the formation of the superconducting state.

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy has been used to investigate the superconducting gaps of FeSe 1−x S x single crystals and to reveal signatures of a bosonic mode in the quasiparticle density of states. We find that both superconducting gaps residing on different pockets of the Fermi surface are anisotropic. Moreover, the bosonic mode appears in the quasiparticle density of states as a redistribution of states at energy Ω/e, measured with respect to the superconducting gap. The energy of the boson mode Ω is found to scale with the superconducting gap, and it can be estimated to be in the range 2.6 ÷ 3.8 meV in agreement with a recent observation of a resonance spin excitation in neutron scattering. This suggests that quasiparticle interactions with this mode are important for superconductivity.

We have investigated the effect of spatially inhomogenous magnetic fields on vortex nucleation in magnetically coupled superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures. Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (LT-STM/STS) we have studied Pb/[Co–Pd] systems with slightly inhomogeneous magnetic domain width throughout the sample. Visualization of the underlying magnetic template structure is achieved through field dependent conductance maps. In the case of zero applied fields, these maps reveal the absence of vortices below a threshold domain width. At those locations with insufficient domain width to support generation of vortices in zero applied fields, nucleation can be restored through the application of an external magnetic field, with vortices nucleating above the domain parallel to the external field. For the magnetic domain width studied in this work, local tunneling spectroscopy reveals uniform superconducting critical temperature as a function of location, despite of local differences in the stray field experienced by the superconductor.

While Abrikosov vortices repel each other and form a uniform vortex lattice in bulk type-II superconductors, strong confinement potential profoundly affects their spatial distribution eventually leading to vortex cluster formation. The confinement could be induced by the geometric boundaries in mesoscopic-size superconductors or by the spatial modulation of the magnetic field in superconductor/ferromagnet (S/F) hybrids. Here we study the vortex confinement in S/F thin film heterostructures and we observe that vortex clusters appear near magnetization inhomogeneities in the ferromagnet, called bifurcations. We use magnetic force microscopy to image magnetic bifurcations and superconducting vortices, while high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy is used to obtain detailed information of the local electronic density of states outside and inside the vortex cluster. We find an intervortex spacing at the bifurcation shorter than the one predicted for the same superconductor in a uniform magnetic field equal to the thermodynamical upper critical field Hc2. This result is due to a local enhanced stray field and a competition between vortex-vortex repulsion and Lorentz force. Our findings suggest that special magnetic topologies could result in S/F hybrids that support superconductivity even when locally the vortex density exceeds the thermodynamic critical threshold value beyond which the superconductivity is destroyed.

The competition between superconductivity and other ground states of solids is one of the challenging topics in condensed matter physics. Apart from high-temperature superconductors [1,2] this interplay also plays a central role in the layered transition-metal dichalcogenides, where superconductivity is stabilized by suppressing charge-density-wave order to zero temperature by intercalation [3] or applied pressure [4-7]. 1T-TiSe$_2$ forms a prime example, featuring superconducting domes on intercalation as well as under applied pressure. Here, we present high energy-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the CDW soft phonon mode in intercalated Cu$_x$TiSe$_2$ and pressurized 1T-TiSe$_2$ along with detailed ab-initio calculations for the lattice dynamical properties and phonon-mediated superconductivity. We find that the intercalation-induced superconductivity can be explained by a solely phonon-mediated pairing mechanism, while this is not possible for the superconducting phase under pressure. We argue that a hybridization of phonon and exciton modes in the pairing mechanism is necessary to explain the full observed temperature-pressure-intercalation phase diagram. These results indicate that 1T-TiSe$_2$ under pressure is close to the elusive state of the excitonic insulator.

In this paper we explore magnetic properties of Permalloy Pacman-like (PL) nanomagnets in external in-plain magnetic field. PL nanomagnets represent unique magnetic systems with broken symmetry, which are perspective as non-volatile memory elements. In these nanomagnets both bits, chirality and polarity of a single vortex state, can be easily read and written by in-plane magnetic field only. In the experimental part of this work we show that namely chirality of the∼1-μm large PL nanomagnet can be red easily by magnetic force microscopy method. The easy bit reading is enabled due to coupling of the polarity magnetization vector to the magnetic charges located at the surface of the PL missing sector. Using micromagnetic simulations we show the influence of spatial anisotropy on vortex nucleation and annihilation fields in the PL nanomagnets. Angular dependence of the vortex nucleation field is analysed in detail for PL nanomagnets of different diameter, thickness, and missing-sector dimensions. Best control of the ground state can be achieved for diameters not exceeding 100 nm, thicknesses from 40 to 45 nm, and for the missing sector angles from 30 to 60°.

In this work, we report on the vapor-based synthesis of molybdenum disulphide (MoS 2 ), which is one of the most widely studied two-dimensional (2D) layered materials since the large body of work conducted on the quintessential layered material, graphene. In addition, we have fabricated and characterized a MoS 2 photodetector which was formed using a visco-elastic stamping technique. This device exhibits a low Schottky barrier height of ∼27 meV and a photoresponsivity of 1,314 A/W at room temperature using a broad band light source with irradiance power of 0.134 nW at 5 V drain-source voltage. Our results show the promise of MoS 2 for photodetectors and a range of other applications.

We report on local magnetization measurements showing the presence of an unexpectedly strong transverse Meissner effect in the superconducting ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{x}{\mathrm{TiSe}}_{2}$ single crystals. We show that for tilted magnetic fields $({H}_{a})$ vortices remain aligned with the $ab$ planes up to field ${H}_{k}\ensuremath{\sim}{H}_{p}/sin{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{H}$ (where ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{H}$ is the angle between the applied field and the $ab$ plane and ${H}_{p}$ the first penetration field) and that for ${H}_{a}g{H}_{k}$, the field dependence of the vortex direction ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{B}({H}_{a})$ can be well described assuming that vortices remain partially locked in the planes forming a staircase structure of average direction ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{B}\ensuremath{\ne}{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{H}$. These results indicate the existence of a strong modulation of the vortex core energy along the $c$ axis but its origin remains unclear.

We use low temperature magnetic force microscopy and global magnetometry measurements to study the influence of magnetic domains on the Abrikosov vortex pinning in planar superconducting/ferromagnet bilayers. The superconducting/ferromagnet bilayers consist of a 200 nm superconducting Nb film covering a Permalloy film, with an insulating layer in between to avoid proximity effect. The periodic stripe domain in the Permalloy film produces a potential for directing vortex motion in the adjacent superconducting film. We observed an enhancement of vortex pinning by a factor of 3 that occurs in bilayers with a magnetic stripe domains w ≈ 500 nm, close to the superconducting critical temperature (T/Tc = 0.9) . At lower temperatures, when T/Tc = 0.6 the channeled vortex motion and the intrinsic pinning favor vortex avalanches.

We present scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements on ${\mathrm{FeSe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{S}}_{x}$ single crystals with $x=0$, $0.04$, and $0.09$. The S substitution into the Se site is equivalent to a positive chemical pressure, since S and Se have the same valence and S has a smaller ionic radius than Se. The subsequent changes in the electronic structure of FeSe induce a decrease of the structural transition temperature and a small increase in the superconducting critical temperature. The evolution of the gaps with increasing S concentration suggests an increase of the hole Fermi surface. Moreover, the vortex core anisotropy, that likely reflects the Fermi surface anisotropy, is strongly suppressed by the S substitution.

We present a rigorous approach for the shape design of supported metal nanoparticle catalysts, morphologically identical to each other and epitaxially grown on strontium titanate substrates using electron beam lithography. We predict the particle shapes using Wulff construction based on density functional theory calculations of surface energies. Then, according to the theoretical predictions, we are able to tweak morphologies of the already produced nanocrystals by changing annealing conditions. The ability to design, produce and characterize the catalyst nanoparticles allows us to relate microscopic morphologies with macroscopic oxygen-reduction activities in perchloric acid [Komanicky et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131 (2009) 5732]. The unexpectedly high oxygen-reduction activities proportional to inactive (1 0 0) facets led us to suggest a model where the reaction intermediates can cross over to neighboring facets in nanoscale proximity.

Using combination of micromagnetic calculations and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) imaging we find optimal parameters for novel magnetic tips suitable for switching magnetization MFM. Switching magnetization MFM is based on two-pass scanning atomic force microscopy with reversed tip magnetization between the scans. Within the technique the sum of the scanned data with reversed tip magnetization depicts local atomic forces, while their difference maps the local magnetic forces. Here we propose the design and calculate the magnetic properties of tips suitable for this scanning probe technique. We find that for best performance the spin-polarized tips must exhibit low magnetic moment, low switching fields, and single-domain state at remanence. The switching field of such tips is calculated and optimum shape of the Permalloy elements for the tips is found. We show excellent correspondence between calculated and experimental results for Py elements.

We report the design and synthesis of multimetallic Au/Pt-bimetallic nanoparticles as a highly durable electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. This system was first studied on well-defined Pt and FePt thin films deposited on a Au(111) surface, which has guided the development of novel synthetic routes toward shape-controlled Au nanoparticles coated with a Pt-bimetallic alloy. It has been demonstrated that these multimetallic Au/FePt(3) nanoparticles possess both the high catalytic activity of Pt-bimetallic alloys and the superior durability of the tailored morphology and composition profile, with mass-activity enhancement of more than 1 order of magnitude over Pt catalysts. The reported synergy between well-defined surfaces and nanoparticle synthesis offers a persuasive approach toward advanced functional nanomaterials.

We use room temperature ion beam assisted sputtering (IBAS) to deposit niobium nitride thin films. Electrical and structural characterizations were performed by electric transport and magnetization measurements at variable temperatures, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Compared to reactive sputtering of NbN, films sputtered in presence of an ion beam show remarkable increase in the superconducting critical temperature T$_{\rm{c}}$, while exhibiting lower sensitivity to nitrogen concentration during deposition. Thickness dependence of the superconducting critical temperature is comparable to films prepared by conventional methods at high substrate temperatures and is consistent with behavior driven by quantum size effects or weak localization., 7 pages, 6 figures

Using micromagnetic calculations we search for optimal magnetic properties of novel magnetic tips to be used for a Switching Magnetization Magnetic Force Microscopy (SM-MFM), a novel technique based on two-pass scanning with reversed tip magnetization. Within the technique the sum of two scans images local atomic forces and their difference maps the local magnetic forces. The tip magnetization is switched during the scanning by a small magnetic field. The technology of novel low-coercitive magnetic tips is proposed. For best performance the tips must exhibit low magnetic moment, low switching field, and single-domain state at remanence. Such tips are equipped with Permalloy objects of a precise shape that are defined on their tilted sides. We calculate switching fields of such tips by solving the micromagnetic problem to find the optimum shape and dimensions of the Permalloy objects located on the tips. Among them, hexagon was found as the best shape for the tips.

We demonstrate novel magneto-transport properties of magnetically coupled superconductor-ferromagnet (MoGe/Permalloy) bilayers. Ferromagnetic Permalloy film exhibiting stripe domains with rotatable anisotropy induces modulation of the order parameter in the superconducting thin film. Domain-wall superconductivity is localized above the magnetic domain walls forming mesoscopic superfluid channels. We can achieve non-volatile re-configuration of the in-plane direction of the superconducting channels by changing the orientation of the stripe domains in the Permalloy. We discuss the influence of magnetic domain structure on Abrikosov vortex dynamics in this system.

The development of electrocatalytic materials of enhanced activity and efficiency through careful manipulation, at the atomic scale, of the catalyst surface structure has long been a goal of electrochemists. To accomplish this ambitious objective, it would be necessary both to obtain a thorough understanding of the relationship between the atomic-level surface structure and the catalytic properties and to develop techniques to synthesize and stabilize desired active sites. In this contribution, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study in which we demonstrate how this approach can be used to develop novel, platinum-based electrocatalysts for the CO electrooxidation reaction in CO(g)-saturated solution; the catalysts show activities superior to any pure-metal catalysts previously known. We use a broad spectrum of electrochemical surface science techniques to synthesize and rigorously characterize the catalysts, which are composed of adisland-covered platinum surfaces, and we show that highly undercoordinated atoms on the adislands themselves are responsible for the remarkable activity of these materials.

Ability to tune the electronic and structural properties of nanocatalysts can potentially lead towards the superior catalytic enhancement that was reported for the Pt{sub 3}Ni(111)-skin surface. Here we report investigation of the extended well-defined surfaces of Pt and PtM alloys (M=Ni,Co,Fe,V,Ti,Re) as well as Pt(hkl) single crystalline surfaces for various catalytic reaction. The electrode surfaces were initially characterized in ultra-high vacuum by AES, LEIS and UPS before controlled transfer into electrochemical environment. Catalytic properties have been determined in three compartment electrochemical cell for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by rotational disk electrode technique. The single crystalline surfaces of Pt electrodes have been used to benchmark the activity range that could be expected on pure Pt electrodes. We have proposed that surface modifications induced by the second metal, and consequent catalytic enhancements could occur through the following effects: (1) Electronic effect, due to changes in the metallic d-band center position vs. Fermi level; and (2) Structural effect, which reflects relationship between atomic geometry, and/or surface chemistry, i.e., dissolution - surface roughening. It has been reported that Pt bimetallic alloys, could form surfaces with two different compositions. Due to surface segregation annealed surfaces can form the outermost Pt-skin surface layer, while the lightlymore » sputtered surfaces have the bulk ratio of alloying components and form Pt-skeleton outermost layers as a result of dissolution of non-precious atoms. In principle, different near-surface compositions (Pt-skin, Pt-skeleton and polycrystalline Pt) have been found to have different electronic structures. Modification in Pt electronic properties alters adsorption/catalytic properties of corresponding materials. The most active systems for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are established to be the Pt-skin near-surface formation. The similar levels of catalytic enhancement have been established for corresponding nanoscale materials. In addition to electronic properties we have found how catalytic activity could be affected by the arrangement of surface defects on nanoscale surfaces. Ability to control surface and near surface catalyst properties enables fine tuning of catalytic activity and stability of nanoscale surfaces.« less

We report here on the fabrication and application of novel planar Hall sensors based on shallow InGaP/AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure with a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) as an active layer. The sensors are developed for two kinds of experiments. In the first one, magnetic samples are placed directly on the Hall sensor. Room temperature experiments of permalloy objects evaporated onto the sensor are presented. In the second experiment, the sensor scans close over a multigranular superconducting sample prepared on a YBCO thin film. Large-area and high-resolution scanning experiments were performed at 4.2 K with the Hall probe scanning system in a liquid helium flow cryostat.

Strong interest in nanomagnetism stems from the promise of high storage densities of information through control of ever smaller and smaller ensembles of spins. There is a broad consensus that the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation reliably describes the magnetization dynamics on classical phenomenological level. On the other hand, it is not so evident that the magnetization dynamics governed by this equation contains built-in asymmetry in the case of broad topology sets of symmetric total energy functional surfaces. The magnetization dynamics in such cases shows preference for one particular state from many energetically equivalent available minima. We demonstrate this behavior on a simple one-spin model which can be treated analytically. Depending on the ferromagnet geometry and material parameters, this asymmetric behavior can be robust enough to survive even at high temperatures opening simplified venues for controlling magnetic states of nanodevices in practical applications. Using micromagnetic simulations we demonstrate the asymmetry in magnetization dynamics in a real system with reduced symmetry such as Pacman-like nanodot. Exploiting the built-in asymmetry in the dynamics could lead to practical methods of preparing desired spin configurations on nanoscale.

A charge-density wave (CDW) state has a broken symmetry described by a complex order parameter with an amplitude and a phase. The conventional view, based on clean, weak-coupling systems, is that a finite amplitude and long-range phase coherence set in simultaneously at the CDW transition temperature T$_{cdw}$. Here we investigate, using photoemission, X-ray scattering and scanning tunneling microscopy, the canonical CDW compound 2H-NbSe$_2$ intercalated with Mn and Co, and show that the conventional view is untenable. We find that, either at high temperature or at large intercalation, CDW order becomes short-ranged with a well-defined amplitude that impacts the electronic dispersion, giving rise to an energy gap. The phase transition at T$_{cdw}$ marks the onset of long-range order with global phase coherence, leading to sharp electronic excitations. Our observations emphasize the importance of phase fluctuations in strongly coupled CDW systems and provide insights into the significance of phase incoherence in `pseudogap' states., main manuscript plus supplementary information

A laser beam, precisely focused on the patterned superconducting structure, was used to nucleate a resistive area that is sensitive to external thermal effects. The electron beam lithography and wet chemical etching were applied as pattern transfer processes in epitaxial Y-Ba-Cu-O films. Two different sensor designs were tested: (i) 3 millimeters long and 40 micrometers wide stripe and (ii) 1.25 millimeters long, and 50 micron wide meander -like structure. It is shown experimentally that scanning the laser beam along the stripe leads to physical displacement of the sensitive area and, therefore may be used as a basis for imaging over a broad spectral range. For example, patterning the superconducting film into a meander structure is equivalent to a two-dimensional detector array. In additional to the simplicity of the detector fabrication sequence (one step mask transfer), a clear advantage of this approach is the simplicity of the read-out process: an image is formed by registering the signal with only two electrical terminals. The proposed approach can be extended for imaging over a wide spectral range.

We present a study of the anisotropic superconducting phase diagram of the new carbon intercalation superconductor C 6 Ca using magnetization and specific heat measurements. We observe an onset of superconductivity at 11.3 K and a transition width of about 1 K from heat capacity and low-field magnetization measurements. A clear step in the heat capacity confirms the bulk nature of the superconducting state. We determined an in-plane coherence length of ξ ab ≈ 36 nm and an anisotropy parameter of the coherence length of Γ ≈ 3.5–4.

We have carried out angular dependent magneto-transport measurements on optimally doped, untwinned YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ crystals irradiated with high energy heavy ions to determine the onset of vortex line tension in the vortex liquid state. The dose matching field was controlled and kept at a low level to partially preserve the first order vortex lattice melting transition. A Bose glass transition is observed below the lower critical point which then transforms into a first order phase transition near 4 T. We find that the locus of points which indicates the onset of vortex line tension overlaps with the Bose glass transition line at low fields and then deviates at higher fields, indicating a new transition line in the vortex liquid state. This new line in the vortex liquid phase is dose independent and extends beyond the upper critical point.