We investigate the dependence of the electrical resistivity of $sim 60 $nm thick single crystalline graphite samples on the defect concentration produced by proton irradiation at very low fluences. We show that the resistivity decreases few percent at room temperature after inducing defects at concentrations as low as $sim 0.1 $ppm due to the increase in the carrier density, in agreement with theoretical estimates. The overall results indicate that the carrier densities measured in graphite are not intrinsic but related to defects and impurities.
We investigate the high temperature thermoelectric properties of Heusler alloys Fe2-xMnxCrAl (0<x<1). Substitution of 12.5% Mn at Fe-site (x = 0.25) causes a significant increase in high temperature resistivity (r{ho}) and an enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient (S), as compared to the parent alloy. However, as the concentration of Mn is increased above 0.25, a systematic decrement in the magnitude of both parameters is noted. These observations have been ascribed (from theoretical analysis) to a change in band gap and electronic structure of Fe2CrAl with Mn-substitution. Due to absence of mass fluctuations and lattice strain, no significant change in thermal conductivity is seen across this series of Heusler alloys. Additionally, S drastically changes its magnitude along with a crossover from negative to positive above 900 K, which has been ascribed to the dominance of holes over electrons in high temperature regime. In this series of alloys, S and r{ho} shows a strong dependence on the carrier concentration and strength of d-d hybridization between Fe/Mn and Cr atoms.
We did the resistivity and scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments at different temperatures and magnetic fields to investigate the origin of the turn-on (t-o) phenomenon of Td-MoTe2. There are two interesting observations. Firstly, magnetoresistance (MR) follows the Kohler rule scaling: MR - (H/p0)m with m - 1.92 and the t-o temperature T under different magnetic fields can also be scaled by T - (H-Hc)u with u = 1/2. Secondly, a combination of compensated electron-hole pockets and a possible electronic structure phase transition induced by the temperature have been validated in Td-MoTe2 by the STM/STS experiments. Compared with the STS of Td-MoTe2 single crystal under H = 0, the STS hardly changes even when the applied field is up to 7 T. The origins of the t-o phenomenon in Td-MoTe2 are discussed. Meanwhile, we analyzed the universality and applicability of the t-o phenomenon in the extreme MR materials with almost balanced hole and electron densities as well as with other systems where the density of hole or electron is in dominant position.
The full three dimensional dispersion of the pi-bands, Fermi velocities and effective masses are measured with angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and compared to first-principles calculations. The band structure by density-functional theory strongly underestimates the slope of the bands and the trigonal warping effect. Including electron-electron calculation on the level of the GW approximation, however, yields remarkable agreement in the vicinity of the Fermi level. This demonstrates the breakdown of the independent electron picture in semi-metallic graphite and points towards a pronounced role of electron correlation for the interpretation of transport experiments and double-resonant Raman scattering for a wide range of carbon based materials.
In an ideal bulk topological-insulator (TI) conducting surface states protected by time reversal symmetry enfold an insulating crystal. However, the archetypical TI, Bi2Se3, is actually never insulating; it is in fact a relatively good metal. Nevertheless, it is the most studied system among all the TIs, mainly due to its simple band-structure and large spin-orbit gap. Recently it was shown that copper intercalated Bi2Se3 becomes superconducting and it was suggested as a realization of a topological superconductor (TSC). Here we use a combination of techniques that are sensitive to the shape of the Fermi surface (FS): the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) effect and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to study the evolution of the FS shape with carrier concentration, n. We find that as n increases, the FS becomes 2D-like. These results are of crucial importance for understanding the superconducting properties of CuxBi2Se3.