No Arabic abstract
The interface between graphene and the ferroelectric superlattice $mathrm{PbTiO_3/SrTiO_3}$ (PTO/STO) is studied. Tuning the transition temperature through the PTO/STO volume fraction minimizes the adsorbates at the graphene-ferroelectric interface, allowing robust ferroelectric hysteresis to be demonstrated. Intrinsic charge traps from the ferroelectric surface defects can adversely affect the graphene channel hysteresis, and can be controlled by careful sample processing, enabling systematic study of the charge trapping mechanism.
We investigate an excitonic peak appearing in low-temperature photoluminescence of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which is commonly associated with defects and disorder. First, to uncover the intrinsic origin of defect-related excitons, we study their dependence on gate voltage, excitation power, and temperature in a prototypical TMDC monolayer, $MoS_2$. We show that the entire range of behaviors of defect-related excitons can be understood in terms of a simple model, where neutral excitons are bound to ionized donor levels, likely related to sulphur vacancies, with a density of $7cdot10^{11} cm^{-2}$. Second, to study the extrinsic origin of defect-related excitons, we controllably deposit oxygen molecules in-situ onto the surface of $MoS_2$ kept at cryogenic temperature. We find that in addition to trivial p-doping of $3cdot10^{12} cm^{-2}$, oxygen affects the formation of defect-related excitons by functionalizing the vacancy. Combined, our results uncover the origin of defect-related excitons, suggest a simple and conclusive approach to track the functionalization of TMDCs, benchmark device quality, and pave the way towards exciton engineering in hybrid organic-inorganic TMDC devices.
We investigate intrinsic and extrinsic decay of edge magnetoplasmons (EMPs) in graphene quantum Hall (QH) systems by high-frequency electronic measurements. From EMP resonances in disk shaped graphene, we show that the dispersion relation of EMPs is nonlinear due to interactions, giving rise to intrinsic decay of EMP wavepacket. We also identify extrinsic dissipation mechanisms due to interaction with localized states in bulk graphene from the decay time of EMP wavepackets. We indicate that, owing to the unique linear and gapless band structure, EMP dissipation in graphene can be lower than that in GaAs systems.
We extend the electrodynamics of two dimensional electron gases to account for the extrinsic spin Hall effect (SHE). The theory is applied to doped graphene decorated with a random distribution of absorbates that induce spin-orbit coupling (SOC) by proximity. The formalism extends previous semiclassical treatments of the SHE to the non-local dynamical regime. Within a particle-number conserving approximation, we compute the conductivity, dielectric function, and spin Hall angle in the small frequency and wave vector limit. The spin Hall angle is found to decrease with frequency and wave number, but it remains comparable to its zero-frequency value around the frequency corresponding to the Drude peak. The plasmon dispersion and linewidth are also obtained. The extrinsic SHE affects the plasmon dispersion in the long wavelength limit, but not at large values of the wave number. This result suggests an explanation for the rather similar plasmonic response measured in exfoliated graphene, which does not exhibit the SHE, and graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition, for which a large SHE has been recently reported. Our theory also lays the foundation for future experimental searches of SOC effects in the electrodynamic response of two-dimensional electron gases with SOC disorder.
We report nanoscale bandgap engineering via a local strain across the inhomogeneous ferroelectric interface, which is controlled by the visible-light-excited probe voltage. Switchable photovolatic effects and the spectral response of the photocurrent were explore to illustrate the reversible bandgap variation (~0.3eV). This local-strain-engineered bandgap has been further revealed by in situ probe-voltage-assisted valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Phase-field simulations and first-principle calculations were also employed for illustration of the large local strain and the bandgap variation in ferroelectric perovskite oxides. This reversible bandgap tuning in complex oxides demonstrates a framework for the understanding of the opticallyrelated behaviors (photovoltaic, photoemission, and photocatalyst effects) affected by order parameters such as charge, orbital, and lattice parameters.
The interface between the insulators LaAlO$_3$ and SrTiO$_3$ accommodates a two-dimensional electron liquid (2DEL) -- a high mobility electron system exhibiting superconductivity as well as indications of magnetism and correlations. While this flagship oxide heterostructure shows promise for electronics applications, the origin and microscopic properties of the 2DEL remain unclear. The uncertainty remains in part because the electronic structures of such nanoscale buried interfaces are difficult to probe, and is compounded by the variable presence of oxygen vacancies and coexistence of both localized and delocalized charges. These various complications have precluded decisive tests of intrinsic electronic and orbital reconstruction at this interface. Here we overcome prior difficulties by developing an interface analysis based on the inherently interface-sensitive resonant x-ray reflectometry. We discover a high charge density of 0.5 electrons per interfacial unit cell for samples above the critical LaAlO$_3$ thickness, and extract the depth dependence of both the orbital and electronic reconstructions near the buried interface. We find that the majority of the reconstruction phenomena are confined to within 2 unit cells of the interface, and we quantify how oxygen vacancies significantly affect the electronic system. Our results provide strong support for the existence of polarity induced electronic reconstruction, clearly separating its effects from those of oxygen vacancies.