No Arabic abstract
Among transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), VSe$_2$ is considered to develop a purely 3-dimensional (3D) charge-density wave (CDW) at T$_{CDW}$=110 K. Here, by means of high resolution inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS), we show that the CDW transition is driven by the collapse of an acoustic mode at the critical wavevector textit{q}$_{CDW}$= (2.25 0 0.7) r.l.u. and critical temperature T$_{CDW}$=110 K. The softening of this mode starts to be pronounced for temperatures below 2$times$ T$_{CDW}$ and expands over a rather wide region of the Brillouin zone, suggesting a large contribution of the electron-phonon interaction to the CDW formation. This interpretation is supported by our first principles calculations that determine a large momentum-dependence of the electron-phonon interaction, peaking at the CDW wavevector, in the presence of nesting. Fully anharmonic {it ab initio} calculations confirm the softening of one acoustic branch at textit{q}$_{CDW}$ as responsible for the CDW formation and show that van der Waals interactions are crucial to melt the CDW. Our work also highlights the important role of out-of-plane interactions to describe 3D CDWs in TMDs.
Plasmons in two-dimensional (2D) materials beyond graphene have recently gained much attention. However, the experimental investigation is limited due to the lack of suitable materials. Here, we experimentally demonstrate localized plasmons in a correlated 2D charge-density-wave (CDW) material: 2H-TaSe2. The plasmon resonance can cover a broad spectral range from the terahertz (40 {mu}m) to the telecom (1.55 {mu}m) region, which is further tunable by changing thickness and dielectric environments. The plasmon dispersion flattens at large wave vectors, resulted from the universal screening effect of interband transitions. More interestingly, anomalous temperature dependence of plasmon resonances associated with CDW excitations is observed. In the CDW phase, the plasmon peak close to the CDW excitation frequency becomes wider and asymmetric, mimicking two coupled oscillators. Our study not only reveals the universal role of the intrinsic screening on 2D plasmons, but also opens an avenue for tunable plasmons in 2D correlated materials.
We report epitaxial growth of vanadium diselenide (VSe$_2$) thin films in the octahedrally-coordinated (1T) structure on GaAs(111)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Film thickness from a single monolayer (ML) up to 30 ML is demonstrated. Structural and chemical studies using by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate high quality thin films. Further studies show that monolayer VSe$_2$ films on GaAs are not air-stable and are susceptible to oxidation within a matter of hours, which indicates that a protective capping layer should be employed for device applications. This work demonstrates that VSe$_2$, a candidate van der Waals material for possible spintronic and electronic applications, can be integrated with III-V semiconductors via epitaxial growth for 2D/3D hybrid devices.
We propose a second version of the van der Waals density functional (vdW-DF2) of Dion et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 246401 (2004)], employing a more accurate semilocal exchange functional and the use of a large-N asymptote gradient correction in determining the vdW kernel. The predicted binding energy, equilibrium separation, and potential-energy curve shape are close to those of accurate quantum chemical calculations on 22 duplexes. We anticipate the enabling of chemically accurate calculations in sparse materials of importance for condensed-matter, surface, chemical, and biological physics.
A scheme within density functional theory is proposed that provides a practical way to generalize to unrestricted geometries the method applied with some success to layered geometries [H. Rydberg, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 126402 (2003)]. It includes van der Waals forces in a seamless fashion. By expansion to second order in a carefully chosen quantity contained in the long range part of the correlation functional, the nonlocal correlations are expressed in terms of a density-density interaction formula. It contains a relatively simple parametrized kernel, with parameters determined by the local density and its gradient. The proposed functional is applied to rare gas and benzene dimers, where it is shown to give a realistic description.
Raman scattering is a ubiquitous phenomenon in light-matter interactions which reveals a materials electronic, structural and thermal properties. Controlling this process would enable new ways of studying and manipulating fundamental material properties. Here, we report a novel Raman scattering process at the interface between different van der Waals (vdW) materials as well as between a monolayer semiconductor and 3D crystalline substrates. We find that interfacing a WSe2 monolayer with materials such as SiO2, sapphire, and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) enables Raman transitions with phonons which are either traditionally inactive or weak. This Raman scattering can be amplified by nearly two orders of magnitude when a foreign phonon mode is resonantly coupled to the A exciton in WSe2 directly, or via an A1 optical phonon from WSe2. We further showed that the interfacial Raman scattering is distinct between hBN-encapsulated and hBN-sandwiched WSe2 sample geometries. This cross-platform electron-phonon coupling, as well as the sensitivity of 2D excitons to their phononic environments, will prove important in the understanding and engineering of optoelectronic devices based on vdW heterostructures.