No Arabic abstract
Bulk 1T$^prime$-MoTe$_2$ shows a structural phase transition from 1T$^prime$ to Weyl semimetallic (WSM) $ T_{d} $ phase at $sim$ 240 K. This phase transition and transport properties in the two phases have not been investigated on ultra-thin crystals. Here we report electrical transport, $1/f$ noise and Raman studies in ultra-thin 1T$^prime$-MoTe$_2$ ($sim$ 5 to 16 nm thick) field-effect transistors (FETs) devices as a function of temperature. The electrical resistivities for thickness 16 nm and 11 nm show maxima at temperatures 208 K and 178 K, respectively, making a transition from semiconducting to semi-metallic phase, hitherto not observed in bulk samples. Raman frequencies and linewidths for 11nm thick crystal show change around 178 K, attributed to additional contribution to the phonon self-energy due to enhanced electron-phonon interaction in the WSM phase. Further, the resistivity at low-temperature shows an upturn below 20 K along with the maximum in the power spectral density of the low frequency $1/f$ noise. The latter rules out the metal-insulator transition (MIT) being responsible for the upturn of resistivity below 20 K. The low temperature resistivity follows $rho propto 1/T$, changing to $rho propto T$ with increasing temperature supports electron-electron interaction physics at electron-hole symmetric Weyl nodes below 20 K. These observations will pave the way to unravel the properties of WSM state in layered ultra-thin van der Waals materials.
Using elastic neutron scattering on single crystals of MoTe$_{2}$ and Mo$_{1-x}$W$_{x}$Te$_{2}$ ($x lesssim 0.01$), the temperature dependence of the recently discovered T$_{d}^{*}$ phase, present between the low temperature orthorhombic T$_{d}$ phase and high temperature monoclinic 1T$^{prime}$ phase, is explored. The T$_{d}^{*}$ phase appears only on warming from T$_{d}$ and is observed in the hysteresis region prior to the 1T$^{prime}$ transition. This phase consists of four layers in its unit cell, and is constructed by an AABB sequence of layer stacking operations rather than the AB and AA sequences of the 1T$^{prime}$ and T$_{d}$ phases, respectively. Though the T$_{d}^{*}$ phase emerges without disorder on warming from T$_{d}$, on cooling from 1T$^{prime}$ diffuse scattering is observed that suggests a frustrated tendency toward the AABB stacking.
Room temperature two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetism is highly desired in practical spintronics applications. Recently, 1T phase CrTe2 (1T-CrTe2) nanosheets with five and thicker layers have been successfully synthesized, which all exhibit the properties of ferromagnetic (FM) metals with Curie temperatures around 305 K. However, whether the ferromagnetism therein can be maintained when continuously reducing the nanosheets thickness to monolayer limit remains unknown. Here, through first-principles calculations, we explore the evolution of magnetic properties of 1 to 6 layers CrTe2 nanosheets and several interesting points are found: First, unexpectedly, monolayer CrTe2 prefers a zigzag antiferromagnetic (AFM) state with its energy much lower than that of FM state. Second, in 2 to 4 layers CrTe2, both the intralayer and interlayer magnetic coupling are AFM. Last, when the number of layers is equal to or greater than five, the intralayer and interlayer magnetic coupling become FM. Theoretical analysis reveals that the in-plane lattice contraction of few layer CrTe2 compared to bulk is the main factor producing intralayer AFM-FM magnetic transition. At the same time, as long as the intralayer coupling gets FM, the interlayer coupling will concomitantly switch from AFM to FM. Such highly thickness dependent magnetism provides a new perspective to control the magnetic properties of 2D materials.
We experimentally compare two types of interface structures with magnetic and non-magnetic Weyl semimetals. They are the junctions between a gold normal layer and magnetic Weyl semimetal Ti$_2$MnAl, and a ferromagnetic nickel layer and non-magnetic Weyl semimetal WTe$_2$, respectively. Due to the ferromagnetic side of the junction, we investigate spin-polarized transport through the Weyl semimetal surface. For both structures, we demonstrate similar current-voltage characteristics, with hysteresis at low currents and sharp peaks in differential resistance at high ones. Despite this behavior resembles the known current-induced magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic structures, evolution of the resistance peaks with magnetic field is unusual. We connect the observed effects with current-induced spin dynamics in Weyl topological surface states.
Spin-dependent coherent quantum transport through carbon nanotubes (CNT) is studied theoretically within a tight-binding model and the Greens function partitioning technique. End-contacted metal/nanotube/metal systems are modelled and next studied in the magnetic context, i.e. either with ferromagnetic electrodes or at external magnetic fields. The former case shows that quite a substantial giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect occurs ($pm 20%$) for disorder-free CNTs. Anderson-disorder averaged GMR, in turn, is positive and reduced down to several percent in the vicinity of the charge neutrality point. At parallel magnetic fields, characteristic Aharonov-Bohm-type oscillations are revealed with pronounced features due to a combined effect of: length-to-perimeter ratio, unintentional electrode-induced doping, Zeeman splitting, and energy-level broadening. In particular, a CNT is predicted to lose its ability to serve as a magneto-electrical switch when its length and perimeter become comparable. In case of perpendicular geometry, there are conductance oscillations approaching asymptotically the upper theoretical limit to the conductance, $4 e^2/h$. Moreover in the ballistic transport regime, initially the conductance increases only slightly with the magnetic field or remains nearly constant because spin up- and spin down-contributions to the total magnetoresistance partially compensate each other.
Recent discoveries of broad classes of quantum materials have spurred fundamental study of what quantum phases can be reached and stabilized, and have suggested intriguing practical applications based on control over transitions between quantum phases with different electrical, magnetic, and$/$or optical properties. Tabletop generation of strong terahertz (THz) light fields has set the stage for dramatic advances in our ability to drive quantum materials into novel states that do not exist as equilibrium phases. However, THz-driven irreversible phase transitions are still unexplored. Large and doping-tunable energy barriers between multiple phases in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) provide a testbed for THz polymorph engineering. Here we report experimental demonstration of an irreversible phase transition in 2D MoTe$_{2}$ from a semiconducting hexagonal phase (2H) to a predicted topological insulator distorted octahedral ($1T^{}$) phase induced by field-enhanced terahertz pulses. This is achieved by THz field-induced carrier liberation and multiplication processes that result in a transient high carrier density that favors the $1T^{}$ phase. Single-shot time-resolved second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements following THz excitation reveal that the transition out of the 2H phase occurs within 10 ns. This observation opens up new possibilities of THz-based phase patterning and has implications for ultrafast THz control over quantum phases in two-dimensional materials.