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The realization of multiferroicity in 2D nanomaterials is crucially important for designing advanced nanoelectronic devices such as non-volatile multistate data storage. In this work, the coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity is reported in monolayer SnTe system by transition metal (TM) doping. Based on first-principles calculations, the spontaneous spin polarization could be realized by TM doping in ferroelectric SnTe monolayer. In addition to in-plane ferroelectric polarization, the out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization emerges in Mn (Fe)-doped SnTe monolayer due to the internal displacement of TM from the surface. Interestingly, the crystalline field centered on TM and interaction between the dopant and Te gradually enhanced with the increment of atomic number of doping elements, which explains why the formation energy decreases. The realization of multiferroics in SnTe monolayer could provide theoretical guidance for experimental preparation of low-dimensional multiferroic materials.
Two dimensional magnetic materials, with tunable electronic properties could lead to new spintronic, magnetic and magneto-optic applications. Here, we explore intrinsic magnetic ordering in two dimensional monolayers of transition metal tri-halides (MX$_3$, M = V, Cr, Mn, Fe and Ni, and X = F, Cl, Br and I), using density functional theory. We find that other than FeX$_3$ family which has an anti-ferromagnetic ground state, rest of the trihalides are ferromagnetic. Amongst these the VX$_3$ and NiX$_3$ family are found to have the highest magnetic transition temperature, beyond the room temperature. In terms of electronic properties, the tri-halides of Mn and Ni are either half metals or Dirac half metals, while the tri-halides of V, Fe and Cr are insulators. Among all the trihalides studied in this paper, we find the existence of very clean spin polarized Dirac half metallic state in MnF$_3$, MnCl$_3$, MnBr$_3$, NiF$_3$ and NiCl$_3$. These spin polarized Dirac half metals will be immensely useful for spin-current generation and other spintronic applications.
As machine learning becomes increasingly important in engineering and science, it is inevitable that machine learning techniques will be applied to the investigation of materials, and in particular the structural phase transitions common in ferroelectric materials. Here, we build and train an artificial neural network to accurately predict the energy change associated with atom displacements and use the trained artificial neural network in Monte-Carlo simulations on ferroelectric materials to investigate their phase transitions. We apply this approach to two-dimensional monolayer SnTe and show that it can indeed be used to simulate the phase transitions and predict the transition temperature. The artificial neural network, when viewed as a universal mathematical structure, can be readily transferred to the investigation of other ferroelectric materials when training data generated with ab initio methods are available.
Recently, the celebrated Keldysh potential has been widely used to describe the Coulomb interaction of few-body complexes in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides. Using this potential to model charged excitons (trions), one finds a strong dependence of the binding energy on whether the monolayer is suspended in air, supported on SiO$_2$, or encapsulated in hexagonal boron-nitride. However, empirical values of the trion binding energies show weak dependence on the monolayer configuration. This deficiency indicates that the description of the Coulomb potential is still lacking in this important class of materials. We address this problem and derive a new potential form, which takes into account the three atomic sheets that compose a monolayer of transition-metal dichalcogenides. The new potential self-consistently supports (i) the non-hydrogenic Rydberg series of neutral excitons, and (ii) the weak dependence of the trion binding energy on the environment. Furthermore, we identify an important trion-lattice coupling due to the phonon cloud in the vicinity of charged complexes. Neutral excitons, on the other hand, have weaker coupling to the lattice due to the confluence of their charge neutrality and small Bohr radius.
Just as photons are the quanta of light, plasmons are the quanta of orchestrated charge-density oscillations in conducting media. Plasmon phenomena in normal metals, superconductors and doped semiconductors are often driven by long-wavelength Coulomb interactions. However, in crystals whose Fermi surface is comprised of disconnected pockets in the Brillouin zone, collective electron excitations can also attain a shortwave component when electrons transition between these pockets. Here, we show that the band structure of monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides gives rise to an intriguing mechanism through which shortwave plasmons are paired up with excitons. The coupling elucidates the origin for the optical side band that is observed repeatedly in monolayers of WSe$_2$ and WS$_2$ but not understood. The theory makes it clear why exciton-plasmon coupling has the right conditions to manifest itself distinctly only in the optical spectra of electron-doped tungsten-based monolayers.
Photoluminescence experiments from monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides often show that the binding energy of trions is conspicuously similar to the energy of optical phonons. This enigmatic coincidence calls into question whether phonons are involved in the radiative recombination process. We address this problem, unraveling an intriguing optical transition mechanism. Its initial state is a localized charge (electron or hole) and delocalized exciton. The final state is the localized charge, phonon and photon. In between, the intermediate state of the system is a virtual trion formed when the localized charge captures the exciton through emission of the phonon. We analyze the difference between radiative recombinations that involve real and virtual trions (i.e., with and without a phonon), providing useful ways to distinguish between the two in experiment.