No Arabic abstract
Forcing systems though fast non-equilibrium phase transitions offers the opportunity to study new states of quantum matter that self-assemble in their wake. Here we study the quantum interference effects of correlated electrons confined in monolayer quantum nanostructures, created by femtosecond laser-induced quench through a first-order polytype structural transition in a layered transition-metal dichalcogenide material. Scanning tunnelling microscopy of the electrons confined within equilateral triangles, whose dimensions are a few crystal unit cells on the side, reveals that the trajectories are strongly modified from free-electron states both by electronic correlations and confinement. Comparison of experiments with theoretical predictions of strongly correlated electron behaviour reveals that the confining geometry destabilizes the Wigner/Mott crystal ground state, resulting in mixed itinerant and correlation-localized states intertwined on a length scale of 1 nm. Occasionally, itinerant-electron states appear to follow quantum interferences which are suggestive of classical trajectories (quantum scars). The work opens the path toward understanding the quantum transport of electrons confined in atomic-scale monolayer structures based on correlated-electron-materials.
Recent advances in tuning the correlated behavior of graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have opened a new frontier in the study of many-body physics in two dimensions and promise exciting possibilities for new quantum technologies. An emerging field where these materials have yet to make a deep impact is the study of antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics - a relatively new research direction that promises technologies that are insensitive to external magnetic fields, fast switching times, and reduced crosstalk. In this study we present measurements on the intercalated TMD Fe1/3NbS2 which exhibits antiferromagnetic ordering below 42K. We find that current densities on the order of 10^4 A/cm^2 can reorient the magnetic order, the response of which can be detected in the samples resistance. This demonstrates that Fe1/3NbS2 can be used as an antiferromagnetic switch with electronic write-in and read-out. This switching is found to be stable over time and remarkably robust to external magnetic fields. Fe1/3NbS2 is a rare example of an AFM system that exhibits fully electronic switching behavior in single crystal form, making it appealing for low-power, low-temperature memory storage applications. Moreover, Fe1/3NbS2 is part of a much larger family of magnetically intercalated TMDs, some of which may exhibit the switching behavior at higher temperatures and form a platform from which to build tunable AFM spintronic devices.
Small-twist-angle transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers develop isolated flat moire bands that are approximately described by triangular lattice generalized Hubbard models [PhysRevLett.121.026402]. In this article we explore the metallic and insulating states that appear under different control conditions at a density of one-electron per moire period, and the transitions between them. By combining fully self-consistent Hartree-Fock theory calculations with strong-coupling expansions around the atomic limit, we identify four different magnetic states and one nonmagnetic state near the model phase diagrams metal-insulator phase-transition line. Ferromagnetic insulating states, stabilized by non-local direct exchange interactions, are surprisingly prominent.
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are an exciting family of 2D materials; a member of this family, MoS$_2$, became the first measured monolayer semiconductor. In this article, a generalized phenomenological continuum model for the optical vibrations of the monolayer TMDs valid in the long-wavelength limit is developed. Non-polar oscillations involve differential equations for the phonon displacement vector that describe phonon dispersion up to a quadratic approximation. On the other hand, the polar modes satisfy coupled differential equations for the displacement vectors and the inner electric field. The two-dimensional phonon dispersion curves for in-plane and out-of-plane oscillations are thoroughly analyzed. This model provides an efficient approach to obtain the phonon dispersion curves at the $Gamma$-point of the Brillouin zone of the whole family of TMD monolayers. The model parameters are fitted from density functional perturbation theory calculations. A detailed evaluation of the intravalley Pekar-Frohlich (P-F) and the $A_1$-homopolar mode deformation potential (Dp) coupling mechanisms is performed. The effects of metal ions and chalcogen atoms on polaron mass and binding energy are studied, considering these two contributions, the short-range Dp and P-F. It is argued that both mechanisms must be considered for a correct analysis of the polaron properties.
Strain engineering is a powerful technology which exploits stationary external or internal stress of specific spatial distribution for controlling the fundamental properties of condensed materials and nanostructures. This advanced technique modulates in space the carrier density and mobility, the optical absorption and, in strongly correlated systems, the phase, e.g. insulator/metal or ferromagnetic/paramagnetic. However, while successfully accessing nanometer length scale, strain engineering is yet to be brought down to ultrafast time scales allowing strain-assisted control of state of matter at THz frequencies. In our work we demonstrate a control of an optically-driven insulator-to-metal phase transition by a picosecond strain pulse, which paves a way to ultrafast strain engineering in nanostructures with phase transitions. This is realized by simultaneous excitation of VO$_2$ nanohillocks by a 170-fs laser and picosecond strain pulses finely timed with each other. By monitoring the transient optical reflectivity of the VO$_2$, we show that strain pulses, depending on the sign of the strain at the moment of optical excitation, increase or decrease the fraction of VO$_2$ which undergoes an ultrafast phase transition. Transient strain of moderate amplitude $sim0.1$% applied during ultrafast photo-induced non-thermal transition changes the fraction of VO$_2$ in the laser-induced phase by $sim1$%. By contrast, if applied after the photo-excitation when the phase transformations of the material are governed by thermal processes, transient strain of the same amplitude produces no measurable effect on the phase state.
The electron valley and spin degree of freedom in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides can be manipulated in optical and transport measurements performed in magnetic fields. The key parameter for determining the Zeeman splitting, namely the separate contribution of the electron and hole g-factor, is inaccessible in most measurements. Here we present an original method that gives access to the respective contribution of the conduction and valence band to the measured Zeeman splitting. It exploits the optical selection rules of exciton complexes, in particular the ones involving inter-valley phonons, avoiding strong renormalization effects that compromise single particle g-factor determination in transport experiments. These studies yield a direct determination of single band g factors. We measure gc1= 0.86, gc2=3.84 for the bottom (top) conduction bands and gv=6.1 for the valence band of monolayer WSe2. These measurements are helpful for quantitative interpretation of optical and transport measurements performed in magnetic fields. In addition the measured g-factors are valuable input parameters for optimizing band structure calculations of these 2D materials.