Density-functional-theory-based electronic structure calculations are made to consider the novel electronic states of Ru-pnictides RuP and RuAs where the intriguing phase transitions and superconductivity under doping of Rh have been reported. We find that there appear nearly degenerate flat bands just at the Fermi level in the high-temperature metallic phase of RuP and RuAs; the flat-band states come mainly from the $4d_{xy}$ orbitals of Ru ions and the Rh doping shifts the Fermi level just above the flat bands. The splitting of the flat bands caused by their electronic instability may then be responsible for the observed phase transition to the nonmagnetic insulating phase at low temperatures. We also find that the band structure calculated for RuSb resembles that of the doped RuP and RuAs, which is consistent with experiment where superconductivity occurs in RuSb without Rh doping.
Binary ruthenium pnictides, RuP and RuAs, with an orthorhombic MnP structure, were found to show a metal to a non-magnetic insulator transition at TMI = 270 K and 200 K, respectively. In the metallic region above TMI, a structural phase transition, a
ccompanied by a weak anomaly in the resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility, indicative of a pseudo-gap formation, was identified at Ts = 330 K and 280 K, respectively. These two transitions were suppressed by substituting Ru with Rh. We found superconductivity with a maximum Tc = 3.7 K and Tc =1.8 K in a narrow composition range around the critical point for the pseudo-gap phase, Rh content xc = 0.45 and xc = 0.25 for Ru1-xRhxP and Ru1-xRhxAs, respectively, which may provide us with a novel non-magnetic route to superconductivity at a quantum critical point.
To investigate the electronic structure of Weyl semimetals Ta$Pn$ ($Pn=$P, As), optical conductivity [$sigma(omega)$] spectra are measured over a wide range of photon energies and temperatures, and these measured values are compared with band calcula
tions. Two significant structures can be observed: a bending structure at $hbaromegasim$85 meV in TaAs, and peaks at $hbaromegasim$ 50 meV (TaP) and $sim$30 meV (TaAs). The bending structure can be explained by the interband transition between saddle points connecting a set of $W_2$ Weyl points. The temperature dependence of the peak intensity can be fitted by assuming the interband transition between saddle points connecting a set of $W_1$ Weyl points. Owing to the different temperature dependence of the Drude weight in both materials, it is found that the Weyl points of TaAs are located near the Fermi level, whereas those of TaP are further away.
We have performed systematic first principles study of the electronic structure and band topology properties of $LnPn$ compounds ($Ln$=Ce, Pr, Gd, Sm, Yb; $Pn$=Sb, Bi). Assuming the $f$-electrons are well localized in these materials, both hybrid fun
ctional and modified Becke-Johnson calculations yield electronic structure in good agreement with experimental observations, while generalized gradient approximation calculations severely overestimate the band
We investigated the electronic structures of the two-dimensional layered perovskite Sr$_{2}$textit{M}O$_{4}$ (textit{M}=4textit{d} Ru, 4textit{d} Rh, and 5textit{d} Ir) using optical spectroscopy and polarization-dependent O 1textit{s} x-ray absorpti
on spectroscopy. While the ground states of the series of compounds are rather different, their optical conductivity spectra $sigma(omega)$ exhibit similar interband transitions, indicative of the common electronic structures of the 4textit{d} and 5textit{d} layered oxides. The energy splittings between the two $e_{g}$ orbitals, $i.e.$, $d_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$ and $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$, are about 2 eV, which is much larger than those in the pseudocubic and 3textit{d} layered perovskite oxides. The electronic properties of the Sr$_{2}$textit{M}O$_{4}$ compounds are discussed in terms of the crystal structure and the extended character of the 4textit{d} and 5textit{d} orbitals.
Several pn junctions were constructed from mechanically exfoliated ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) beta-phase gallium oxide (b{eta}-Ga2O3) and p-type gallium nitride (GaN). The mechanical exfoliation process, which is described in detail, is similar to that
of graphene and other 2D materials. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) scans of the exfoliated b{eta}-Ga2O3 flakes show very smooth surfaces with average roughness of 0.647 nm and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) scans reveal flat, clean interfaces between the b{eta}-Ga2O3 flakes and p-GaN. The device showed a rectification ratio around 541.3 (V+5/V-5). Diode performance improved over the temperature range of 25{deg}C and 200{deg}C, leading to an unintentional donor activation energy of 135 meV. As the thickness of exfoliated b{eta}-Ga2O3 increases, ideality factors decrease as do the diode turn on voltages, tending toward an ideal threshold voltage of 3.2 V as determined by simulation. This investigation can help increase study of novel devices between mechanically exfoliated b{eta}-Ga2O3 and other materials.