ABSTRACT
Enhancing electron correlation in a weakly interacting topological system has great potential to promote correlated topological states of matter with extraordinary quantum properties. Here, the enhancement of electron correlation in a prototypical topological metal, namely iridium dioxide (IrO2 ), via doping with 3d transition metal vanadium is demonstrated. Single-crystalline vanadium-doped IrO2 nanowires are synthesized through chemical vapor deposition where the nanowire yield and morphology are improved by creating rough surfaces on substrates. Vanadium doping leads to a dramatic decrease in Raman intensity without notable peak broadening, signifying the enhancement of electron correlation. The enhanced electron correlation is further evidenced by transport studies where the electrical resistivity is greatly increased and follows an unusual T $\sqrt T $ dependence on the temperature (T). The lattice thermal conductivity is suppressed by an order of magnitude via doping even at room temperature where phonon-impurity scattering becomes less important. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the remarkable reduction of thermal conductivity arises from the complex phonon dispersion and reduced energy gap between phonon branches, which greatly enhances phase space for phonon-phonon Umklapp scattering. This work demonstrates a unique system combining 3d and 5d transition metals in isostructural materials to enrich the system with various types of interactions.
ABSTRACT
The emergence of van der Waals (vdW) magnets has created unprecedented opportunities to manipulate magnetism for advanced spintronics based upon all-vdW heterostructures. Among various vdW magnets, Cr1+δTe2 possesses high temperature ferromagnetism along with possible topological spin textures. As this system can support self-intercalation in the vdW gap, it is crucial to precisely pinpoint the exact intercalation to understand the intrinsic magnetism of the system. Here, we developed an iterative method to determine the self-intercalated structures and show evidence of vdW "superstructures" in individual Cr1+δTe2 nanoplates exhibiting magnetic behaviors distinct from bulk chromium tellurides. Among 26,332 possible configurations, we unambiguously identified the Cr-intercalated structure as 3-fold symmetry broken Cr1.5Te2 segmented by vdW gaps. Moreover, a twisted Cr-intercalated layered structure is observed. The spontaneous formation of twisted vdW "superstructures" not only provides insight into the diverse magnetic properties of intercalated vdW magnets but may also add complementary building blocks to vdW-based spintronics.
ABSTRACT
The discovery of atomically thin van der Waals magnets (e.g., CrI3 and Cr2Ge2Te6) has triggered a renaissance in the study of two-dimensional (2D) magnetism. Most of the 2D magnetic compounds discovered so far host only one single magnetic phase unless the system is at a phase boundary. In this work, we report the near degeneracy of magnetic phases in ultrathin chromium telluride (Cr2Te3) layers with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy highly desired for stabilizing 2D magnetic order. Single-crystalline Cr2Te3 nanoplates with a trigonal structure (space group P3Ì 1c) were grown by chemical vapor deposition. The bulk magnetization measurements suggest a ferromagnetic (FM) order with an enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, as evidenced by a coercive field as large as â¼14 kOe when the field is applied perpendicular to the basal plane of the thin nanoplates. Magneto-optical Kerr effect studies confirm the intrinsic ferromagnetism and characterize the magnetic ordering temperature of individual nanoplates. First-principles density functional theory calculations suggest the near degeneracy of magnetic orderings with a continuously varying canting from the c-axis FM due to their comparable energy scales, explaining the zero-field kink observed in the magnetic hysteresis loops. Our work highlights Cr2Te3 as a promising 2D Ising system to study magnetic phase coexistence and switches for ultracompact information storage and processing.
ABSTRACT
Helical conductors with spin-momentum locking are promising platforms for Majorana fermions. Here we report observation of two topologically distinct phases supporting helical edge states in charge neutral Bernal-stacked tetralayer graphene in Hall bar and Corbino geometries. As the magnetic field B_{â¥} and out-of-plane displacement field D are varied, we observe a phase diagram consisting of an insulating phase and two metallic phases, with 0, 1, and 2 helical edge states, respectively. These phases are accounted for by a theoretical model that relates their conductance to spin-polarization plateaus. Transitions between them arise from a competition among interlayer hopping, electrostatic and exchange interaction energies. Our work highlights the complex competing symmetries and the rich quantum phases in few-layer graphene.
ABSTRACT
In neutral graphene, two prominent cusps known as Kohn anomalies are found in the phonon dispersion of the highest optical phonon at q=Γ (LO branch) and q=K (TO branch), reflecting a significant electron-phonon coupling (EPC) to undoped Dirac electrons. In this work, high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy is used to measure the phonon dispersion around the Γ point in quasifreestanding graphene epitaxially grown on Pt(111). The Kohn anomaly for the LO phonon is observed at finite momentum q~2k_{F} from Γ, with a shape in excellent agreement with the theory and consistent with known values of the EPC and the Fermi level. More strikingly, we also observe a Kohn anomaly at the same momentum for the out-of-plane optical phonon (ZO) branch. This observation is the first direct evidence of the coupling of the ZO mode with Dirac electrons, which is forbidden for freestanding graphene but becomes allowed in the presence of a substrate. Moreover, we estimate the EPC to be even greater than that of the LO mode, making graphene on Pt(111) an optimal system to explore the effects of this new coupling in the electronic properties.
