Visible Surface Plasmon Modes in Single Bi2Te3 Nanoplate.

Searching for new plasmonic building blocks which offer tunability and design flexibility beyond noble metals is crucial for advancing the field of plasmonics. Herein, we report that solution-synthesized hexagonal Bi2Te3 nanoplates, in the absence of grating configurations, can exhibit multiple plasmon modes covering the entire visible range, as observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. Moreover, different plasmon modes are observed in the center and edge of the single Bi2Te3 nanoplate and a breathing mode is discovered for the first time in a non-noble metal. Theoretical calculations show that the plasmons observed in the visible range are mainly due to strong spin-orbit coupling induced metallic surface states of Bi2Te3. The versatility of shape- and size-engineered Bi2Te3 nanocrystals suggests exciting possibilities in plasmonics-enabled technology.

Electrically tunable in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistance in topological insulator BiSbTeSe2 nanodevices.

We report tunable in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in nanodevices based on topological insulator BiSbTeSe2 (BSTS) nanoflakes by electric gating. The AMR can be changed continuously from negative to positive when the Fermi level is manipulated to cross the Dirac point by an applied gate electric field. We also discuss effects of the gate electric field, current density, and magnetic field on the in-plane AMR with a simple physical model, which is based on the in-plane magnetic field induced shift of the spin-momentum locked topological two surface states that are coupled through side surfaces and bulk weak antilocalization (WAL). The large, tunable and bipolar in-plane AMR in BSTS devices provides the possibility of fabricating more sensitive logic and magnetic random access memory AMR devices.

Spin-dependent thermoelectric effects in graphene-based spin valves.

Using first-principles calculations combined with non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF), we investigate spin-dependent thermoelectric effects in a spin valve which consists of zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) electrodes with different magnetic configurations. We find that electron transport properties in the ZGNR-based spin valve are strongly dependent on the magnetic configurations. As a result, with a temperature bias, thermally-induced currents can be controlled by switching the magnetic configurations, indicating a thermal magnetoresistance (MR) effect. Moreover, based on the linear response assumption, our study shows that the remarkably different Seebeck coefficients in the various magnetic configurations lead to a very large and controllable magneto Seebeck ratio. In addition, we evaluate thermoelectric properties, such as the power factor, electron thermal conductance and figure of merit (ZT), of the ZGNR-based spin valve. Our results indicate that the power factor and the electron thermal conductance are strongly related to the transmission gap and electron-hole symmetry of the transmission spectrum. Moreover, the value of ZT can reach 0.15 at room temperature without considering phonon scattering. In addition, we investigate the thermally-controlled magnetic distributions in the ZGNR-based spin valve and find that the magnetic distribution, especially the local magnetic moment around the Ni atom, is strongly related to the thermal bias. The very large, multi-valued and controllable thermal magnetoresistance and Seebeck effects indicate the strong potential of ZGNR-based spin valves for extremely low-power consuming spin caloritronics applications. The thermally-controlled magnetic moment in the ZGNR-based spin valve indicates its possible applications for information storage.

Simultaneous magnetic and charge doping of topological insulators with carbon.

A two-step doping process, magnetic followed by charge or vice versa, is required to produce massive topological surface states (TSS) in topological insulators for many physics and device applications. Here, we demonstrate simultaneous magnetic and hole doping achieved with a single dopant, carbon, in Bi2Se3 by first-principles calculations. Carbon substitution for Se (C(Se)) results in an opening of a sizable surface Dirac gap (up to 82 meV), while the Fermi level remains inside the bulk gap and close to the Dirac point at moderate doping concentrations. The strong localization of 2p states of C(Se) favors spontaneous spin polarization via a p-p interaction and formation of ordered magnetic moments mediated by surface states. Meanwhile, holes are introduced into the system by C(Se). This dual function of carbon doping suggests a simple way to realize insulating massive TSS.

Adsorbate and defect effects on electronic and transport properties of gold nanotubes.

First-principles calculations have been performed to study the effects of adsorbates (CO molecules and O atoms) and defects on electronic structures and transport properties of Au nanotubes (Au(5, 3) and Au(5, 5)). For CO adsorption, various adsorption sites of CO on the Au tubes were considered. The vibrational frequency of the CO molecule was found to be very different for two nearly degenerate stable adsorption configurations of Au(5, 3), implying the possibility of distinguishing these two configurations via measuring the vibrational frequency of CO in experiments. After CO adsorption, the conductance of Au(5, 3) decreases by 0.9G(0) and the conductance of Au(5, 5) decreases by approximately 0.5G(0). For O-adsorbed Au tubes, O atoms strongly interact with Au tubes, leading to around 2G(0) of drop in conductance for both Au tubes. These results may have implications for Au-tube-based chemical sensing. When a monovacancy defect is present, we found that, for both tubes, the conductance decreases by around 1G(0). Another type of defect arising from the adhesion of one Au atom is also considered. For this case, it is found that, for the Au(5, 3) tube, the defect decreases the conductance by nearly 1G(0), whereas for Au(5, 5), the decrease in conductance is only 0.3G(0).

Graphene-based spin caloritronics.

Thermally induced spin transport in magnetized zigzag graphene nanoribbons (M-ZGNRs) is explored using first-principles calculations. By applying temperature difference between the source and the drain of a M-ZGNR device, spin-up and spin-down currents flowing in opposite directions can be induced. This spin Seebeck effect in M-ZGNRs can be attributed to the asymmetric electron-hole transmission spectra of spin-up and spin-down electrons. Furthermore, these spin currents can be modulated and completely polarized by tuning the back gate voltage. Finally, thermal magnetoresistance of ZGNRs between ground states and magnetized states can reach 10(4)% without an external bias. Our results indicate the possibility of developing graphene-based spin caloritronic devices.

Electron transport properties of atomic carbon nanowires between graphene electrodes.

Long, stable, and free-standing linear atomic carbon wires (carbon chains) have been carved out from graphene recently [Meyer et al. Nature (London) 2008, 454, 319; Jin et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2009, 102, 205501]. They can be considered as extremely narrow graphene nanoribbons or extremely thin carbon nanotubes. It might even be possible to make use of high-strength and identical (without chirality) carbon wires as a transport channel or on-chip interconnects for field-effect transistors. Here we investigate electron transport properties of linear atomic carbon wire-graphene junctions by combining nonequilibrium Green's function with density functional theory. For short wires, linear ballistic transport is observed in wires consisting of odd numbers of carbon atoms but not in those consisting of even numbers of carbon atoms. For wires longer than 2.1 nm as fabricated above, however, the ballistic conductance of carbon wire-graphene junctions is independent of the structural distortion, structural imperfections, and hydrogen impurity adsorbed on the linear carbon wires, except for oxygen impurity adsorption under a low bias. As such, the epoxy groups might be the origin of experimentally observed low conductance in the carbon chain. Moreover, double-atomic carbon chains exhibit a negative differential resistance effect.