Correlated insulator collapse due to quantum avalanche via in-gap ladder states.

The significant discrepancy observed between the predicted and experimental switching fields in correlated insulators under a DC electric field far-from-equilibrium necessitates a reevaluation of current microscopic understanding. Here we show that an electron avalanche can occur in the bulk limit of such insulators at arbitrarily small electric field by introducing a generic model of electrons coupled to an inelastic medium of phonons. The quantum avalanche arises by the generation of a ladder of in-gap states, created by a multi-phonon emission process.

Signatures of hot carriers and hot phonons in the re-entrant metallic and semiconducting states of Moiré-gapped graphene.

Stacking of graphene with hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) can dramatically modify its bands from their usual linear form, opening a series of narrow minigaps that are separated by wider minibands. While the resulting spectrum offers strong potential for use in functional (opto)electronic devices, a proper understanding of the dynamics of hot carriers in these bands is a prerequisite for such applications. In this work, we therefore apply a strategy of rapid electrical pulsing to drive carriers in graphene/h-BN heterostructures deep into the dissipative limit of strong electron-phonon coupling.

Self-Forming p-n Junction Diode Realized with WSe Surface and Edge Dual Contacts.

Owing to their practical applications, two-dimensional semiconductor p-n diodes have attracted enormous attention. Over the past decade, various methods, such as chemical doping, heterojunction structures, and metallization using metals with different work functions, have been reported for fabrication of such devices. In this study, a lateral p-n junction diode is formed in tungsten diselenide (WSe ) using a combination of edge and surface contacts.

Asymmetrically Engineered Nanoscale Transistors for On-Demand Sourcing of Terahertz Plasmons.

Terahertz (THz) plasma oscillations represent a potential path to implement ultrafast electronic devices and circuits. Here, we present an approach to generate on-chip THz signals that relies on plasma-wave stabilization in nanoscale transistors with specific structural asymmetry. A hydrodynamic treatment shows how the transistor asymmetry supports plasma-wave amplification, giving rise to pronounced negative differential conductance (NDC).

Graphene on Chromia: A System for Beyond-Room-Temperature Spintronics.

Evidence of robust spin-dependent transport in monolayer graphene, deposited on the (0001) surface of the antiferromagnetic (AFM)/magneto-electric oxide chromia (Cr O ), is provided. Measurements performed in the non-local spin-Hall geometry reveal a robust signal that is present at zero external magnetic field and which is significantly larger than any possible ohmic contribution. The spin-related signal persists well beyond the Néel temperature (≈307 K) that defines the transition between the AFM and paramagnetic states, remaining visible at the highest studied temperature of close to 450 K.

Signature of Spin-Resolved Quantum Point Contact in p-Type Trilayer WSe van der Waals Heterostructure.

In this study, an electrostatically induced quantum confinement structure, so-called quantum point contact, has been realized in a p-type trilayer tungsten diselenide-based van der Waals heterostructure with modified van der Waals contact method with degenerately doped transition metal dichalcogenide crystals. Clear quantized conductance and pinch-off state through the one-dimensional confinement were observed by dual-gating of split gate electrodes and top gate. Conductance plateaus were observed at a step of / in addition to quarter plateaus such as 0.

Investigation of laser-induced-metal phase of MoTe and its contact property via scanning gate microscopy.

Although semiconductor to metal phase transformation of MoTe by high-density laser irradiation of more than 0.3 MW cm has been reported, we reveal that the laser-induced-metal (LIM) phase is not the 1T' structure derived by a polymorphic-structural phase transition but consists instead of semi-metallic Te induced by photo-thermal decomposition of MoTe. The technique is used to fabricate a field effect transistor with a Pd/2H-MoTe/LIM structure having an asymmetric metallic contact, and its contact properties are studied via scanning gate microscopy.

Transient Response of h-BN-Encapsulated Graphene Transistors: Signatures of Self-Heating and Hot-Carrier Trapping.

We use transient electrical measurements to investigate the details of self-heating and charge trapping in graphene transistors encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and operated under strongly nonequilibrium conditions. Relative to more standard devices fabricated on SiO substrates, encapsulation is shown to lead to an enhanced immunity to charge trapping, the influence of which is only apparent under the combined influence of strong gate and drain electric fields. Although the precise source of the trapping remains to be determined, one possibility is that the strong gate field may lower the barriers associated with native defects in the h-BN, allowing them to mediate the capture of energetic carriers from the graphene channel.

Gate-Controlled Metal-Insulator Transition in TiS Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors.

We explore the electrical characteristics of TiS nanowire field-effect transistor (FETs), over the wide temperature range from 3 to 350 K. These nanomaterials have a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) crystal structure and exhibit a gate-controlled metal-insulator transition (MIT) in their transfer curves. Their room-temperature mobility is ∼20-30 cm/(V s), 2 orders of magnitude smaller than predicted previously, a result that we explain quantitatively in terms of the influence of polar-optical phonon scattering in these materials.

Nanoscale-Barrier Formation Induced by Low-Dose Electron-Beam Exposure in Ultrathin MoS Transistors.

Utilizing an innovative combination of scanning-probe and spectroscopic techniques, supported by first-principles calculations, we demonstrate how electron-beam exposure of field-effect transistors, implemented from ultrathin molybdenum disulfide (MoS), may cause nanoscale structural modifications that in turn significantly modify the electrical operation of these devices. Quite surprisingly, these modifications are induced by even the relatively low electron doses used in conventional electron-beam lithography, which are found to induce compressive strain in the atomically thin MoS. Likely arising from sulfur-vacancy formation in the exposed regions, the strain gives rise to a local widening of the MoS bandgap, an idea that is supported both by our experiment and by the results of first-principles calculations.

Conductance fluctuations in graphene in the presence of long-range disorder.

The fluctuations in the conductance of graphene that arise from a long-range disorder potential induced by random impurities are investigated with an atomic tight-binding lattice. The screened impurities lead to a slow variation of the background potential and this varies the overall potential landscape as the Fermi energy or an applied magnetic field is varied. As a result, the phase interference varies randomly and leads to fluctuations in the conductance.

Tunable insulator-quantum Hall transition in a weakly interacting two-dimensional electron system.

We have performed low-temperature measurements on a gated two-dimensional electron system in which electron-electron (e-e) interactions are insignificant. At low magnetic fields, disorder-driven movement of the crossing of longitudinal and Hall resistivities (ρxx and ρxy) can be observed. Interestingly, by applying different gate voltages, we demonstrate that such a crossing at ρxx ~ ρxy can occur at a magnetic field higher, lower, or equal to the temperature-independent point in ρxx which corresponds to the direct insulator-quantum Hall transition.

Experimental evidence for direct insulator-quantum Hall transition in multi-layer graphene.

We have performed magnetotransport measurements on a multi-layer graphene flake. At the crossing magnetic field Bc, an approximately temperature-independent point in the measured longitudinal resistivity ρxx, which is ascribed to the direct insulator-quantum Hall (I-QH) transition, is observed. By analyzing the amplitudes of the magnetoresistivity oscillations, we are able to measure the quantum mobility μq of our device.

GR-FET application for high-frequency detection device.

A small forbidden gap matched to low-energy photons (meV) and a quasi-Dirac electron system are both definitive characteristics of bilayer graphene (GR) that has gained it considerable interest in realizing a broadly tunable sensor for application in the microwave region around gigahertz (GHz) and terahertz (THz) regimes. In this work, a systematic study is presented which explores the GHz/THz detection limit of both bilayer and single-layer graphene field-effect transistor (GR-FET) devices. Several major improvements to the wiring setup, insulation architecture, graphite source, and bolometric heating of the GR-FET sensor were made in order to extend microwave photoresponse past previous reports of 40 GHz and to further improve THz detection.

Evaluating the performance of quantum point contacts as nanoscale terahertz sensors.

Quantum point contacts (QPCs) are nanoscale constrictions that are realized in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas by applying negative bias to split Schottky gates on top of a semiconductor. Here, we explore the suitability of these nanodevices to THz detection, by making use of their ability to rectify THz signals via the strong nonlinearities that exist in their conductance. In addition to demonstrating the configuration of these devices that provides optimal THz sensitivity, we also determine their noise equivalent power and responsivity.

Tunneling and nonhyperbolicity in quantum dots.

We argue that many major features in electronic transport in realistic quantum dots are not explainable by the usual semiclassical approach, due to the contributions of the quantum-mechanical tunneling of the electrons through the Kolmogorov-Arnol'd-Moser islands. We show that dynamical tunneling gives rise to a set of resonances characterized by two quantum numbers, which leads to conductance oscillations and concentration of wave functions near stable and unstable periodic orbits. Experimental results agree very well with our theoretical predictions, indicating that tunneling has to be taken into account to understand the physics of transport in generic nanostructures.