Giant Terahertz Birefringence in an Ultrathin Anisotropic Semimetal.

Manipulating the polarization of light at the nanoscale is key to the development of next-generation optoelectronic devices. This is typically done via waveplates using optically anisotropic crystals, with thicknesses on the order of the wavelength. Here, using a novel ultrafast electron-beam-based technique sensitive to transient near fields at THz frequencies, we observe a giant anisotropy in the linear optical response in the semimetal WTe and demonstrate that one can tune the THz polarization using a 50 nm thick film, acting as a broadband wave plate with thickness 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the wavelength.

Giant Tunability of Intersubband Transitions and Quantum Hall Quartets in Few-Layer InSe Quantum Wells.

A two-dimensional (2D) quantum electron system is characterized by quantized energy levels, or subbands, in the out-of-plane direction. Populating higher subbands and controlling the intersubband transitions have wide technological applications such as optical modulators and quantum cascade lasers. In conventional materials, however, the tunability of intersubband spacing is limited.

Writing and Detecting Topological Charges in Exfoliated FeGeTe.

FeGeTe is a promising two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnet for practical applications, given its magnetic properties. These include Curie temperatures above room temperature, and topological spin textures─TST (both merons and skyrmions), responsible for a pronounced anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and its topological counterpart (THE), which can be harvested for spintronics. Here, we show that both the AHE and THE can be amplified considerably by just adjusting the thickness of exfoliated FeGeTe, with THE becoming observable even in zero magnetic field due to a field-induced unbalance in topological charges.

Weyl nodal ring states and Landau quantization with very large magnetoresistance in square-net magnet EuGa.

Magnetic topological semimetals allow for an effective control of the topological electronic states by tuning the spin configuration. Among them, Weyl nodal line semimetals are thought to have the greatest tunability, yet they are the least studied experimentally due to the scarcity of material candidates. Here, using a combination of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and quantum oscillation measurements, together with density functional theory calculations, we identify the square-net compound EuGa as a magnetic Weyl nodal ring semimetal, in which the line nodes form closed rings near the Fermi level.

Coexistence of Merons with Skyrmions in the Centrosymmetric Van Der Waals Ferromagnet Fe GeTe.

Fe GeTe is a centrosymmetric, layered van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnet that displays Curie temperatures T (270-330 K) that are within the useful range for spintronic applications. However, little is known about the interplay between its topological spin textures (e.g.

Thickness- and Twist-Angle-Dependent Interlayer Excitons in Metal Monochalcogenide Heterostructures.

Interlayer excitons, or bound electron-hole pairs whose constituent quasiparticles are located in distinct stacked semiconducting layers, are being intensively studied in heterobilayers of two-dimensional semiconductors. They owe their existence to an intrinsic type-II band alignment between both layers that convert these into p-n junctions. Here, we unveil a pronounced interlayer exciton (IX) in heterobilayers of metal monochalcogenides, namely, γ-InSe on ε-GaSe, whose pronounced emission is adjustable just by varying their thicknesses given their number of layers dependent direct band gaps.

Evidence of a room-temperature quantum spin Hall edge state in a higher-order topological insulator.

Room-temperature realization of macroscopic quantum phases is one of the major pursuits in fundamental physics. The quantum spin Hall phase is a topological quantum phase that features a two-dimensional insulating bulk and a helical edge state. Here we use vector magnetic field and variable temperature based scanning tunnelling microscopy to provide micro-spectroscopic evidence for a room-temperature quantum spin Hall edge state on the surface of the higher-order topological insulator BiBr.

Light sources with bias tunable spectrum based on van der Waals interface transistors.

Light-emitting electronic devices are ubiquitous in key areas of current technology, such as data communications, solid-state lighting, displays, and optical interconnects. Controlling the spectrum of the emitted light electrically, by simply acting on the device bias conditions, is an important goal with potential technological repercussions. However, identifying a material platform enabling broad electrical tuning of the spectrum of electroluminescent devices remains challenging.

The Magnetic Genome of Two-Dimensional van der Waals Materials.

Magnetism in two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials has recently emerged as one of the most promising areas in condensed matter research, with many exciting emerging properties and significant potential for applications ranging from topological magnonics to low-power spintronics, quantum computing, and optical communications. In the brief time after their discovery, 2D magnets have blossomed into a rich area for investigation, where fundamental concepts in magnetism are challenged by the behavior of spins that can develop at the single layer limit. However, much effort is still needed in multiple fronts before 2D magnets can be routinely used for practical implementations.

Evidence of a coupled electron-phonon liquid in NbGe.

Whereas electron-phonon scattering relaxes the electron's momentum in metals, a perpetual exchange of momentum between phonons and electrons may conserve total momentum and lead to a coupled electron-phonon liquid. Such a phase of matter could be a platform for observing electron hydrodynamics. Here we present evidence of an electron-phonon liquid in the transition metal ditetrelide, NbGe, from three different experiments.

Superconductivity up to 243 K in the yttrium-hydrogen system under high pressure.

The discovery of superconducting HS with a critical temperature T∼200 K opened a door to room temperature superconductivity and stimulated further extensive studies of hydrogen-rich compounds stabilized by high pressure. Here, we report a comprehensive study of the yttrium-hydrogen system with the highest predicted Ts among binary compounds and discuss the contradictions between different theoretical calculations and experimental data. We synthesized yttrium hydrides with the compositions of YH, YH, YH and YH in a diamond anvil cell and studied their crystal structures, electrical and magnetic transport properties, and isotopic effects.

Paramagnetic Molecular Semiconductors Combining Anisotropic Magnetic Ions with TCNQ Radical Anions.

We report the synthesis, magnetic properties, and transport properties of paramagnetic metal complexes, [Co(DMF)(TCNQ)](TCNQ) (), [La(DMF)(TCNQ)](TCNQ) (), and [Nd(DMF)(TCNQ)](TCNQ) () (DMF = ,-dimethylformamide, TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane). All three compounds contain fractionally charged TCNQ anions (0 < δ < 1) and mononuclear complex cations in which the coordination environment of a metal center includes several DMF molecules and one or two terminally coordinated TCNQ anions. The coordinated TCNQ anions participate in π-π stacking interactions with noncoordinated TCNQ anions, forming columnar substructures that provide efficient charge-transporting pathways.

Enhanced Superconductivity in Monolayer -MoTe.

Crystalline two-dimensional (2D) superconductors (SCs) with low carrier density are an exciting new class of materials in which electrostatic gating can tune superconductivity, electronic interactions play a prominent role, and electrical transport properties may directly reflect the topology of the Fermi surface. Here, we report the dramatic enhancement of superconductivity with decreasing thickness in semimetallic -MoTe, with critical temperature () increasing up to 7.6 K for monolayers, a 60-fold increase with respect to the bulk .

Giant and Reversible Barocaloric Effect in Trinuclear Spin-Crossover Complex Fe (bntrz) (tcnset).

A giant barocaloric effect (BCE) in a molecular material Fe (bntrz) (tcnset) (FBT) is reported, where bntrz = 4-(benzyl)-1,2,4-triazole and tcnset = 1,1,3,3-tetracyano-2-thioethylepropenide. The crystal structure of FBT contains a trinuclear transition metal complex that undergoes an abrupt spin-state switching between the state in which all three Fe centers are in the high-spin (S = 2) electronic configuration and the state in which all of them are in the low-spin (S = 0) configuration. Despite the strongly cooperative nature of the spin transition, it proceeds with a negligible hysteresis and a large volumetric change, suggesting that FBT should be a good candidate for producing a large BCE.

Layer- and gate-tunable spin-orbit coupling in a high-mobility few-layer semiconductor.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a relativistic effect, where an electron moving in an electric field experiences an effective magnetic field in its rest frame. In crystals without inversion symmetry, it lifts the spin degeneracy and leads to many magnetic, spintronic, and topological phenomena and applications. In bulk materials, SOC strength is a constant.

Superconductivity enhancement in phase-engineered molybdenum carbide/disulfide vertical heterostructures.

Stacking layers of atomically thin transition-metal carbides and two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides, could lead to nontrivial superconductivity and other unprecedented phenomena yet to be studied. In this work, superconducting α-phase thin molybdenum carbide flakes were first synthesized, and a subsequent sulfurization treatment induced the formation of vertical heterolayer systems consisting of different phases of molybdenum carbide-ranging from α to γ' and γ phases-in conjunction with molybdenum sulfide layers. These transition-metal carbide/disulfide heterostructures exhibited critical superconducting temperatures as high as 6 K, higher than that of the starting single-phased α-MoC (4 K).

Antiferroelectric Phase Transition in a Proton-Transfer Salt of Squaric Acid and 2,3-Dimethylpyrazine.

A proton-transfer reaction between squaric acid (Hsq) and 2,3-dimethylpyrazine (2,3-Mepyz) results in crystallization of a new organic antiferroelectric (AFE), (2,3-MepyzH)(Hsq)·HO (), which possesses a layered structure. The structure of each layer can be described as partitioned into strips lined with methyl groups of the MepyzH cations and strips featuring extensive hydrogen bonding between the Hsq anions and water molecules. Variable-temperature dielectric measurements and crystal structures determined through a combination of single-crystal X-ray and neutron diffraction reveal an AFE ordering at 104 K.

Bilayer Lateral Heterostructures of Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides and Their Optoelectronic Response.

Two-dimensional lateral heterojunctions based on monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have received increasing attention given that their direct band gap makes them very attractive for optoelectronic applications. Although bilayer TMDs present an indirect band gap, their electrical properties are expected to be less susceptible to ambient conditions, with higher mobilities and density of states when compared to monolayers. Bilayers and few-layers single domain devices have already demonstrated higher performance in radio frequency and photosensing applications.

Approaching the Intrinsic Limit in Transition Metal Diselenides via Point Defect Control.

Two dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) based semiconductors have generated intense recent interest due to their novel optical and electronic properties and potential for applications. In this work, we characterize the atomic and electronic nature of intrinsic point defects found in single crystals of these materials synthesized by two different methods, chemical vapor transport and self-flux growth. Using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we show that the two major intrinsic defects in these materials are metal vacancies and chalcogen antisites.

Superconducting phase diagram of HS under high magnetic fields.

The discovery of superconductivity at 260 K in hydrogen-rich compounds like LaH re-invigorated the quest for room temperature superconductivity. Here, we report the temperature dependence of the upper critical fields μH(T) of superconducting HS under a record-high combination of applied pressures up to 160 GPa and fields up to 65 T. We find that H(T) displays a linear dependence on temperature over an extended range as found in multigap or in strongly-coupled superconductors, thus deviating from conventional Werthamer, Helfand, and Hohenberg (WHH) formalism.