Quantifying the thickness of WTe2 using atomic-resolution STEM simulations and supervised machine learning.

For two-dimensional (2D) materials, the exact thickness of the material often dictates its physical and chemical properties. The 2D quantum material WTe2 possesses properties that vary significantly from a single layer to multiple layers, yet it has a complicated crystal structure that makes it difficult to differentiate thicknesses in atomic-resolution images. Furthermore, its air sensitivity and susceptibility to electron beam-induced damage heighten the need for direct ways to determine the thickness and atomic structure without acquiring multiple measurements or transferring samples in ambient atmosphere.

Low Gilbert damping and high thermal stability of Ru-seeded L1-phase FePd perpendicular magnetic thin films at elevated temperatures.

Bulk perpendicular magnetic anisotropy materials are proposed to be a promising candidate for next-generation ultrahigh density and ultralow energy-consumption spintronic devices. In this work, we experimentally investigate the structure, thermal stability, and magnetic properties of FePd thin films seeded by a Ru layer. An -phase Ru layer induces the highly-ordered L1-phase FePd thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy ( ~ 10.

Van der Waals contacts between three-dimensional metals and two-dimensional semiconductors.

As the dimensions of the semiconducting channels in field-effect transistors decrease, the contact resistance of the metal-semiconductor interface at the source and drain electrodes increases, dominating the performance of devices. Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS) have been demonstrated to be excellent semiconductors for ultrathin field-effect transistors. However, unusually high contact resistance has been observed across the interface between the metal and the 2D transition-metal dichalcogenide.

Strontium Oxide Tunnel Barriers for High Quality Spin Transport and Large Spin Accumulation in Graphene.

The quality of the tunnel barrier at the ferromagnet/graphene interface plays a pivotal role in graphene spin valves by circumventing the impedance mismatch problem, decreasing interfacial spin dephasing mechanisms and decreasing spin absorption back into the ferromagnet. It is thus crucial to integrate superior tunnel barriers to enhance spin transport and spin accumulation in graphene. Here, we employ a novel tunnel barrier, strontium oxide (SrO), onto graphene to realize high quality spin transport as evidenced by room-temperature spin relaxation times exceeding a nanosecond in graphene on silicon dioxide substrates.

Simplifying Electron Beam Channeling in Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM).

Sub-angstrom scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) allows quantitative column-by-column analysis of crystalline specimens via annular dark-field images. The intensity of electrons scattered from a particular location in an atomic column depends on the intensity of the electron probe at that location. Electron beam channeling causes oscillations in the STEM probe intensity during specimen propagation, which leads to differences in the beam intensity incident at different depths.

Phase Engineering of 2D Tin Sulfides.

Tin sulfides can exist in a variety of phases and polytypes due to the different oxidation states of Sn. A subset of these phases and polytypes take the form of layered 2D structures that give rise to a wide host of electronic and optical properties. Hence, achieving control over the phase, polytype, and thickness of tin sulfides is necessary to utilize this wide range of properties exhibited by the compound.

Determining the thickness of atomically thin MoS2 and WS2 in the TEM.

Multislice simulations were used to analyze the reliability of annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM) imaging and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) for determining the thicknesses of MoS2 and WS2 specimens in the aberration-corrected TEM. Samples of 1 to 4 layers in thickness for both 2H and 1T polymorphs were studied and tilts up to 500mrad off of the [0001] zone axis were considered. All thicknesses including the monolayer showed distortions and intensity variations in their ADF-STEM images and SAED patterns as a result of tilt.