Coexisting Phases in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides: Overview, Synthesis, Applications, and Prospects.

Over the past decade, significant advancements have been made in phase engineering of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), thereby allowing controlled synthesis of various phases of TMDCs and facile conversion between them. Recently, there has been emerging interest in TMDC coexisting phases, which contain multiple phases within one nanostructured TMDC. By taking advantage of the merits from the component phases, the coexisting phases offer enhanced performance in many aspects compared with single-phase TMDCs.

Lightning the Spin: Harnessing the Potential of 2D Magnets in Opto-Spintronics.

Since the emergence of 2D magnets in 2017, the diversity of these materials has greatly expanded. Their 2D nature (atomic-scale thickness) endows these magnets with strong magnetic anisotropy, layer-dependent and switchable magnetic order, and quantum-confined quasiparticles, which distinguish them from conventional 3D magnetic materials. Moreover, the 2D geometry facilitates light incidence for opto-spintronic applications and potential on-chip integration.

Direct observation of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in a Pt/Co/Ni film.

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in an in-plane anisotropic Pt(4  nm)/Co(1.6  nm)/Ni(1.6  nm) film has been directly observed by Brillouin spectroscopy.

Phononic and magnonic dispersions of surface waves on a permalloy/BARC nanostructured array.

Phononic and magnonic dispersions of a linear array of periodic alternating Ni80Fe20 and bottom anti-reflective coating nanostripes on a Si substrate have been measured using Brillouin light scattering. The observed phononic gaps are considerably larger than those of laterally patterned multi-component crystals previously reported, mainly a consequence of the high elastic and density contrasts between the stripe materials. Additionally, the phonon hybridization bandgap has an unusual origin in the hybridization and avoided crossing of the zone-folded Rayleigh and pseudo-Sezawa waves.

Magnonic band structure investigation of one-dimensional bi-component magnonic crystal waveguides.

The magnonic band structures for exchange spin waves propagating in one-dimensional magnonic crystal waveguides of different material combinations are investigated using micromagnetic simulations. The waveguides are periodic arrays of alternating nanostripes of different ferromagnetic materials. Our results show that the widths and center frequencies of the bandgaps are controllable by the component materials, the stripe widths, and the orientation of the applied magnetic field.

Nanostructured magnonic crystals with size-tunable bandgaps.

Just as a photonic crystal is a periodic composite composed of materials with different dielectric constants, its lesser known magnetic analogue, the magnonic crystal can be considered as a periodic composite comprising different magnetic materials. Magnonic crystals are excellent candidates for the fabrication of nanoscale microwave devices, as the wavelengths of magnons in magnonic crystals are orders of magnitude shorter than those of photons, of the same frequency, in photonic crystals. Using advanced electron beam lithographic techniques, we have fabricated a series of novel bicomponent magnonic crystals which exhibit well-defined frequency bandgaps.

Collective spin waves in high-density two-dimensional arrays of FeCo nanowires.

Brillouin measurements have been made of the spin dynamics of high-density two-dimensional hexagonally ordered 20 nm diameter Fe48Co52 nanowire arrays, with various interwire spacings, as a function of longitudinal magnetic field. The experimental data are analyzed within the Arias-Mills theory based on interwire dipolar couplings in the arrays. The results provide conclusive evidence of collective spin waves arising from the dipolar coupling which is manifested as a reduction in spin wave frequency with decreasing interwire spacing.

Broadband femtosecond sum-frequency spectroscopy of CO on Ru1010 in the frequency and time domains.

CO on Ru[1010] was investigated by broadband femtosecond sum-frequency spectroscopy at 200 K. Approximately half of the frequency shift of 71 cm(-1) over the coverage range from 0.15 to 1.