Howon Kim

Dirac Fermions in Borophene

Honeycomb structures of group IV elements can host massless Dirac fermions with nontrivial Berry phases. Their potential for electronic applications has attracted great interest and spurred a broad search for new Dirac materials especially in monolayer structures. We present a detailed investigation of the β_{12} sheet, which is a borophene structure that can form spontaneously on a Ag(111) surface. Our tight-binding analysis revealed that the lattice of the β_{12} sheet could be decomposed into two triangular sublattices in a way similar to that for a honeycomb lattice, thereby hosting Dirac cones. Furthermore, each Dirac cone could be split by introducing periodic perturbations representing overlayer-substrate interactions. These unusual electronic structures were confirmed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and validated by first-principles calculations. Our results suggest monolayer boron as a new platform for realizing novel high-speed low-dissipation devices.

Electronic structures of one-dimensional metal–molecule hybrid chains studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory

The electronic structures of self-assembled hybrid chains comprising Ag atoms and organic molecules were studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) in parallel with density functional theory (DFT). Hybrid chains were prepared by catalytic breaking of Br-C bonds in 4,4″-dibromo-p-terphenyl molecules, followed by spontaneous formation of Ag-C bonds on Ag(111). An atomic model was proposed for the observed hybrid chain structures. Four electronic states were resolved using STS measurements, and strong energy dependence was observed in STM images. These results were explained using first-principles calculations based on DFT.

Polymorphic porous supramolecular networks mediated by halogen bonds on Ag(111)

Intermolecular structures of porous two-dimensional supramolecular networks are studied using scanning tunnelling microscopy combined with density functional theory calculations. The local configurations of halogen bonds in polymorphic porous supramolecular networks are directly visualized in support of previous bulk crystal studies.

Switching and Sensing Spin States of Co–Porphyrin in Bimolecular Reactions on Au(111) Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

Controlling and sensing spin states of magnetic molecules at the single-molecule level is essential for spintronic molecular device applications. Here, we demonstrate that spin states of Co-porphyrin on Au(111) can be reversibly switched over by binding and unbinding of the NO molecule and can be sensed using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS). Before NO exposure, Co-porphryin showed a clear zero-bias peak, a signature of Kondo effect in STS, whereas after NO exposures, it formed a molecular complex, NO-Co-porphyrin, that did not show any zero-bias feature, implying that the Kondo effect was switched off by binding of NO. The Kondo effect could be switched back on by unbinding of NO through single-molecule manipulation or thermal desorption. Our density functional theory calculation results explain the observations with pairing of unpaired spins in dz(2) and ppπ* orbitals of Co-porphyrin and NO, respectively. Our study opens up ways to control molecular spin state and Kondo effect by means of enormous variety of bimolecular binding and unbinding reactions on metallic surfaces.

Imaging Josephson vortices on the surface superconductor Si(111)-(√7×√3)-In using a scanning tunneling microscope.

We have studied the superconducting Si(111)-(√7×√3)-In surface using a ³He-based low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Zero-bias conductance images taken over a large surface area reveal that vortices are trapped at atomic steps after magnetic fields are applied. The crossover behavior from Pearl to Josephson vortices is clearly identified from their elongated shapes along the steps and significant recovery of superconductivity within the cores. Our numerical calculations combined with experiments clarify that these characteristic features are determined by the relative strength of the interterrace Josephson coupling at the atomic step.

Achieving chiral resolution in self-assembled supramolecular structures through kinetic pathways.

Chiral phase transitions were studied in a self-assembled 2,6-dibromoanthraquinones supramolecular system prepared on Au(111) using scanning tunneling microscopy. As the molecules were deposited at about 150xa0K, they formed heterochiral chevron structures (a racemate) consisting of two alternating prochiral molecular rows. When the as-deposited sample was warmed to 300xa0K followed by cooling to 80xa0K, phase-separated homochiral structures (a conglomerate), as well as the chevron structures, were observed. We propose molecular models for the structures that are in good agreement with abxa0initio studies and can be explained by hydrogen bonds and halogen bonds. We found that heterochiral chevron structures were more stable than homochiral structures due to two additional [Formula: see text] halogen bonds per molecule. We considered kinetic pathways for the phase transitions that were made possible via a disordered liquid phase entropically stabilized at 300xa0K. We show how chiral resolution can be achieved by exploiting kinetic paths allowed in supramolecular systems.

Influence of stabilizer thickness on over-current test of YBCO-coated conductors

The increased use of distributed power generation has led to increasingly high fault current levels. A superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is a potential solution to prevent the problem of short-circuit currents. YBCO-coated conductors (CCs) are one of the most promising superconducting materials for SFCLs. Most YBCO CCs have stabilizers, which play a significant role in limiting the fault current in the SFCL. Therefore, the selection of the appropriate material and the thickness of the stabilizer of the CC used for the SFCL may affect its quench/recovery characteristics. In this paper, the quench/recovery characteristics of YBCO CC tapes having stabilizers with various thicknesses were investigated. The quench/recovery test results showed that, as the thickness of the stabilizer decreased, both the final approach temperature and the recovery time decreased.

Supramolecular Cl⋅⋅⋅H and O⋅⋅⋅H Interactions in Self‐Assembled 1,5‐Dichloroanthraquinone Layers on Au(111)

The role of halogen bonds in self-assembled networks for systems with Br and I ligands has recently been studied with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), which provides physical insight at the atomic scale. Here, we study the supramolecular interactions of 1,5-dichloroanthraquinone molecules on Au(111), including Cl ligands, by using STM. Two different molecular structures of chevron and square networks are observed, and their molecular models are proposed. Both molecular structures are stabilized by intermolecular Cl⋅⋅⋅H and O⋅⋅⋅H hydrogen bonds with marginal contributions from Cl-related halogen bonds, as revealed by density functional theory calculations. Our study shows that, in contrast to Br- and I-related halogen bonds, Cl-related halogen bonds weakly contribute to the molecular structure due to a modest positive potential (σ hole) of the Cl ligands.

Epitaxial Mn5Ge3 nano-islands on a Ge(001) surface

The growth behavior and atomic structure of Mn germanide, grown on Ge(001), is studied with x-ray diffraction and scanning probe microscopy. The amorphous clusters of as-deposited Mn are crystallized into Mn(5)Ge(3) nano-islands with a size of ∼100xa0nm by solid phase epitaxy. At low coverage, the shape of the nano-islands is plateau-like, while at increased coverage it becomes mound-like. At the flat top of the plateau-like nano-islands, the hexagonal atomic structure is resolved. It is interpreted, with the help of first-principles study, as a Mn-terminated Mn(5)Ge(3)(0001) structure.

Recovery and local-variation of Dirac cones in oxygen-intercalated graphene on Ru(0001) studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy

Methods to decouple epitaxial graphene from metal substrates have been extensively studied, with anticipation of observing unperturbed Dirac cone properties, but its local electronic structures were rarely studied. Here, we investigated the local variations of Dirac cones recovered using oxygen intercalation applied to epitaxial graphene on Ru(0001) using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS). New V-shaped features, which appear in the STS data at the oxygen-intercalated graphene regions, are attributed to the signatures of recovered Dirac cones. The Dirac point energy was observed at 0.48 eV below the Fermi level, different from previous photoemission results because of different oxygen coverages. The observed spatial variations of Dirac point energy were explained by the weakly protruding network structures caused by a small net strain in graphene. Our study shows that oxygen-intercalated graphene provides an excellent platform for further graphene research at the nano-meter scale with unperturbed Dirac cones.