Xiang Yuan

Vacuum electron acceleration by an intense laser

Using 3D test particle simulations, the characteristics and essential conditions under which an electron, in a vacuum laser beam, can undergo a capture and acceleration scenario (CAS). When a{sub 0} {approx}> 100 the electron can be captured and violently accelerated to energies {approx}> 1 GeV, with an acceleration gradient {approx}> 10 GeV/cm, where a{sub 0} = eE{sub 0}/m{sub e}{omega}c is the normalized laser field amplitude. The physical mechanism behind the CAS is that diffraction of the focused laser beam leads to a slowing down of the effective wave phase velocity along the captured electron trajectory, such that the electron can be trapped in the acceleration phase of the wave for a longer time and thus gain significant energy from the field.

Arrayed van der Waals Vertical Heterostructures Based on 2D GaSe Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Vertically stacking two-dimensional (2D) materials can enable the design of novel electronic and optoelectronic devices and realize complex functionality. However, the fabrication of such artificial heterostructures on a wafer scale with an atomically sharp interface poses an unprecedented challenge. Here, we demonstrate a convenient and controllable approach for the production of wafer-scale 2D GaSe thin films by molecular beam epitaxy. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction oscillations and Raman spectroscopy reveal a layer-by-layer van der Waals epitaxial growth mode. Highly efficient photodetector arrays were fabricated, based on few-layer GaSe on Si. These photodiodes show steady rectifying characteristics and a high external quantum efficiency of 23.6%. The resultant photoresponse is super-fast and robust, with a response time of 60 μs. Importantly, the device shows no sign of degradation after 1 million cycles of operation. We also carried out numerical simulations to understand the underlying device working principles. Our study establishes a new approach to produce controllable, robust, and large-area 2D heterostructures and presents a crucial step for further practical applications.

Spin-Valve Effect in NiFe/MoS2/NiFe Junctions

Two-dimensional (2D) layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been recently proposed as appealing candidate materials for spintronic applications owing to their distinctive atomic crystal structure and exotic physical properties arising from the large bonding anisotropy. Here we introduce the first MoS2-based spin-valves that employ monolayer MoS2 as the nonmagnetic spacer. In contrast with what is expected from the semiconducting band-structure of MoS2, the vertically sandwiched-MoS2 layers exhibit metallic behavior. This originates from their strong hybridization with the Ni and Fe atoms of the Permalloy (Py) electrode. The spin-valve effect is observed up to 240 K, with the highest magnetoresistance (MR) up to 0.73% at low temperatures. The experimental work is accompanied by the first principle electron transport calculations, which reveal an MR of ∼9% for an ideal Py/MoS2/Py junction. Our results clearly identify TMDs as a promising spacer compound in magnetic tunnel junctions and may open a new avenue for the TMDs-based spintronic applications.

Room-temperature chiral charge pumping in Dirac semimetals

Chiral anomaly, a non-conservation of chiral charge pumped by the topological nontrivial gauge fields, has been predicted to exist in Weyl semimetals. However, until now, the experimental signature of this effect exclusively relies on the observation of negative longitudinal magnetoresistance at low temperatures. Here, we report the field-modulated chiral charge pumping process and valley diffusion in Cd3As2. Apart from the conventional negative magnetoresistance, we observe an unusual nonlocal response with negative field dependence up to room temperature, originating from the diffusion of valley polarization. Furthermore, a large magneto-optic Kerr effect generated by parallel electric and magnetic fields is detected. These new experimental approaches provide a quantitative analysis of the chiral anomaly phenomenon which was inaccessible previously. The ability to manipulate the valley polarization in topological semimetal at room temperature opens up a route towards understanding its fundamental properties and utilizing the chiral fermions.

Zeeman splitting and dynamical mass generation in Dirac semimetal ZrTe5

Dirac semimetals have attracted extensive attentions in recent years. It has been theoretically suggested that many-body interactions may drive exotic phase transitions, spontaneously generating a Dirac mass for the nominally massless Dirac electrons. So far, signature of interaction-driven transition has been lacking. In this work, we report high-magnetic-field transport measurements of the Dirac semimetal candidate ZrTe5. Owing to the large g factor in ZrTe5, the Zeeman splitting can be observed at magnetic field as low as 3 T. Most prominently, high pulsed magnetic field up to 60 T drives the system into the ultra-quantum limit, where we observe abrupt changes in the magnetoresistance, indicating field-induced phase transitions. This is interpreted as an interaction-induced spontaneous mass generation of the Dirac fermions, which bears resemblance to the dynamical mass generation of nucleons in high-energy physics. Our work establishes Dirac semimetals as ideal platforms for investigating emerging correlation effects in topological matters.

Controllable Growth of Vertical Heterostructure GaTexSe1–x/Si by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Two dimensional (2D) alloys, especially transition metal dichalcogenides, have attracted intense attention owing to their band-gap tunability and potential optoelectrical applications. Here, we report the controllable synthesis of wafer-scale, few-layer GaTexSe1-x alloys (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We achieve a layer-by-layer growth mode with uniform distribution of Ga, Te, and Se elements across 2 in. wafers. Raman spectroscopy was carried out to explore the composition-dependent vibration frequency of phonons, which matches well with the modified random-element-isodisplacement model. Highly efficient photodiode arrays were also built by depositing few-layer GaTe0.64Se0.36 on n-type Si substrates. These p-n junctions have steady rectification characteristics with a rectifying ratio exceeding 300 and a high external quantum efficiency around 50%. We further measured more devices on MBE-grown GaTexSe1-x/Si heterostructures across the full range to explore the composition-dependent external quantum efficiency. Our study opens a new avenue for the controllable growth of 2D alloys with wafer-scale homogeneity, which is a prominent challenge in 2D material research.

A robust and tuneable mid-infrared optical switch enabled by bulk Dirac fermions

Pulsed lasers operating in the mid-infrared (3–20 μm) are important for a wide range of applications in sensing, spectroscopy, imaging and communications. Despite recent advances with mid-infrared gain platforms, the lack of a capable pulse generation mechanism remains a significant technological challenge. Here we show that bulk Dirac fermions in molecular beam epitaxy grown crystalline Cd3As2, a three-dimensional topological Dirac semimetal, constitutes an exceptional ultrafast optical switching mechanism for the mid-infrared. Significantly, we show robust and effective tuning of the scattering channels of Dirac fermions via an element doping approach, where photocarrier relaxation times are found flexibly controlled over an order of magnitude (from 8 ps to 800 fs at 4.5 μm). Our findings reveal the strong impact of Cr doping on ultrafast optical properties in Cd3As2 and open up the long sought parameter space crucial for the development of compact and high-performance mid-infrared ultrafast sources.

Wafer-scale arrayed p-n junctions based on few-layer epitaxial GaTe

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted substantial attention in electronic and optoelectronic applications with the superior advantages of being flexible, transparent, and highly tunable. Gapless graphene exhibits ultra-broadband and fast photoresponse while the 2D semiconducting MoS2 and GaTe exhibit high sensitivity and tunable responsivity to visible light. However, the device yield and repeatability call for further improvement to achieve large-scale uniformity. Here, we report a layer-by-layer growth of wafer-scale GaTe with a high hole mobility of 28.4 cm2/(V·s) by molecular beam epitaxy. The arrayed p-n junctions were developed by growing few-layer GaTe directly on three-inch Si wafers. The resultant diodes reveal good rectifying characteristics and a high photovoltaic external quantum efficiency up to 62% at 4.8 µW under zero bias. The photocurrent reaches saturation fast enough to capture a time constant of 22 µs and shows no sign of device degradation after 1.37 million cycles of operation. Most strikingly, such high performance has been achieved across the entire wafer, making the volume production of devices accessible. Finally, several photoimages were acquired by the GaTe/Si photodiodes with reasonable contrast and spatial resolution, demonstrating the potential of integrating the 2D materials with silicon technology for novel optoelectronic devices.

Observation of quasi-two-dimensional Dirac fermions in ZrTe5

Since the discovery of graphene, layered materials have attracted extensive interests owing to their unique electronic and optical characteristics. Among them, Dirac semimetal, one of the most appealing categories, has been a long-sought objective in layered systems beyond graphene. Recently, layered pentatelluride ZrTe5 was found to host signatures of Dirac semimetal. However, the low Fermi level in ZrTe5 strongly hinders a comprehensive understanding of the whole picture of electronic states through photoemission measurements, especially in the conduction band. Here, we report the observation of Dirac fermions in ZrTe5 through magneto-optics and magneto-transport. By applying magnetic field, we observe a square-root-B dependence of inter-Landau-level resonance and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations with non-trivial Berry phase, both of which are hallmarks of Dirac fermions. The angular-dependent SdH oscillations show a clear quasi-two-dimensional feature with highly anisotropic Fermi surface and band topology, in stark contrast to the 3D Dirac semimetal such as Cd3As2. This is further confirmed by the angle-dependent Berry phase measurements and the observation of bulk quantum Hall plateaus. The unique band dispersion is theoretically understood: the system is at the critical point between a 3D Dirac semimetal and a topological insulator phase. With the confined interlayer dispersion and reducible dimensionality, our work establishes ZrTe5 as an ideal platform for exploring exotic physical phenomena of Dirac fermions.

Observations of a metal-insulator transition and strong surface states in Bi2-x Sbx Se3 thin films

High-quality thin films of the topological insulator Bi2-xSbxSe3 are grown by molecular beam epitaxy. A metal-insulator transition along with strong surface states - revealed by Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations - is observed as the Sb concentration is increased. This system represents a widely tunable platform for achieving high surface conduction, suppressing the bulk influence, and manipulating the band structure of topological insulators.