20 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 20
- ItemWeak-coupling superconductivity in a strongly correlated iron pnictide(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Charnukha, A.; Post, K.W.; Thirupathaiah, S.; Pröpper, D.; Wurmehl, S.; Roslova, M.; Morozov, I.; Büchner, B.; Yaresko, A.N.Iron-based superconductors have been found to exhibit an intimate interplay of orbital, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom, dramatically affecting their low-energy electronic properties, including superconductivity. Albeit the precise pairing mechanism remains unidentified, several candidate interactions have been suggested to mediate the superconducting pairing, both in the orbital and in the spin channel. Here, we employ optical spectroscopy (OS), angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), ab initio band-structure, and Eliashberg calculations to show that nearly optimally doped NaFe0.978Co0.022As exhibits some of the strongest orbitally selective electronic correlations in the family of iron pnictides. Unexpectedly, we find that the mass enhancement of itinerant charge carriers in the strongly correlated band is dramatically reduced near the Γ point and attribute this effect to orbital mixing induced by pronounced spin-orbit coupling. Embracing the true band structure allows us to describe all low-energy electronic properties obtained in our experiments with remarkable consistency and demonstrate that superconductivity in this material is rather weak and mediated by spin fluctuations.
- ItemGeometric conductive filament confinement by nanotips for resistive switching of HfO2-RRAM devices with high performance(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Niu, Gang; Calka, Pauline; Auf der Maur, Matthias; Santoni, Francesco; Guha, Subhajit; Fraschke, Mirko; Hamoumou, Philippe; Gautier, Brice; Perez, Eduardo; Walczyk, Christian; Wenger, Christian; Di Carlo, Aldo; Alff, Lambert; Schroeder, ThomasFilament-type HfO2-based RRAM has been considered as one of the most promising candidates for future non-volatile memories. Further improvement of the stability, particularly at the “OFF” state, of such devices is mainly hindered by resistance variation induced by the uncontrolled oxygen vacancies distribution and filament growth in HfO2 films. We report highly stable endurance of TiN/Ti/HfO2/Si-tip RRAM devices using a CMOS compatible nanotip method. Simulations indicate that the nanotip bottom electrode provides a local confinement for the electrical field and ionic current density; thus a nano-confinement for the oxygen vacancy distribution and nano-filament location is created by this approach. Conductive atomic force microscopy measurements confirm that the filaments form only on the nanotip region. Resistance switching by using pulses shows highly stable endurance for both ON and OFF modes, thanks to the geometric confinement of the conductive path and filament only above the nanotip. This nano-engineering approach opens a new pathway to realize forming-free RRAM devices with improved stability and reliability.
- ItemEffect of nematic ordering on electronic structure of FeSe(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Fedorov, A.; Yaresko, A.; Kim, T.K.; Kushnirenko, Y.; Haubold, E.; Wolf, T.; Hoesch, M.; Grüneis, A.; Büchner, B.; Borisenko, S.V.Electronically driven nematic order is often considered as an essential ingredient of high-temperature superconductivity. Its elusive nature in iron-based superconductors resulted in a controversy not only as regards its origin but also as to the degree of its influence on the electronic structure even in the simplest representative material FeSe. Here we utilized angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations to study the influence of the nematic order on the electronic structure of FeSe and determine its exact energy and momentum scales. Our results strongly suggest that the nematicity in FeSe is electronically driven, we resolve the recent controversy and provide the necessary quantitative experimental basis for a successful theory of superconductivity in iron-based materials which takes into account both, spin-orbit interaction and electronic nematicity.
- ItemControlled assembly of graphene-capped nickel, cobalt and iron silicides(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2013) Vilkov, O.; Fedorov, A.; Usachov, D.; Yashina, L.V.; Generalov, A.V.; Borygina, K.; Verbitskiy, N.I.; Grüneis, A.; Vyalikh, D.V.In-situ dendrite/metallic glass matrix composites (MGMCs) with a composition of Ti46Zr20V12Cu5Be17 exhibit ultimate tensile strength of 1510 MPa and fracture strain of about 7.6%. A tensile deformation model is established, based on the five-stage classification: (1) elastic-elastic, (2) elastic-plastic, (3) plastic-plastic (yield platform), (4) plastic-plastic (work hardening), and (5) plastic-plastic (softening) stages, analogous to the tensile behavior of common carbon steels. The constitutive relations strongly elucidate the tensile deformation mechanism. In parallel, the simulation results by a finite-element method (FEM) are in good agreement with the experimental findings and theoretical calculations. The present study gives a mathematical model to clarify the work-hardening behavior of dendrites and softening of the amorphous matrix. Furthermore, the model can be employed to simulate the tensile behavior of in-situ dendrite/MGMCs.
- ItemTopological signatures in the electronic structure of graphene spirals(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2013) Avdoshenko, Stas M.; Koskinen, Pekka; Sevinçli, Haldun; Popov, Alexey A.; Rocha, Claudia G.Topology is familiar mostly from mathematics, but also natural sciences have found its concepts useful. Those concepts have been used to explain several natural phenomena in biology and physics, and they are particularly relevant for the electronic structure description of topological insulators and graphene systems. Here, we introduce topologically distinct graphene forms - graphene spirals - and employ density-functional theory to investigate their geometric and electronic properties. We found that the spiral topology gives rise to an intrinsic Rashba spin-orbit splitting. Through a Hamiltonian constrained by space curvature, graphene spirals have topologically protected states due to time-reversal symmetry. In addition, we argue that the synthesis of such graphene spirals is feasible and can be achieved through advanced bottom-up experimental routes that we indicate in this work.
- ItemOrbital reconstruction in nonpolar tetravalent transition-metal oxide layers(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2015) Bogdanov, Nikolay A.; Katukuri, Vamshi M.; Romhányi, Judit; Yushankhai, Viktor; Kataev, Vladislav; Büchner, Bernd; van den Brink, Jeroen; Hozoi, LiviuA promising route to tailoring the electronic properties of quantum materials and devices rests on the idea of orbital engineering in multilayered oxide heterostructures. Here we show that the interplay of interlayer charge imbalance and ligand distortions provides a knob for tuning the sequence of electronic levels even in intrinsically stacked oxides. We resolve in this regard the d-level structure of layered Sr2IrO4 by electron spin resonance. While canonical ligand-field theory predicts g
- ItemTwo distinct superconducting phases in LiFeAs(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Nag, P.K.; Schlegel, R.; Baumann, D.; Grafe, H.-J.; Beck, R.; Wurmehl, S.; Büchner, B.; Hess, C.A non-trivial temperature evolution of superconductivity including a temperature-induced phase transition between two superconducting phases or even a time-reversal symmetry breaking order parameter is in principle expected in multiband superconductors such as iron-pnictides. Here we present scanning tunnelling spectroscopy data of LiFeAs which reveal two distinct superconducting phases: at = 18 K a partial superconducting gap opens, evidenced by subtle, yet clear features in the tunnelling spectra, i.e. particle-hole symmetric coherence peak and dip-hump structures. At Tc = 16 K, these features substantiate dramatically and become characteristic of full superconductivity. Remarkably, the distance between the dip-hump structures and the coherence peaks remains practically constant in the whole temperature regimeT ≤ . This rules out the connection of the dip-hump structures to an antiferromagnetic spin resonance.
- ItemDistinct itinerant spin-density waves and local-moment antiferromagnetism in an intermetallic ErPd2 Si2 single crystal(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2015) Li, Hai-Feng; Cao, Chongde; Wildes, Andrew; Schmidt, Wolfgang; Schmalzl, Karin; Hou, Binyang; Regnault, Louis-Pierre; Zhang, Cong; Meuffels, Paul; Löser, Wolfgang; Roth, GeorgIdentifying the nature of magnetism, itinerant or localized, remains a major challenge in condensed-matter science. Purely localized moments appear only in magnetic insulators, whereas itinerant moments more or less co-exist with localized moments in metallic compounds such as the doped-cuprate or the iron-based superconductors, hampering a thorough understanding of the role of magnetism in phenomena like superconductivity or magnetoresistance. Here we distinguish two antiferromagnetic modulations with respective propagation wave vectors at Q± = (H ± 0.557(1), 0, L ± 0.150(1)) and QC = (H ± 0.564(1), 0, L), where (H, L) are allowed Miller indices, in an ErPd2Si2 single crystal by neutron scattering and establish their respective temperature- and field-dependent phase diagrams. The modulations can co-exist but also compete depending on temperature or applied field strength. They couple differently with the underlying lattice albeit with associated moments in a common direction. The Q± modulation may be attributed to localized 4f moments while the QC correlates well with itinerant conduction bands, supported by our transport studies. Hence, ErPd2Si2 represents a new model compound that displays clearly-separated itinerant and localized moments, substantiating early theoretical predictions and providing a unique platform allowing the study of itinerant electron behavior in a localized antiferromagnetic matrix.
- ItemCorrelation between topological band character and chemical bonding in a Bi14Rh3I9-based family of insulators(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Rasche, Bertold; Isaeva, Anna; Ruck, Michael; Koepernik, Klaus; Richter, Manuel; van den Brink, JeroenRecently the presence of topologically protected edge-states in Bi14Rh3I9 was confirmed by scanning tunnelling microscopy consolidating this compound as a weak 3D topological insulator (TI). Here, we present a density-functional-theory-based study on a family of TIs derived from the Bi14Rh3I9 parent structure via substitution of Ru, Pd, Os, Ir and Pt for Rh. Comparative analysis of the band-structures throughout the entire series is done by means of a unified minimalistic tight-binding model that evinces strong similarity between the quantum-spin-Hall (QSH) layer in Bi14Rh3I9 and graphene in terms of -molecular orbitals. Topologically non-trivial energy gaps are found for the Ir-, Rh-, Pt- and Pd-based systems, whereas the Os- and Ru-systems remain trivial. Furthermore, the energy position of the metal -band centre is identified as the parameter which governs the evolution of the topological character of the band structure through the whole family of TIs. The -band position is shown to correlate with the chemical bonding within the QSH layers, thus revealing how the chemical nature of the constituents affects the topological band character.
- ItemRobust and tunable itinerant ferromagnetism at the silicon surface of the antiferromagnet GdRh2Si2(London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Güttler, M.; Generalov, A.; Otrokov, M.M.; Kummer, K.; Kliemt, K.; Fedorov, A.; Chikina, A.; Danzenbächer, S.; Schulz, S.; Chulkov, E.V.; Koroteev, Yu. M.; Caroca-Canales, N.; Shi, M.; Radovic, M.; Geibel, C.; Laubschat, C.; Dudin, P.; Kim, T.K.; Hoesch, M.; Krellner, C.; Vyalikh, D.V.Spin-polarized two-dimensional electron states (2DESs) at surfaces and interfaces of magnetically active materials attract immense interest because of the idea of exploiting fermion spins rather than charge in next generation electronics. Applying angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that the silicon surface of GdRh2Si2 bears two distinct 2DESs, one being a Shockley surface state, and the other a Dirac surface resonance. Both are subject to strong exchange interaction with the ordered 4f-moments lying underneath the Si-Rh-Si trilayer. The spin degeneracy of the Shockley state breaks down below ~90 K, and the splitting of the resulting subbands saturates upon cooling at values as high as ~185 meV. The spin splitting of the Dirac state becomes clearly visible around ~60 K, reaching a maximum of ~70 meV. An abrupt increase of surface magnetization at around the same temperature suggests that the Dirac state contributes significantly to the magnetic properties at the Si surface. We also show the possibility to tune the properties of 2DESs by depositing alkali metal atoms. The unique temperature-dependent ferromagnetic properties of the Si-terminated surface in GdRh2Si2 could be exploited when combined with functional adlayers deposited on top for which novel phenomena related to magnetism can be anticipated.