The spin-orbit coupling relating the electron spin and momentum allows for spin generation, detection and manipulation. It thus fulfils the three basic functions of the spin field-effect transistor. ...However, the spin Hall effect in bulk germanium is too weak to produce spin currents, whereas large Rashba effect at Ge(111) surfaces covered with heavy metals could generate spin-polarized currents. The Rashba spin splitting can actually be as large as hundreds of meV. Here we show a giant spin-to-charge conversion in metallic states at the Fe/Ge(111) interface due to the Rashba coupling. We generate very large charge currents by direct spin pumping into the interface states from 20 K to room temperature. The presence of these metallic states at the Fe/Ge(111) interface is demonstrated by first-principles electronic structure calculations. By this, we demonstrate how to take advantage of the spin-orbit coupling for the development of the spin field-effect transistor.
In this randomized trial, HIV-positive adults with tuberculous meningitis were assigned to receive 6 to 8 weeks of dexamethasone or placebo in addition to tuberculosis treatment. No benefit of ...dexamethasone was observed.
Topological insulators (TIs) like Bi2Se3 are a class of material with topologically protected surface states in which spin-momentum locking may enable spin-polarized and defect-tolerant transport. In ...this work, we achieved the epitaxial growth of Bi2Se3 thin films on germanium, which is a key material for microelectronics. Germanium also exhibits interesting properties with respect to the electron spin such as a spin diffusion length of several micrometers at room temperature. By growing Bi2Se3 on germanium, we aim at combining the long spin diffusion length of Ge with the spin-momentum locking at the surface of Bi2Se3. We first performed a thorough structural analysis of Bi2Se3 films using electron and x-ray diffraction as well as atomic force microscopy. Then, magnetotransport measurements at low temperature showed the signature of weak antilocalization as a result of two-dimensional transport in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. We interpret our results as the signature of magnetotransport in a single strongly coupled coherent channel in the presence of surface to bulk scattering. Interestingly, the magnetotransport measurements also point out that the conduction channel can be tuned between the Bi2Se3 film and the Ge layer underneath by means of the bias voltage or the applied magnetic field. This result suggests that the Bi2Se3/Ge junction is a promising candidate for tuning spin-related phenomena at interfaces between TIs and semiconductors.
Spin-charge interconversion (SCI) phenomena have attracted a growing interest in the field of spintronics as a means to detect spin currents or manipulate the magnetization of ferromagnets. The key ...ingredients to exploit these assets are a large conversion efficiency, the scalability down to the nanometer scale, and the integrability with optoelectronic and spintronic devices. Here, we show that, when an ultrathin Bi film is epitaxially grown on a Ge(111) substrate, quantum size effects arising in nanometric Bi islands drastically boost the SCI efficiency, even at room temperature. Using x-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, we obtain a clear picture of the film morphology, crystal, and electronic structures. We then directly probe SCI with three different techniques: magneto-optical Kerr effect to detect the charge-to-spin conversion generated by the Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE), optical spin orientation, and spin pumping to generate spin currents and measure the spin-to-charge conversion generated by the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect (IREE). The three techniques show a sizable SCI only for 1–3-nm-thick Bi films corresponding to the presence of bismuth nanocrystals at the surface of germanium. Due to three-dimensional quantum confinement, those nanocrystals exhibit a highly resistive volume separating metallic surfaces where SCI takes place by (I)REE. As the film size increases, the Bi film becomes continuous and semimetallic leading to the cancellation of SCIs occurring at opposite surfaces, resulting in an average SCI that progressively decreases and disappears. These results pave the way for the exploitation of quantum size effects in spintronics.
Molecular beam epitaxy growth of ferromagnetic Co2TiSi films on GasAs(0 0 1) substrates is presented and it is found that the optimum growth temperature is between 300-360 °C where the film is single ...phase and exhibits highly (0 0 1)-ordered crystal structure. The Co2TiSi films are ferromagnetic up to 300 K and the highest value of saturation magnetization obtained is of 0.8 μB per formula unit. The Co2TiSi films also exhibit a very low degree of magnetic anisotropy along in-plane crystallographic directions. Expected values of Seebeck coefficient and resistivity measured at room temperature confirm good stoichiometry of the Co2TiSi films and indicate that this material is a promising candidate for both spincaloric and spintronic applications.
We have combined numerous characterization techniques to investigate the growth of tensile-strained and n-doped Ge films on Si(001) substrates by means of solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy. The Ge ...growth was carried out using a two-step growth method: a low-temperature growth to produce strain relaxed and smooth buffer layers, followed by a high-temperature growth to get high crystalline quality Ge layers. It is shown that the Ge/Si Stranski–Krastanov growth mode can be completely suppressed when the growth is performed at substrate temperatures ranging between 260°C and 300°C. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate that the Ge films grown at temperatures of 700–770°C are tensile-strained with typical values lying in the range of 0.22–0.24%. Cyclic annealing allows further increase in the tensile strain up to 0.30%, which represents the highest value ever reported in the Ge/Si system. n-Doping of Ge was carried out using a GaP decomposition source. It is shown that heavy n-doping levels are obtained at low substrate temperatures (210–250°C). For a GaP source temperature of 725°C and a substrate temperature of 210°C, a phosphorus concentration of about 1019cm−3 can be obtained. Photoluminescence measurements reveal an intensity enhancement of about 16 times of the direct band gap emission and display a redshift of 25meV that can be attributed to band gap narrowing due to a high n-doping level. Finally, we discuss about growth strategies allowing optimizing the Ge growth/doping process for optoelectronic applications.
•We investigate the effect of tensile strain and n-doping on Ge optical properties.•We show that cyclic annealing allows getting a tensile strain up to 0.30% in Ge.•n-Doping of Ge/Si films is performed using a GaP decomposition source.•We show that n-doping is more important to enhance the photoluminescence intensity.•We present new growth strategies to develop Ge-based optoelectronic devices.
We report on Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and density functional theory (DFT) investigations of charge transfers in vertical heterojunctions between tungsten diselenide (WSe2) layers and ...graphene on silicon carbide substrates. The experimental data reveal the existence of an interface dipole, which is shown by DFT to originate from the neutralization of the graphene n-doping by an electron transfer towards the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layer. The relative vacuum level shift probed by KPFM between the TMD and the substrate stays constant when passing from monolayer to bilayer graphene, which confirms that the Schottky-Mott model can be rigorously applied to these interfaces by taking into account the charge transfer from the substrate to the TMD. DFT calculations show that the first TMD layer absorbs almost all the excess charges contained in the graphene, and that the second TMD layer shall not play a significant role in the electrostatics of the system. Negatively charged defect at the TMD edges contribute however to the electrostatic landscape probed by KPFM on both TMD layers.
We have investigated the electronic properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), namely trilayer WSe2 and monolayer MoSe2, deposited on epitaxial graphene on silicon ...carbide, by using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) in ultra-high vacuum. Depending on the number of graphene layers below the TMD flakes, we identified variations in the electronic dI/dV(V) spectra measured by the STM tip: the most salient feature is a rigid shift of the TMD spectra (i.e. of the different band onset positions) towards occupied states by about 120 mV when passing from bilayer to monolayer underlying graphene. Since both graphene phases are metallic and present a work function difference in the same energy range, our measurements point towards the absence of Fermi-level pinning for such van der Waals 2D TMD/Metal heterojunctions, following the prediction of the Schottky-Mott model.
We report scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) investigations of the band-bending in the vicinity of charged point defects and edges of monolayer MoSe2 and mono- and trilayer WSe2 ...films deposited on graphitized silicon carbide substrates. By tracing the spatial evolution of the structures of the STS spectra, we evaluate the magnitude and the extent of the band-bending to be equal to few hundreds milielectronvolts and several nanometres, respectively. With the aid of a simple electrostatic model, we show that the spatial variation of the Coulomb potential close to the film edges can be well reproduced by taking into account the metallic screening by graphene. Additionally, the analysis of our data for trilayer WSe2 provides reasonable estimations of its dielectric constant () and of the magnitude of the charge trapped at the defect site (Q = +e).
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