Abstract
The rise of two-dimensional (2D) crystalline superconductors has opened a new frontier of investigating unconventional quantum phenomena in low dimensions. However, despite the enormous ...advances achieved towards understanding the underlying physics, practical device applications like sensors and detectors using 2D superconductors are still lacking. Here, we demonstrate nonreciprocal antenna devices based on atomically thin NbSe
2
. Reversible nonreciprocal charge transport is unveiled in 2D NbSe
2
through multi-reversal antisymmetric second harmonic magnetoresistance isotherms. Based on this nonreciprocity, our NbSe
2
antenna devices exhibit a reversible nonreciprocal sensitivity to externally alternating current (AC) electromagnetic waves, which is attributed to the vortex flow in asymmetric pinning potentials driven by the AC driving force. More importantly, a successful control of the nonreciprocal sensitivity of the antenna devices has been achieved by applying electromagnetic waves with different frequencies and amplitudes. The device’s response increases with increasing electromagnetic wave amplitude and exhibits prominent broadband sensing from 5 to 900 MHz.
Superconductor-ferromagnet interfaces in two-dimensional heterostructures present a unique opportunity to study the interplay between superconductivity and ferromagnetism. The realization of such ...nanoscale heterostructures in van der Waals (vdW) crystals remains largely unexplored due to the challenge of making atomically-sharp interfaces from their layered structures. Here, we build a vdW ferromagnetic Josephson junction (JJ) by inserting a few-layer ferromagnetic insulator Cr
Ge
Te
into two layers of superconductor NbSe
. The critical current and corresponding junction resistance exhibit a hysteretic and oscillatory behavior against in-plane magnetic fields, manifesting itself as a strong Josephson coupling state. Also, we observe a central minimum of critical current in some JJ devices as well as a nontrivial phase shift in SQUID structures, evidencing the coexistence of 0 and π phase in the junction region. Our study paves the way to exploring sensitive probes of weak magnetism and multifunctional building-blocks for phase-related superconducting circuits using vdW heterostructures.
The experimental discovery of Weyl semimetals offers unprecedented opportunities to study Weyl physics in condensed matters. Unique electromagnetic response of Weyl semimetals such as chiral magnetic ...effect has been observed and presented by the axial θ E · B term in electromagnetic Lagrangian (E and B are the electric and magnetic field, respectively). But till now, the experimental progress in this direction in Weyl semimetals is restricted to the DC regime. Here we report experimental access to the dynamic regime in Weyl semimetal NbAs by combining the internal deformation potential of coupled phonons with applied static magnetic field. While the dynamic E · B field is realized, it produces an anomalous phonon activity with a characteristic angle-dependence. Our results provide an effective approach to achieve the dynamic regime beyond the widely-investigated DC limit which enables the coupling between the Weyl fermions and the electromagnetic wave for further study of novel light-matter interactions in Weyl semimetals.
Abstract The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in non-centrosymmetric materials has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its potential to surpass the Shockley-Queisser limit. Although ...these materials are strictly constrained by symmetry, progress has been made in artificially reducing symmetry to stimulate BPVE in wider systems. However, the complexity of these techniques has hindered their practical implementation. In this study, we demonstrate a large intrinsic photocurrent response in centrosymmetric topological insulator Ag 2 Te, attributed to the surface photogalvanic effect (SPGE), which is induced by symmetry reduction of the surface. Through diverse spatially-resolved measurements on specially designed devices, we directly observe that SPGE in Ag 2 Te arises from the difference between two opposite photocurrent flows generated from the top and bottom surfaces. Acting as an efficient SPGE material, Ag 2 Te demonstrates robust performance across a wide spectral range from visible to mid-infrared, making it promising for applications in solar cells and mid-infrared detectors. More importantly, SPGE generated on low-symmetric surfaces can potentially be found in various systems, thereby inspiring a broader range of choices for photovoltaic materials.
The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is a key transport signature revealing the topological properties of magnetic compounds. In quantum materials, the classical linear dependence of the AHE on ...magnetization often breaks down, which is typically ascribed to the presence of topological magnetic or electronic textures. However, the complex electronic structure of these compounds may offer alternative, unexplored mechanisms. Here, we show that a giant nonlinear AHE can originate from a series of magnetic-field-induced Lifshitz transitions in the spin-dependent band structure. In our experiments on EuCd_{2}As_{2} the AHE contributes to 97% of the total Hall response, corresponding to a record anomalous Hall angle of 21%. Our scaling analysis and first-principles calculations demonstrate that the electronic structure is extremely sensitive to spin canting, with the magnetic field causing band crossing and band inversion and introducing a band gap when oriented along specific directions. Our results not only provide an ideal platform for Berry curvature engineering but reveal a general effect that may be applied to other material systems.
Recently, there has been significant interest in topological nodal-line semimetals due to their linear energy dispersion with one-dimensional nodal lines or loops. These materials exhibit fascinating ...physical properties, such as drumhead surface states and 3D anisotropic nodal-line structures. Similar to Weyl semimetals, type-II nodal-line semimetals have two crossing bands that are both electron-like or hole-like along a certain direction. However, the direct observation of type-II nodal-line Fermions has been challenging due to the lack of suitable material platforms and the low density of states. Here we present experimental evidence for the coexistence of both type-I and type-II nodal-line Fermions in ZrSiSe, which was obtained through magneto-optical and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements. Our density functional theory calculations predict that the type-II nodal-line structure can be developed in the Z-R line of the first Brillouin zone based on the lattice constants of the grown single crystal. Indeed, ARPES measurements reveal the type-II nodal-line band structure. The extracted type-II Landau level transitions from magneto-optical measurements exhibit good agreement with the calculated type-II energy dispersion model based on the band structure. Our experimental results demonstrate that ZrSiSe possesses two types of nodal-line Fermions, distinguishing it from other ZrSiX (X = S, Te) materials and positioning it as an ideal platform for investigating type-II nodal-line semimetals.
Stimulated by novel properties in topological insulators, experimentally realizing quantum phases of matter and employing control over their properties have become a central goal in condensed matter ...physics. β-silver telluride (Ag2Te) is predicted to be a new type narrow-gap topological insulator. While enormous efforts have been plunged into the topological nature in silver chalcogenides, sophisticated research on low-dimensional nanostructures remains unexplored. Here, we report the record-high bulk carrier mobility of 298 600 cm2/(V s) in high-quality Ag2Te nanoplates and the coexistence of the surface and bulk state from systematic Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations measurements. By tuning the correlation between the top and bottom surfaces, we can effectively enhance the contribution of the surface to the total conductance up to 87% at 130 V. These results are instrumental to the high-mobility physics study and even suitable to explore exotic topological phenomena in this material system.
Due to the nontrivial electronic structure, Cd3As2 is predicted to possess various transport properties and outstanding photoresponses. Photodetectors based on topological materials are mostly made ...up of nanoplates, yet monolithic in situ heteroepitaxial Cd3As2 photodetectors are rarely reported to date owing to the crystal mismatch between Cd3As2 and semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate Cd3As2/Zn x Cd1–x Te/GaSb vertical heteroepitaxial photodetectors via molecule beam epitaxy. By constructing dual-Schottky junctions, these photodetectors show high responsivity and external quantum efficiency in a broadband spectrum. Based on the strong and fast photoresponse, we achieved visible light to near-infrared imaging using a one-pixel imaging system with a galvo. Our results illustrate that the integration of three-dimensional Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 with semiconductors has potential applications in broadband photodetection and infrared cameras.
The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is an important transport signature revealing topological properties of magnetic materials and their spin textures. Recently, MnBi2Te4 has been demonstrated to be an ...intrinsic magnetic topological insulator. However, the origin of its intriguing AHE behaviors remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate the Berry curvature-dominated intrinsic AHE in wafer-scale MnBi2Te4 films. By applying back-gate voltages, we observe an ambipolar conduction and n–p transition in ∼7-layer MnBi2Te4, where a quadratic relation between the AHE resistance and longitudinal resistance suggests its intrinsic AHE nature. In particular, for ∼3-layer MnBi2Te4, the AHE sign can be tuned from pristine negative to positive. First-principles calculations unveil that such an AHE reversal originated from the competing Berry curvature between oppositely polarized spin-minority-dominated surface states and spin-majority-dominated inner bands. Our results shed light on the underlying physical mechanism of the intrinsic AHE and provide new perspectives for the unconventional sign-tunable AHE.
The investigation of two-dimensional atomically thin superconductors—especially those hosting topological states—attracts growing interest in condensed-matter physics. Here we report the observation ...of spin–orbit–parity coupled superconducting state in centrosymmetric atomically thin 2M-WS2, a material that has been predicted to exhibit topological band inversions. Our magnetotransport measurements show that the in-plane upper critical field not only exceeds the Pauli paramagnetic limit but also exhibits a strongly anisotropic two-fold symmetry in response to the in-plane magnetic field direction. Furthermore, tunnelling spectroscopy measurements conducted under high in-plane magnetic fields reveal that the superconducting gap possesses an anisotropic magnetic response along different in-plane magnetic field directions, and it persists much above the Pauli limit. Self-consistent mean-field calculations show that this unusual behaviour originates from the strong spin–orbit–parity coupling arising from the topological band inversion in 2M-WS2, which effectively pins the spin of states near the topological band crossing and gives rise to an anisotropic renormalization of the effect of external Zeeman fields. Our results identify the unconventional superconductivity in atomically thin 2M-WS2, which serves as a promising platform for exploring the interplay between superconductivity, topology and strong spin–orbit–parity coupling.A form of superconductivity where strong spin–orbit coupling combines with topological band inversions to produce strong robustness against magnetic fields is shown in a few-layer transition metal dichalcogenide.
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