Non-volatile resistive switching, also known as memristor1 effect, where an electric field switches the resistance states of a two-terminal device, has emerged as an important concept in the ...development of high-density information storage, computing and reconfigurable systems2–9. The past decade has witnessed substantial advances in non-volatile resistive switching materials such as metal oxides and solid electrolytes. It was long believed that leakage currents would prevent the observation of this phenomenon for nanometre-thin insulating layers. However, the recent discovery of non-volatile resistive switching in two-dimensional monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenide10,11 and hexagonal boron nitride12 sandwich structures (also known as atomristors) has refuted this belief and added a new materials dimension owing to the benefits of size scaling10,13. Here we elucidate the origin of the switching mechanism in atomic sheets using monolayer MoS2 as a model system. Atomistic imaging and spectroscopy reveal that metal substitution into a sulfur vacancy results in a non-volatile change in the resistance, which is corroborated by computational studies of defect structures and electronic states. These findings provide an atomistic understanding of non-volatile switching and open a new direction in precision defect engineering, down to a single defect, towards achieving the smallest memristor for applications in ultra-dense memory, neuromorphic computing and radio-frequency communication systems2,3,11.A combination of atomistic imaging and spectroscopy reveals that metal substitution into a sulfur vacancy is the underlying mechanism for resistive switching in transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers.
Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) metals may be key ingredients in next-generation quantum and optoelectronic devices. However, 2D metals must be stabilized against environmental degradation and ...integrated into heterostructure devices at the wafer scale. The high-energy interface between silicon carbide and epitaxial graphene provides an intriguing framework for stabilizing a diverse range of 2D metals. Here we demonstrate large-area, environmentally stable, single-crystal 2D gallium, indium and tin that are stabilized at the interface of epitaxial graphene and silicon carbide. The 2D metals are covalently bonded to SiC below but present a non-bonded interface to the graphene overlayer; that is, they are 'half van der Waals' metals with strong internal gradients in bonding character. These non-centrosymmetric 2D metals offer compelling opportunities for superconducting devices, topological phenomena and advanced optoelectronic properties. For example, the reported 2D Ga is a superconductor that combines six strongly coupled Ga-derived electron pockets with a large nearly free-electron Fermi surface that closely approaches the Dirac points of the graphene overlayer.
Graphene nanoribbons made on oxides
Atomically precise nanographenes and nanoribbons have been synthesized on metal surfaces that catalyze cyclode-hydrogenation of precursors. However, for use in ...devices, these structures usually must be transferred to insulating or semiconducting surfaces. Kolmer
et al.
synthesized precise graphene nanoribbons on the surface of rutile titanium dioxide (TiO
2
) that assisted the cyclode-hydrofluorination of specifically designed precursor molecules through a series of thermally triggered transformations. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy confirmed the formation of well-defined zigzag ends of the nanoribbons as well as their weak interaction with the substrate.
Science
, this issue p.
571
Graphene nanoribbons were electronically decoupled from the metal oxide surface on which they were synthesized.
Atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) attract great interest because of their highly tunable electronic, optical, and transport properties. However, on-surface synthesis of GNRs is typically based on metal surface–assisted chemical reactions, where metallic substrates strongly screen their designer electronic properties and limit further applications. Here, we present an on-surface synthesis approach to forming atomically precise GNRs directly on semiconducting metal oxide surfaces. The thermally triggered multistep transformations preprogrammed in our precursors’ design rely on highly selective and sequential activations of carbon-bromine (C-Br) and carbon-fluorine (C-F) bonds and cyclodehydrogenation. The formation of planar armchair GNRs terminated by well-defined zigzag ends is confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, which also reveal weak interaction between GNRs and the rutile titanium dioxide substrate.
The transport of water through nanoscale capillaries/pores plays a prominent role in biology, ionic/molecular separations, water treatment and protective applications. However, the mechanisms of ...water and vapor transport through nanoscale confinements remain to be fully understood. Angstrom-scale pores (~2.8-6.6 Å) introduced into the atomically thin graphene lattice represent ideal model systems to probe water transport at the molecular-length scale with short pores (aspect ratio ~1-1.9) i.e., pore diameters approach the pore length (~3.4 Å) at the theoretical limit of material thickness. Here, we report on orders of magnitude differences (~80×) between transport of water vapor (~44.2-52.4 g m
day
Pa
) and liquid water (0.6-2 g m
day
Pa
) through nanopores (~2.8-6.6 Å in diameter) in monolayer graphene and rationalize this difference via a flow resistance model in which liquid water permeation occurs near the continuum regime whereas water vapor transport occurs in the free molecular flow regime. We demonstrate centimeter-scale atomically thin graphene membranes with up to an order of magnitude higher water vapor transport rate (~5.4-6.1 × 10
g m
day
) than most commercially available ultra-breathable protective materials while effectively blocking even sub-nanometer (>0.66 nm) model ions/molecules.
We demonstrate a new method for the detection of the spin-chemical potential in topological insulators using spin-polarized four-probe scanning tunneling microscopy on in situ cleaved Bi_{2}Te_{2}Se ...surfaces. Two-dimensional (2D) surface and 3D bulk conductions are separated quantitatively via variable probe-spacing measurements, enabling the isolation of the nonvanishing spin-dependent electrochemical potential from the Ohmic contribution. This component is identified as the spin-chemical potential arising from the 2D charge current through the spin momentum locked topological surface states (TSS). This method provides a direct measurement of spin current generation efficiency and opens a new avenue to access the intrinsic spin transport associated with pristine TSS.
Abstract
Quantum coupling in arrayed nanostructures can produce novel mesoscale properties such as electronic minibands to improve the performance of optoelectronic devices, including ultra-efficient ...solar cells and infrared photodetectors. Colloidal PbSe quantum dots (QDs) that self-assemble into epitaxially-fused superlattices (epi-SLs) are predicted to exhibit such collective phenomena. Here, we show the emergence of distinct local electronic states induced by crystalline necks that connect individual PbSe QDs and modulate the bandgap energy across the epi-SL. Multi-probe scanning tunneling spectroscopy shows bandgap modulation from 0.7 eV in the QDs to 1.1 eV at their necks. Complementary monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy demonstrates bandgap modulation in spectral mapping, confirming the presence of these distinct energy states from necking. The results show the modification of the electronic structure of a precision-made nanoscale superlattice, which may be leveraged in new optoelectronic applications.
Phonons, which are collective excitations in a lattice of atoms or molecules, play a major role in determining various physical properties of condensed matter, such as thermal and electrical ...conductivities. In particular, phonons in graphene interact strongly with electrons; however, unlike in usual metals, these interactions between phonons and massless Dirac fermions appear to mirror the rather complicated physics of those between light and relativistic electrons. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics through systematic studies of phonon interactions and excitations in graphene is crucial for realising graphene-based devices. In this study, we demonstrate that the local phonon properties of graphene can be controlled at the nanoscale by tuning the interaction strength between graphene and an underlying Pt substrate. Using scanning probe methods, we determine that the reduced interaction due to embedded Ar atoms facilitates electron-phonon excitations, further influencing phonon-assisted inelastic electron tunnelling.
We study the growth of graphene on a Pt(111) surface in stages by varying the annealing temperature of the precursor hydrocarbon decomposition through an atomic-scale analysis using scanning ...tunneling microscopy (STM) and studying the geometry-affected electronic properties of graphene nanoislands (GNs) through scanning tunneling spectroscopy. STM reveals that graphene grows on a Pt(111) surface from dome-shaped carbon clusters to flat GNs with the intermediate stages of dome-shaped and basin-shaped hexagonal GN structures. Density functional theory calculations confirm the changes in direction of the concavity upon increase in the size of the GNs. The structural changes are also found to have a significant effect on the electronic properties. Landau levels arise from strain-induced pseudomagnetic fields because of the large curvature, and the nanoscale-size effect promotes electron confinement.
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