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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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481 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Clean quantum point contacts in an InAs quantum well grown on a lattice-mismatched InP substrate

Strong spin-orbit coupling, the resulting large g factor, and small effective mass make InAs an attractive material platform for inducing topological superconductivity. The surface Fermi level pinning in the conduction band enables highly transparent ohmic contact without excessive doping. In this study, we investigate electrostatically defined quantum point contacts (QPCs) in a deep-well InAs two-dimensional electron gas. Despite the 3.3% lattice mismatch between the InAs quantum well and the InP substrate, we report clean QPCs with up to eight pronounced quantized conductance plateaus at zero magnetic field. Source-drain dc bias spectroscopy reveals a harmonic confinement potential with a nearly 5 meV subband spacing. We find a many-body exchange interaction enhancement for the out-of-plane g factor |$g^{*}_{⊥}$|=27±1 , whereas the in-plane g factor is isotropic |$g^{*}_{x}$|=|$g^{*}_{y}$|=12±2 , close to the bulk value for InAs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fractional chiral hinge insulator

We propose and study a wave function describing an interacting three-dimensional fractional chiral hinge insulator (FCHI) constructed by Gutzwiller projection of two noninteracting second-order topological insulators with chiral hinge modes at half filling. We use large-scale variational Monte Carlo computations to characterize the model states via the entanglement entropy and charge-spin fluctuations. We show that the FCHI possesses fractional chiral hinge modes characterized by a central charge c = 1 and Luttinger parameter K = 1/2, like the edge modes of a Laughlin 1/2 state. The bulk and surface topology is characterized by the topological entanglement entropy (TEE) correction to the area law. While our computations indicate a vanishing bulk TEE, we show that the gapped surfaces host an unconventional two-dimensional topological phase. In a clear departure from the physics of a Laughlin 1/2 state, we find a TEE per surface compatible with (ln √2 )/2, half that of a Laughlin 1/2 state. This value cannot be obtained from topological quantum field theory for purely two-dimensional systems. For the sake of completeness, we also investigate the topological degeneracy.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetochiral tunneling in paramagnetic Co 1/3 NbS 2

Electric currents have the intriguing ability to induce magnetization in nonmagnetic crystals with sufficiently low crystallographic symmetry. Some associated phenomena include the non-linear anomalous Hall effect in polar crystals and the nonreciprocal directional dichroism in chiral crystals when magnetic fields are applied. In this work, we demonstrate that the same underlying physics is also manifested in the electronic tunneling process between the surface of a nonmagnetic chiral material and a magnetized scanning probe. In the paramagnetic but chiral metallic compound Co 1/3 NbS 2 , the magnetization induced by the tunneling current is shown to become detectable by its coupling to the magnetization of the tip itself. This results in a contrast across different chiral domains, achieving atomic-scale spatial resolution of structural chirality. To support the proposed mechanism, we used first-principles theory to compute the chirality-dependent current-induced magnetization and Berry curvature in the bulk of the material. Our demonstration of this magnetochiral tunneling effect opens up an avenue for investigating atomic-scale variations in the local crystallographic symmetry and electronic structure across the structural domain boundaries of low-symmetry nonmagnetic crystals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Disentangling High Harmonic Generation from Surface and Bulk States of a Topological Insulator

The discovery of topological phases has introduced a new dimension to materials science. Three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) are a remarkable class of matter that is insulating in the bulk while hosting conductive topological surface states (TSSs) with unique charge and spin properties. High-order harmonic generation (HHG) has emerged as a powerful tool to probe condensed matter systems by providing insights into their electronic structure and dynamic behavior. Here, we investigate HHG in the prototype 3D-TI Bi$_2$Se$_3$. We demonstrate that the contributions of bulk and surface states to the harmonic emission can be controlled by tuning the thickness of thin film samples. An ultrathin (6 nm) film substantially enhances HHG from the surface states, while the bulk states dominate HHG in a thicker (50 nm) film. By applying a quasi-static terahertz perturbing field, we disentangle the bulk and surface responses and reveal the significant impact of the surface states' shift vector and Berry curvature on HHG. Our study provides effective methods for isolating the optical responses of TSSs from those of the bulk, which opens the door to resolving an ongoing debate regarding whether it is possible to reliably extract topological signatures in HHG.

Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Phase diagram of superconductivity in the integer quantum Hall regime

An interplay between pairing and topological orders has been predicted to give rise to superconducting states supporting exotic emergent particles, such as Majorana particles obeying non-Abelian braid statistics. We consider a system of spin polarized electrons on a Hofstadter lattice with nearest-neighbor attractive interaction and solve the mean-field Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations in a self-consistent fashion, leading to gauge-invariant observables and a rich phase diagram as a function of the chemical potential, the magnetic field, and the interaction. As the strength of the attractive interaction is increased, the system first makes a transition from a quantum Hall phase to a skyrmion lattice phase that is fully gapped in the bulk but has topological chiral edge current, characterizing a topologically nontrivial state. This is followed by a vortex phase in which the vortices carrying Majorana modes form a lattice; the spectrum contains a low-energy Majorana band arising from the coupling between neighboring vortex-core Majorana modes but does not have chiral edge currents. For some parameters, a dimer vortex lattice occurs with no Majorana band. The experimental feasibility and the observable consequences of skyrmions as well as Majorana modes are indicated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fermiology and transport properties of the candidate topological crystalline insulator SrAg 4 ⁢Sb 2

Compared to time-reversal symmetry-protected ℤ 2 topological insulators and Dirac/Weyl semimetals, there are significantly fewer candidates for topological crystalline insulators. SrAg 4 ⁢Sb 2 is predicted to exhibit topological crystalline insulator behavior when considering spin-orbit coupling. In this study, we systematically investigate single crystals of SrAg 4 ⁢Sb 2 using electrical transport and magnetic torque measurements, along with first-principles calculations. Our transport data reveals its compensated semimetal nature with a magnetoresistance up to around 700% at 2 K and 9 T. Analysis of de Haas–van Alphen oscillations uncovers a Fermi surface consisting of three distinct Fermi pockets with light effective masses. Comparison between the three-dimensional fermiology obtained from our oscillation data and the first-principles calculations demonstrates excellent agreement. This confirms the accuracy of the calculations, which indicate a band inversion centered at the 𝑇 point and identify the existence of nontrivial tube and needle hole Fermi pockets at Γ, alongside one trivial diamond electron pocket at the 𝐹 point in the Brillouin zone. Furthermore, symmetry and topology analysis results in two potential sets of topological invariants, suggesting the emergence of two-dimensional gapless Dirac surface states either on the 𝑎⁢𝑏 planes or on both the 𝑎⁢𝑏 planes and mirror planes, protected by crystal symmetries. Therefore, SrAg 4 ⁢Sb 2 emerges as a promising candidate topological crystalline insulator.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Strain and Defect-Tailored Magnetotransport in NiCo 2 O 4 Thin Films and Freestanding Membranes

Magnetic spinel NiCo 2 O 4 is promising for developing spintronic applications due to its high magnetic Curie temperature, high spin polarization, fast spin dynamics, and strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy, while its electronic and magnetic properties depend sensitively on epitaxial strain and disorder. Here, in this study, we use epitaxial NiCo 2 O 4 thin films and freestanding NiCo 2 O 4 membranes as model systems to reveal the complex interplay of strain and defects in determining the metallicity and magnetotransport properties of the ferrimagnetic spinel. NiCo 2 O 4 on perovskite substrates and NiCo 2 O 4 membranes exhibit insulating behaviors and spin canting, in sharp contrast to the metallic NiCo 2 O 4 films on spinel substrates that possess strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Anisotropic magnetoresistance studies provide critical information about disorder-induced spin scattering and strain-induced tetragonal magnetocrystalline anisotropy, which is corroborated by comprehensive electron microscopy characterizations. Our study presents a promising venue for designing flexible magnetic memory, sensor, and spintronic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Emergent Magnetism with Continuous Control in the Ultrahigh-Conductivity Layered Oxide PdCoO 2

The current challenge to realizing continuously tunable magnetism lies in our inability to systematically change properties, such as valence, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom, as well as crystallographic geometry. Here, we demonstrate that ferromagnetism can be externally turned on with the application of low-energy helium implantation and can be subsequently erased and returned to the pristine state via annealing. We find that this high level of continuous control is made possible by targeting magnetic metastability in the ultrahigh-conductivity, nonmagnetic layered oxide PdCoO 2 where local lattice distortions generated by helium implantation induce the emergence of a net moment on the surrounding transition metal octahedral sites. These highly localized moments communicate through the itinerant metal states, which trigger the onset of percolated long-range ferromagnetism. The ability to continuously tune competing interactions enables tailoring precise magnetic and magnetotransport responses in an ultrahigh-conductivity film and will be critical to applications across spintronics.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

First constraints on WIMP-nucleon effective field theory couplings in an extended energy region from LUX-ZEPLIN

Following the first science results of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment, a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating from the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA, we report the initial limits on a model-independent nonrelativistic effective field theory describing the complete set of possible interactions of a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) with a nucleon. These results utilize the same 5.5 t fiducial mass and 60 live days of exposure collected for the LZ spin-independent and spin-dependent analyses while extending the upper limit of the energy region of interest by a factor of 7.5 to 270 keV. No significant excess in this high energy region is observed. Using a profile-likelihood ratio analysis, we report 90% confidence level exclusion limits on the coupling of each individual nonrelativistic WIMP-nucleon operator for both elastic and inelastic interactions in the isoscalar and isovector bases. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Unexpected dependence of the anomalous Hall angle on the Hall conductivity in amorphous transition metal thin films

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE), and magnetic and electronic transport properties were investigated in a series of amorphous transition metal thin films— Fe x S i –x , Fe x Ge 1-x , Co x Ge 1–x , Co x Si 1–x , and Fe 1–y Co y Si. The experimental results are compared with density functional theory calculations of the density of Berry curvature and intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity. In all samples, the longitudinal conductivity (σ xx ), magnetization (M), and Hall resistivity (ρ xy ) increase with increasing transition metal concentration; due to the structural disorder σ xx is lower in all samples than a typical crystalline metal. In the systems with Fe as the transition metal (including Fe 1–y Co y Si), the magnetization and AHE are large and in some cases greater than the crystalline analog. In all samples, the AHE is dominated by the intrinsic mechanism, arising from a nonzero, locally derived Berry curvature. The anomalous Hall angle (AHA) (= σ xy /σ xx ) is as large as 5% at low temperature. These results are compared with the AHAs reported in a broad range of crystalline and amorphous materials. Previous work has shown that in a typical crystalline ferromagnet the Hall conductivity (σ xy ) and σ xx are correlated and are usually either both large or both small, resulting in an AHA that decreases with increasing σ xy . By contrast, the AHA increases linearly with increasing σ xy in the amorphous systems. This trend is attributed to a generally low σ xx , while σ xy varies and can be large. In the amorphous systems, σ xx and σ xy are not coupled, and there may thus exist the potential to further increase the AHA by increasing σ xy .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Edge magnetoplasmon dispersion and time-resolved plasmon transport in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator

A quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator breaks reciprocity by combining magnetic polarization and spin-orbit coupling to generate a unidirectional transmission of signals in the absence of an external magnetic field. Such behavior makes QAH materials a good platform for the innovation of circulator technologies. However, it remains elusive as to how the wavelength of the chiral edge plasmon relates to its frequency and how the plasmon wave packet is excited in the time domain in a QAH insulator. Here, we investigate the edge magnetoplasmon (EMP) resonances in Cr-(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 by frequency and time domain measurements. From disk shaped samples with various dimensions, we obtain the dispersion relation of EMPs and extract the drift velocity of the chiral edge state. From the time-resolved transport measurements, we identify the velocity of the plasmon wave packet and observe a transition from the edge to bulk transport at an elevated temperature. We show that the frequency and time domain measurements are well modeled by loss from the microwave induced dissipative channels in the bulk area. Our results demonstrate that the EMP decay rate can be significantly reduced by applying a low microwave power and fabricating devices of larger diameter ≥ 100 µ m . In a R = 125 µ m sample, a nonreciprocity of 20 dB has been realized at 1.3 GHz, shining light on using QAH insulators to develop on-chip nonreciprocal devices. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Local Inversion Symmetry Breaking and Thermodynamic Evidence for Ferrimagnetism in Fe 3 GaTe 2

The layered compound Fe 3 GaTe 2 is attracting attention due to its high Curie temperature, low dimensionality, and the presence of topological spin textures above room temperature, making Fe 3 GaTe 2 a good candidate for applications in spintronics. Here, in this study, we show, through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques, that Fe 3 GaTe 2 single crystals break local inversion symmetry while maintaining global inversion symmetry according to X-ray diffraction. Coupled to the observation of Néel skyrmions via Lorentz-TEM, our structural analysis provides a convincing explanation for their presence in centrosymmetric materials. Magnetization measurements as a function of the temperature displays a sharp first-order thermodynamic phase-transition leading to a reduction in the magnetic moment. This implies that the ground state of Fe 3 GaTe 2 is globally ferrimagnetic and not a glassy magnetic state composed of ferrimagnetic, and ferromagnetic domains as previously claimed. Neutron diffraction studies indicate that the ferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic transition upon reducing the external magnetic field is associated with a change in the magnetic configuration/coupling between Fe1 and Fe2 moments. We observe a clear correlation between the hysteresis observed in both the skyrmion density and the magnetization of Fe 3 GaTe 2 . This indicates that its topological spin textures are affected by the development of ferrimagnetism upon cooling. Observation, via magnetic force microscopy, of magnetic bubbles at the magnetic phase boundary suggests skyrmions stabilized by the competition among magnetic phases and distinct exchange interactions. Our study provides an explanation for the observation of Néel skyrmions in centrosymmetric systems, while exposing a correlation between the distinct magnetic phases of Fe 3 GaTe 2 and topological spin textures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lithography-Defined Semiconductor Moirés with Anomalous In-Gap Quantum Hall States

Quantum materials and phenomena have attracted great interest for their potential applications in next-generation microelectronics and quantum-information technologies. In one especially interesting class of quantum materials, moiré superlattices (MSLs) formed by twisted bilayers of 2D materials, a wide range of novel phenomena are observed. However, there exist daunting challenges such as reproducibility and scalability of utilizing 2D MSLs for microelectronics and quantum technologies due to their exfoliate-tear-stack method. Here, we propose lithography-defined semiconductor MSLs, in which three fundamental parameters electron−electron interaction, spin−orbit coupling, and band topology are designable. We experimentally investigate quantum-transport properties in a moiré specimen made in an InAs quantum well. Strong anomalous in-gap states are observed within the same integer quantum Hall state. Our work opens up new horizons for studying 2D quantum-materials phenomena in semiconductors featuring superior industry-level quality and state-of-the-art technologies, and they may potentially enable new quantum-information and microelectronics technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗