Engineering topics

Dobrowolska, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Dobrowolska, M..

9 records

DOE OSTI2022

Topological response of the anomalous Hall effect in MnBi 2 Te 4 due to magnetic canting

Three-dimensional (3D) compensated MnBi 2 Te 4 is antiferromagnetic, but undergoes a spin-flop transition at intermediate fields, resulting in a canted phase before saturation. In this work, we experimentally show that the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in MnBi 2 Te 4 originates from a topological response that is sensitive to the perpendicular magnetic moment and to its canting angle. Synthesis by molecular beam epitaxy allows us to obtain a large-area quasi-3D 24-layer MnBi 2 Te 4 with near-perfect compensation that hosts the phase diagram observed in bulk which we utilize to probe the AHE. This AHE is seen to exhibit an antiferromagnetic response at low magnetic fields, and a clear evolution at intermediate fields through surface and bulk spin-flop transitions into saturation. Throughout this evolution, the AHE is super-linear versus magnetization rather than the expected linear relationship. We reveal that this discrepancy is related to the canting angle, consistent with the symmetry of the crystal. Our findings bring to light a topological anomalous Hall response that can be found in non-collinear ferromagnetic, and antiferromagnetic phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Ultrafast bipolar conductivity driven by intense single-cycle terahertz pulses in a topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3

We present the measurement of ultrafast terahertz (THz) conductivity of a 50 nm thick topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 at low temperature 5 K by using a THz pump and THz probe spectroscopy scheme. Here, the THz conductivity driven by a single-cycle intense THz pump exhibits a bipolar lineshape and frequency-dependent relaxation dynamics due to the separated surface and bulk charge carriers with distinctly different scattering rates and relaxation times. We also demonstrate THz pump field-dependent excitation of the surface and bulk spectral weights, which suggests one of the optimal THz excitation conditions for generating the most charge carriers from the topology-protected surface state relative to the bulk. This also allows THz control of surface and bulk transport channels in a selective way.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Ultrafast manipulation of topologically enhanced surface transport driven by mid-infrared and terahertz pulses in Bi 2 Se 3

Topology-protected surface transport of ultimate thinness in three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) is breaking new ground in quantum science and technology. Yet a challenge remains on how to disentangle and selectively control surface helical spin transport from the bulk contribution. Here we use the mid-infrared and terahertz (THz) photoexcitation of exclusive intraband transitions to enable ultrafast manipulation of surface THz conductivity in Bi 2 Se 3 . The unique, transient electronic state is characterized by frequency-dependent carrier relaxations that directly distinguish the faster surface channel than the bulk with no complication from interband excitations or need for reduced bulk doping. We determine the topological enhancement ratio between bulk and surface scattering rates, i.e., γ BS /γ SS ~3.80 in equilibrium. As a result, the ultra-broadband, wavelength-selective pumping may be applied to emerging topological semimetals for separation and control of the protected transport connected with the Weyl nodes from other bulk bands.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2018

Extreme asymmetry of Néel domain walls in multilayered films of the dilute magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)(As,P)

Here, we report on unconventional perfectly shaped, fully asymmetric ~90° Néel domain walls in multilayered films of the diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)(As,P) with a stepwise variation of P doping. Our results contradict micromagnetic calculations, which favor symmetric domain walls due to crystallographic anisotropy and stray field energy. We demonstrate that both the puzzling uniaxial in-plane anisotropy in the tetragonal multilayered film and the asymmetry of the domain walls could result from Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions that are enhanced by the multiple sharp interfaces between the layers and from anisotropic nonrelativistic exchange coupling. Our finding shows that digital variations of composition during the molecular beam epitaxy can be used to tune the anisotropy and chirality of magnetic multilayers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Probing and controlling terahertz-driven structural dynamics with surface sensitivity

Intense, single-cycle terahertz (THz) pulses are powerful tools to understand and control material properties through low-energy resonances, such as phonons. Combining this with optical second harmonic generation (SHG) makes it possible to observe the resulting ultrafast structural changes with surface sensitivity. This makes SHG an ideal method to probe phonon dynamics in topological insulators (TI), materials with unique surface transport properties. Here, we resonantly excite a phonon mode in the TI Bi 2 Se 3 with THz pulses and use SHG to separate the resulting symmetry changes at the surface from the bulk. Furthermore, we coherently control the lattice vibrations with a pair of THz pulses. Lastly, our work demonstrates a versatile, table-top tool to probe and control phonon dynamics in a range of systems, particularly at surfaces and interfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Role of many-body effects in the coherent dynamics of excitons in low-temperature-grown GaAs

Femtosecond four-wave mixing experiments on low-temperature-grown (LT-) GaAs indicate a polarization-dependent nonlinear optical response at the exciton, which we attribute to Coulomb-mediated coupling between excitons and electron-hole pairs simultaneously excited by the broad-bandwidth laser pulses. Strong suppression of the exciton response through screening by carriers injected by a third pump pulse was observed, an effect that is transient due to rapid carrier trapping. Our findings highlight the need to account for the complex interplay of disorder and many-body effects in the design of ultrafast optoelectronic devices using this material.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

Observation of the exciton and Urbach band tail in low-temperature-grown GaAs using four-wave mixing spectroscopy

Four-wave mixing (FWM) spectroscopy reveals clear signatures associated with the exciton, free carrier inter-band transitions, and the Urbach band tail in low-temperature-grown GaAs, providing a direct measure of the effective band gap as well as insight into the influence of disorder on the electronic structure. The ability to detect (and resolve) these contributions, in contrast to linear spectroscopy, is due to an enhanced sensitivity of FWM to the optical joint density of states and to many-body effects. Our experiments demonstrate the power of FWM for studying the near-band-edge optical properties and coherent carrier dynamics in low-temperature-grown semiconductors.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

Effect of catalyst diameter on vapour-liquid-solid growth of GaAs nanowires

GaAs nanowires were grown on (111)B GaAs substrates using the vapour-liquid-solid mechanism. The Au/Pt nanodots used to catalyse wire growth were defined lithographically and had varying diameter and separation. An in-depth statistical analysis of the resulting nanowires, which had a cone-like shape, was carried out. This revealed that there were two categories of nanowire present, with differing height and tapering angle. The bimodal nature of wire shape was found to depend critically on the diameter of the Au-Ga droplet atop the nanowire. Transmission electron microscopy analysis also revealed that the density of stacking faults in the wires varied considerably between the two categories of wire. It is believed that the cause of the distinction in terms of shape and crystal structure is related to the contact angle between the droplet and the solid-liquid interface. The dependency of droplet diameter on contact angle is likely related to line-tension, which is a correction to Young's equation for the contact angle of a droplet upon a surface. The fact that contact angle may influence resulting wire structure and shape has important implications for the planning of growth conditions and the preparation of wires for use in proposed devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

Magnetic anisotropy in ultrathin Fe films on GaAs, ZnSe, and Ge (001) substrates

We discuss magnetic anisotropy parameters of ferromagnetic body-centered cubic (bcc) Fe films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on (001) substrates of face-centered cubic (fcc) GaAs, ZnSe, and Ge. High-quality MBE growth of these metal/semiconductor combinations is made possible by the fortuitous atomic relationship between the bcc Fe and the underlying fcc semiconductor surfaces, resulting in excellent lattice match. Magnetization measurements by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) indicate that the Fe films grown on (001) GaAs surfaces are characterized by a very strong uniaxial in-plane anisotropy; those grown on (001) Ge surfaces have a fully cubic anisotropy; and Fe films grown on ZnSe represent an intermediate case between the preceding two combinations. Ferromagnetic resonance measurements carried out on these three systems provide a strikingly clear quantitative picture of the anisotropy parameters, in excellent agreement with the SQUID results. Based on these results, we propose that the observed anisotropy of cubic Fe films grown in this way results from the surface reconstruction of the specific semiconductor substrate on which the Fe film is deposited. These results suggest that, by controlling surface reconstruction of the substrate during the MBE growth, one may be able to engineer the magnetic anisotropy in Fe, and possibly also in other MBE-grown ferromagnetic films.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗