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Xie, X. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Xie, X. C..

14 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Emergent superconductivity in topological-kagome-magnet/metal heterostructures

Itinerant kagome lattice magnets exhibit many novel correlated and topological quantum electronic states with broken time-reversal symmetry. Superconductivity, however, has not been observed in this class of materials, presenting a roadblock in a promising path toward topological superconductivity. Here, we report that novel superconductivity can emerge at the interface of kagome Chern magnet TbMn 6 Sn 6 and metal heterostructures when elemental metallic thin films are deposited on either the top (001) surface or the side surfaces. Superconductivity is also successfully induced and systematically studied by using various types of metallic tips on different TbMn 6 Sn 6 surfaces in point-contact measurements. The anisotropy of the superconducting upper critical field suggests that the emergent superconductivity is quasi-two-dimensional. Remarkably, the interface superconductor couples to the magnetic order of the kagome metal and exhibits a hysteretic magnetoresistance in the superconducting states. Taking into account the spin-orbit coupling, the observed interface superconductivity can be a surprising and more realistic realization of the p-wave topological superconductors theoretically proposed for two-dimensional semiconductors proximity-coupled to s-wave superconductors and insulating ferromagnets. Our findings of robust superconductivity in topological-Chern-magnet/metal heterostructures offer a new direction for investigating spin-triplet pairing and topological superconductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Perpendicular in-plane negative magnetoresistance in ZrTe 5

The unique band structure in topological materials frequently results in unusual magneto-transport phenomena, one of which is in-plane longitudinal negative magnetoresistance (NMR) with the magnetic field aligned parallel to the electrical current direction. This NMR is widely considered as a hallmark of chiral anomaly in topological materials. Here we report the observation of in-plane NMR in the topological material ZrTe 5 when the in-plane magnetic field is both parallel and perpendicular to the current direction, revealing an unusual case of quantum transport beyond the chiral anomaly. We find that a general theoretical model, which considers the combined effect of Berry curvature and orbital moment, can quantitatively explain this in-plane NMR. In conclusion, our results provide new insights into the understanding of in-plane NMR in topological materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Discrete scale invariance of the quasi-bound states at atomic vacancies in a topological material

Recently, log-periodic quantum oscillations have been detected in the topological materials zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe 5 ) and hafnium pentatelluride (HfTe 5 ), displaying an intriguing discrete scale invariance (DSI) characteristic. In condensed materials, the DSI is considered to be related to the quasi-bound states formed by massless Dirac fermions with strong Coulomb attraction, offering a feasible platform to study the long-pursued atomic-collapse phenomenon. Here, we demonstrate that a variety of atomic vacancies in the topological material HfTe 5 can host the geometric quasi-bound states with a DSI feature, resembling an artificial supercritical atom collapse. The density of states of these quasi-bound states is enhanced, and the quasi-bound states are spatially distributed in the “orbitals” surrounding the vacancy sites, which are detected and visualized by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy. By applying the perpendicular magnetic fields, the quasi-bound states at lower energies become wider and eventually invisible; meanwhile, the energies of quasi-bound states move gradually toward the Fermi energy (E F ). These features are consistent with the theoretical prediction of a magnetic field–induced transition from supercritical to subcritical states. The direct observation of geometric quasi-bound states sheds light on the deep understanding of the DSI in quantum materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evidence for anisotropic spin-triplet Andreev reflection at the 2D van der Waals ferromagnet/superconductor interface

Fundamental symmetry breaking and relativistic spin–orbit coupling give rise to fascinating phenomena in quantum materials. Of particular interest are the interfaces between ferromagnets and common s-wave superconductors, where the emergent spin-orbit fields support elusive spin-triplet superconductivity, crucial for superconducting spintronics and topologically-protected Majorana bound states. Here, we report the observation of large magnetoresistances at the interface between a quasi-two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnet Fe 0.29 TaS 2 and a conventional s-wave superconductor NbN, which provides the possible experimental evidence for the spin-triplet Andreev reflection and induced spin-triplet superconductivity at ferromagnet/superconductor interface arising from Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The temperature, voltage, and interfacial barrier dependences of the magnetoresistance further support the induced spin-triplet superconductivity and spin-triplet Andreev reflection. This discovery, together with the impressive advances in two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnets, opens an important opportunity to design and probe superconducting interfaces with exotic properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Scaling behavior of the quantum phase transition from a quantum-anomalous-Hall insulator to an axion insulator

The phase transitions from one plateau to the next plateau or to an insulator in quantum Hall and quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) systems have revealed universal scaling behaviors. A magnetic-field-driven quantum phase transition from a QAH insulator to an axion insulator was recently demonstrated in magnetic topological insulator sandwich samples. Here, we show that the temperature dependence of the derivative of the longitudinal resistance on magnetic field at the transition point follows a characteristic power-law that indicates a universal scaling behavior for the QAH to axion insulator phase transition. Similar to the quantum Hall plateau to plateau transition, the QAH to axion insulator transition can also be understood by the Chalker–Coddington network model. We extract a critical exponent κ ~ 0.38 ± 0.02 in agreement with recent high-precision numerical results on the correlation length exponent of the Chalker–Coddington model at ν ~ 2.6, rather than the generally-accepted value of 2.33.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Unconventional Hall effect induced by Berry curvature

Berry phase and Berry curvature play a key role in the development of topology in physics and do contribute to the transport properties in solid state systems. In this paper, we report the finding of novel nonzero Hall effect in topological material ZrTe 5 flakes when the in-plane magnetic field is parallel and perpendicular to the current. Surprisingly, both symmetric and antisymmetric components with respect to magnetic field are detected in the in-plane Hall resistivity. Further theoretical analysis suggests that the magnetotransport properties originate from the anomalous velocity induced by Berry curvature in a tilted Weyl semimetal. Our work not only enriches the Hall family but also provides new insights into the Berry phase effect in topological materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2018

Discovery of log-periodic oscillations in ultraquantum topological materials

Quantum oscillations are usually the manifestation of the underlying physical nature in condensed matter systems. Here, we report a new type of log-periodic quantum oscillations in ultraquantum three-dimensional topological materials. Beyond the quantum limit (QL), we observe the log-periodic oscillations involving up to five oscillating cycles (five peaks and five dips) on the magnetoresistance of high-quality single-crystal ZrTe 5 , virtually showing the clearest feature of discrete scale invariance (DSI). Further, theoretical analyses show that the two-body quasi-bound states can be responsible for the DSI feature. Finally, our work provides a new perspective on the ground state of topological materials beyond the QL.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Spin injection and inverse Edelstein effect in the surface states of topological Kondo insulator SmB 6

There has been considerable interest in exploiting the spin degrees of freedom of electrons for potential information storage and computing technologies. Topological insulators (TIs), a class of quantum materials, have special gapless edge/surface states, where the spin polarization of the Dirac fermions is locked to the momentum direction. This spin–momentum locking property gives rise to very interesting spin-dependent physical phenomena such as the Edelstein and inverse Edelstein effects. However, the spin injection in pure surface states of TI is very challenging because of the coexistence of the highly conducting bulk states. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the spin injection and observe the inverse Edelstein effect in the surface states of a topological Kondo insulator, SmB 6 . At low temperatures when only surface carriers are present, a clear spin signal is observed. Moreover, the magnetic field angle dependence of the spin signal is consistent with spin–momentum locking property of surface states of SmB6.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Anisotropic magnetotransport and exotic longitudinal linear magnetoresistance in WTe 2 crystals

Recently, the WTe 2 semimetal, as a typical layered transition-metal dichalcogenide, attracted much attention due to an extremely large, non-saturating parabolic magnetoresistance in the perpendicular field. Here, we report a systematic study of the angular dependence of the magnetoresistance in a WTe 2 single crystal. The significant anisotropic magnetotransport behavior in different magnetic field directions and violation of the Kohler's rule are observed. Unexpectedly, when the applied field and excitation current are both parallel to the tungsten chains of WTe 2 , an exotic large longitudinal linear magnetoresistance as high as 1200% at 15T and 2K is identified. These results imply that the WTe 2 semimetal, due to its balanced hole and electron populations, seems to be the first material for which a large longitudinal linear magnetoresistance appears when the external magnetic field is parallel to the applied current. Finally, our work may stimulate studies of double-carrier correlated materials and the corresponding quantum physics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Spin-current diode with a ferromagnetic semiconductor

Diode is a key device in electronics: the charge current can flow through the device under a forward bias, while almost no current flows under a reverse bias. Here, we propose a corresponding device in spintronics: the spin-current diode, in which the forward spin current is large but the reversed one is negligible. We show that the lead/ferromagnetic quantum dot/lead system and the lead/ferromagnetic semiconductor/lead junction can work as spin-current diodes. The spin-current diode, a low dissipation device, may have important applications in spintronics, as the conventional charge-current diode does in electronics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗