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Results for “Transition-metal dichalcogenides”

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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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Spatial Mapping of Electrostatic Fields in 2D Heterostructures

In situ electron microscopy is an effective tool for understanding the mechanisms driving novel phenomena in 2D structures. However, due to practical challenges, it is difficult to address these technologically relevant 2D heterostructures with electron microscopy. Here, we use the differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging technique to build a methodology for probing local electrostatic fields during electrical operation with nanoscale spatial resolution in such materials. We find that, by combining a traditional DPC setup with a high-pass filter, we can largely eliminate electric fluctuations emanating from short-range atomic potentials. Using a method based on this filtering algorithm, a priori electric field expectations can be directly compared with experimentally derived values to readily identify inhomogeneities and potentially problematic regions. Furthermore, we use this platform to analyze the electric field and charge density distribution across layers of hBN and MoS 2 .

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Direct Measurement of Terahertz Conductivity in a Gated Monolayer Semiconductor

Two-dimensional semiconductors and their moiré superlattices have emerged as important platforms for investigating correlated electrons. However, many key properties of these systems, such as the frequency-dependent conductivity, remain experimentally inaccessible because of the mesoscopic sample size. Here we report a technique to directly measure the complex conductivity of electrostatically gated two-dimensional semiconductors in the terahertz frequency range. Applying this technique to a WSe2 monolayer encapsulated in hBN, we observe a clear Drude-like response between 0.1 and 1 THz, in a density range challenging to access even in DC transport. Our work opens a new avenue for studying tunable van der Waals heterostructures using terahertz spectroscopy.

2D semiconductors↗
DOE OSTI2021

Thickness-Dependent Interlayer Charge Transfer in MoSe 2 /MoS 2 Heterostructures Studied by Femtosecond Transient Absorption Measurements

We report observations of a strong thickness dependence for charge transfer (CT) from MoSe 2 to MoS 2 , as evidenced by transient absorption measurements. By time-resolving CT from MoSe 2 monolayers (1Ls) to MoS 2 flakes of varying thicknesses, including 1L, bilayer (2L), and trilayer (3L), we find that the CT time is several picoseconds in the 1L-MoSe 2 /3L-MoS 2 heterostructure, which is much longer than that of 1L-MoSe 2 /1L-MoS 2 and 1L-MoSe 2 /2L-MoS 2 heterostructures. In addition, the recombination lifetime of the interlayer excitons in the 1L/3L heterostructure is several times longer than that of 1L/1L and 1L/2L heterostructures, reaching 800 ps. Furthermore, we show that a prepulse can reduce the CT time and enhance the interlayer exciton recombination in the 1L/3L heterostructure. Furthermore, these findings illustrate that layer thickness can be an important parameter to control the CT property of van der Waals heterostructures. These experimental results also provide important information for further refining the understanding of the physical mechanisms of CT in van der Waals heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Real-Time Diagnostics of 2D Crystal Transformations by Pulsed Laser Deposition: Controlled Synthesis of Janus WSSe Monolayers and Alloys

Energetic processing methods such as hyperthermal implantation hold special promise to achieve the precision synthesis of metastable two-dimensional (2D) materials such as Janus monolayers; however, they require precise control. Here, we report a feedback approach to reveal and control the transformation pathways in materials synthesis by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and apply it to investigate the transformation kinetics of monolayer WS 2 crystals into Janus WSSe and WSe 2 by implantation of Se clusters with different maximum kinetic energies (<42 eV/Se-atom) generated by laser ablation of a Se target. Real-time Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence are used to assess the structure, composition, and optoelectronic quality of the monolayer crystal as it is implanted with well-controlled fluxes of selenium for different kinetic energies that are regulated with in situ ICCD imaging, ion probe, and spectroscopy diagnostics. First-principles calculations, XPS, and atomic-resolution HAADF STEM imaging are used to understand the intermediate alloy compositions and their vibrational modes to identify transformation pathways. The real-time kinetics measurements reveal highly selective top-layer conversion as WS 2 transforms through WS 2(1–x) Se 2x alloys to WSe 2 and provide the means to adjust processing conditions to achieve fractional and complete Janus WSSe monolayers as metastable transition states. The general approach demonstrates a real-time feedback method to achieve Janus layers or other metastable alloys of the desired composition, and a general means to adjust the structure and quality of materials grown by PLD, addressing priority research directions for precision synthesis with real-time adaptive control.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dispersion of the Nonlinear Susceptibility of MoS2 and WS2 from Second-Harmonic Scattering Spectroscopy

Dispersion of the absolute second-order susceptibility of both MoS2 and WS2 is assessed on a wide spectral excitation range (710–1300 nm) by using second-harmonic scattering spectroscopy (SHS). SHS is an accurate ensemble measurement here applied on well-dispersed suspensions of monodisperse liquid-exfoliated nanosheets showing a high monolayer content. The as-derived, high susceptibility values shed light on the discrepancies between available literature values while evidencing resonances associated with the main excitonic transitions.

CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SU↗
DOE OSTI2021

Local structure memory effects in the polar and nonpolar phases of MoTe 2

We use total scattering to study the reversible transition between the polar 1T' and nonpolar T d phases of layered MoTe 2 taking place at 240 K. Whereas, macroscopically, the transition appears to be first order, locally, it is not. In particular, a great deal of the stacking sequence of Te-Mo-Te layers characteristic of the polar 1T' phase persists locally in the nonpolar T d phase, and vice versa, over a broad temperature range extending about 100 K both below and above the transition. The intermixing ratio for the two sequences evolves gradually across the transition temperature, consistent with a second-order transition behavior. Here, the presence of coexisting local polar and nonpolar regions and the resulting variety of internal interfaces where the spatial inversion symmetry is broken may be behind some of the unusual electronic properties of T d –MoTe 2 , including its putative type-II Weyl semimetal state.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2021

Crossover from Kondo to Fermi-liquid behavior induced by high magnetic field in 1 T -VTe 2 single crystals

The magnetic and magnetotransport properties of metallic 1T -VTe 2 single crystals were investigated at temperatures from 1.3 to 300 K and in magnetic fields up to 35 T. Upon applying a high magnetic field, it is found that the electrical resistivity displays a crossover from the logarithmic divergence of the single-impurity Kondo effect to the Fermi liquid behavior at low temperatures. The Brillouin scale of the negative magnetoresistivity above the Kondo temperature T K = 12 K indicates that the Kondo features originate from intercalated V ions, with S = 1/2. Both magnetic susceptibility and the Hall effect show an anomaly around T K . By using the modified Hamann expression we successfully describe the temperature-dependent resistivity under various magnetic fields, which shows the characteristic peak below T K due to the splitting of the Kondo resonance.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing charge density wave phases and the Mott transition in 1 T -TaS 2 by inelastic light scattering

We present a polarization-resolved, high-resolution Raman scattering study of the three consecutive charge density wave (CDW) regimes in 1T - TaS 2 single crystals, supported by ab initio calculations. Our analysis of the spectra within the low-temperature commensurate (C-CDW) regime shows P$\bar3$ symmetry of the system, thus excluding the previously proposed triclinic stacking of the “star-of-David” structure, and promoting trigonal or hexagonal stacking instead. The spectra of the high-temperature incommensurate (IC-CDW) phase directly project the phonon density of states due to the breaking of the translational invariance, supplemented by sizable electron-phonon coupling. Between 200 and 352 K, our Raman spectra show contributions from both the IC-CDW and the C-CDW phases, indicating their coexistence in the so-called nearly commensurate (NC-CDW) phase. The temperature dependence of the symmetry-resolved Raman conductivity indicates the stepwise reduction of the density of states in the CDW phases, followed by a Mott transition within the C-CDW phase. We determine the size of the Mott gap to be Ω gap ≈ 170 – 190 meV, and track its temperature dependence.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum oscillations in the activated conductivity in excitonic insulators: Possible application to monolayer WTe 2

A recent paper on the insulating state of monolayer WTe 2 reported the observation of large oscillations in the conductivity that are periodic in 1/B, resembling quantum oscillations in metals. This remarkable observation has inspired suggestions of exotic physics such as spin-charge separation. Here, we show that a rather more conventional but still nontrivial explanation in terms of gap modulation may be possible in a model of an excitonic insulator subject to a magnetic field.

2-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2021

Switching of the electron-phonon interaction in 1 T –VSe 2 assisted by hot carriers

We apply an intense infrared laser pulse in order to perturb the electronic and vibrational states in the three-dimensional charge density wave material 1T-VSe 2 . Ultrafast snapshots of the light-induced hot carrier dynamics and nonequilibrium quasiparticle spectral function are collected using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Furthermore, the hot carrier temperature and time-dependent electronic self-energy are extracted from the time-dependent spectral function, revealing that incoherent electron-phonon interactions heat the lattice above the charge density wave critical temperature on a timescale of (200 ± 40) fs. Density functional perturbation theory calculations establish that the presence of hot carriers alters the overall phonon dispersion and quenches efficient low-energy acoustic phonon scattering channels, which results in a new quasiequilibrium state that is experimentally observed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Competing magnetic states in transition metal dichalcogenide moiré materials

Small-twist-angle transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterobilayers develop isolated flat moiré bands that are approximately described by triangular lattice generalized Hubbard models. In this paper we explore the metallic and insulating states that appear under different control conditions at a density of one electron per moiré period and the transitions between them. By combining fully self-consistent Hartree-Fock theory calculations with strong-coupling expansions around the atomic limit, we identify four different magnetic states and one nonmagnetic state near the model phase diagram’s metal-insulator phase transition line. Here, ferromagnetic insulating states, stabilized by nonlocal direct exchange interactions, are surprisingly prominent.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetic skyrmion diode: Unidirectional skyrmion motion via symmetry breaking of potential energy barriers

In this work, we realize a magnetic skyrmion diode operated by a unidirectional skyrmion transport that flows in only one direction, which is highly significant for information processing in spintronic and nanoelectronic devices. We easily control the skyrmion transport by engineering asymmetric shapes of geometric structures. Here, we present a simple method to describe the underlying mechanism behind the unidirectional skyrmion transport by characterizing the topography of potential energy surfaces from a purely geometric perspective. Our approach enables a deeper physical insight into skyrmion transport manipulation and efficient design of skyrmion-based devices in geometric structures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nanoscale Conductivity Imaging of Correlated Electronic States in WSe 2 /WS 2 Moiré Superlattices

We report the nanoscale conductivity imaging of correlated electronic states in angle-aligned WSe 2 /WS 2 heterostructures using microwave impedance microscopy. Here, the noncontact microwave probe allows us to observe the Mott insulating state with one hole per moiré unit cell that persists for temperatures up to 150 K, consistent with other characterization techniques. In addition, we identify for the first time a Mott insulating state at one electron per moiré unit cell. Appreciable inhomogeneity of the correlated states is directly visualized in the hetero-bilayer region, indicative of local disorders in the moiré superlattice potential or electrostatic doping. Our work provides important insights on 2D moiré systems down to the microscopic level.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Revealing Hidden Orbital Pseudospin Texture with Time-Reversal Dichroism in Photoelectron Angular Distributions

We performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of bulk 2H-WSe 2 for different crystal orientations linked to each other by time-reversal symmetry. We introduce a new observable called time-reversal dichroism in photoelectron angular distributions (TRDAD), which quantifies the modulation of the photoemission intensity upon effective time-reversal operation. We demonstrate that the hidden orbital pseudospin texture leaves its imprint on TRDAD, due to multiple orbital interference effects in photoemission. Our experimental results are in quantitative agreement with both the tight-binding model and state-of-the-art fully relativistic calculations performed using the one-step model of photoemission. While spin-resolved ARPES probes the spin component of entangled spin-orbital texture in multiorbital systems, we unambiguously demonstrate that TRDAD reveals its orbital pseudospin texture counterpart.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Autoionization and Dressing of Excited Excitons by Free Carriers in Monolayer WSe 2

We experimentally demonstrate dressing of the excited exciton states by a continuously tunable Fermi sea of free charge carriers in a monolayer semiconductor. It represents an unusual scenario of two-particle excitations of charged excitons previously inaccessible in conventional material systems. We identify excited state trions, accurately determine their binding energies in the zero-density limit for both electron- and hole-doped regimes, and observe emerging many-body phenomena at elevated doping. Combining experiment and theory we gain access to the intra-exciton coupling facilitated by the interaction with free charge carriers. We provide evidence for a process of autoionization for quasiparticles, a unique scattering pathway available for excited states in atomic systems. Finally, we demonstrate a complete transfer of the optical transition strength from the excited excitons to dressed Fermi-polaron states as well as the associated light emission from their nonequilibrium populations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Twist Angle-Dependent Interlayer Exciton Lifetimes in van der Waals Heterostructures

In van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures formed by stacking two monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides, multiple exciton resonances with highly tunable properties are formed and subject to both vertical and lateral confinement. We investigate how a unique control knob, the twist angle between the two monolayers, can be used to control the exciton dynamics. We observe that the interlayer exciton lifetimes in MoSe 2 /WSe 2 twisted bilayers (TBLs) change by one order of magnitude when the twist angle is varied from 1° to 3.5°. Additionally, using a low-energy continuum model, we theoretically separate two leading mechanisms that influence interlayer exciton radiative lifetimes. The shift to indirect transitions in the momentum space with an increasing twist angle and the energy modulation from the moiré potential both have a significant impact on interlayer exciton lifetimes. We further predict distinct temperature dependence of interlayer exciton lifetimes in TBLs with different twist angles, which is partially validated by experiments. While many recent studies have highlighted how the twist angle in a vdW TBL can be used to engineer the ground states and quantum phases due to many-body interaction, our studies explore its role in controlling the dynamics of optically excited states, thus, expanding the conceptual applications of “twistronics”.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗