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Modeling tunneling for the unconventional superconducting proximity effect
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Anomalous proximity effects at the interface of s- and s±- superconductors
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Manipulating effective spin orbit coupling based on proximity effect in magnetic bilayers
A proximity effect of spin orbit coupling (SOC) is proposed in nonmagnetic metal/ferromagnet (NM/FM) bilayers by extending the Crépieux-Bruno (CB) theory. We demonstrate that over 1000% enhancement of the SOC strength can be realized based on this effect (Pt/FM bilayers) and it brings greatly enhanced anomalous Hall effect and anomalous Nernst effect. This work could help maximize the performance of magnetic transport property for the spintronics device using NM/FM as the key structure.
Absence of a Proximity Effect for a Thin-Films of a Bi2Se3 Topological Insulator Grown on Top of a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta Cuprate Superconductor
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Layer-resolved magnetic proximity effect in van der Waals heterostructures
Magnetic proximity effects are integral to manipulating spintronic, superconducting, excitonic and topological phenomena in heterostructures. These effects are highly sensitive to the interfacial electronic properties, such as electron wavefunction overlap and band alignment. The recent emergence of magnetic two-dimensional materials opens new possibilities for exploring proximity effects in van der Waals heterostructures. In particular, atomically thin CrI 3 exhibits layered antiferromagnetism, in which adjacent ferromagnetic monolayers are antiferromagnetically coupled. In this paper, we report a layer-resolved magnetic proximity effect in heterostructures formed by monolayer WSe 2 and bi/trilayer CrI 3 . By controlling the individual layer magnetization in CrI 3 with a magnetic field, we show that the spin-dependent charge transfer between WSe 2 and CrI 3 is dominated by the interfacial CrI 3 layer, while the proximity exchange field is highly sensitive to the layered magnetic structure as a whole. In combination with reflective magnetic circular dichroism measurements, these properties allow the use of monolayer WSe 2 as a spatially sensitive magnetic sensor to map out layered antiferromagnetic domain structures at zero magnetic field as well as antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic domains at finite magnetic fields. Our work reveals a way to control proximity effects and probe interfacial magnetic order via van der Waals engineering.
Long-range superconducting proximity effect in polycrystalline Co nanowires
We report experimental evidence of a long-range superconducting proximity effect in polycrystalline Co nanowires in contact with a superconducting W-based floating electrode (inducer). For electrical resistance measurements, voltage leads were connected to the Co nanowire on both sides of the superconducting inducer at a distance of 7.2 μm. We observed a 28% reduction of the nanowire resistance when sweeping the temperature below the inducer's transition temperature T{sub c} = 5.2 K. Our analysis of the resistance data shows that the superconducting proximity length in polycrystalline Co is as large as 1 μm at 2.4 K, attesting to a long-range proximity effect. Moreover, this long-range proximity effect is insusceptible to magnetic fields up to 11 T, which is indicative of spin-triplet pairing. Our results provide evidence that magnetic inhomogeneity of the ferromagnet enlarges the spatial extend of the spin-triplet superconducting proximity effect.
Suppressing proximity effects during rapid serial two-photon lithography through tuning of reaction–diffusion kinetics
The ability of two-photon lithography (TPL) to print deterministic nanoporous 3D structures is highly valuable for many applications. However, it is challenging to print such structures rapidly due to the proximity effects that cause closely spaced features to enlarge and merge. A key challenge is the limited understanding of the origins and spatiotemporal dynamics of the long-range proximity effects that extend beyond the optical focal spot. Here, we empirically investigate these proximity effects in serial TPL using custom-made acrylate-based photoresists. We demonstrate that the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of the proximity effects can be explained through the kinetics of the reaction–diffusion photopolymerization mechanisms that underlie the curing process. Specifically, we show that the proximity effects arise due to comparable timescales of reaction and diffusion of oxygen. Furthermore, we demonstrate that long-range proximity effects can be suppressed by introducing phenolic inhibitors, which reduce oxygen consumption through non-inhibiting side reactions and promote faster termination of curing reactions. These insights enabled improving the linewidths from >400 to 260 nm during printing of nanoporous 3D woodpiles at scanning speeds of 50 mm s −1 . Thus, the knowledge generated here can be applied to deterministically tune the proximity effects and enable rapid printing of high-resolution nanoporous 3D structures.
Modeling the He II Transverse Proximity Effect: Constraints on Quasar Lifetime and Obscuration
The He II transverse proximity effect - enhanced He II Lyα transmission in a background sightline caused by the ionizing radiation of a foreground quasar - offers a unique opportunity to probe the emission properties of quasars, in particular the emission geometry (obscuration, beaming) and the quasar lifetime. Building on the foreground quasar survey published in Schmidt et al., we present a detailed model of the He II transverse proximity effect, specifically designed to include light travel time effects, finite quasar ages, and quasar obscuration. Here, we post-process outputs from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation with a fluctuating He ii ultraviolet background model, with the added effect of the radiation from a single bright foreground quasar. We vary the age t age and obscured sky fractions Ω obsc of the foreground quasar, and explore the resulting effect on the He ii transverse proximity effect signal. Fluctuations in intergalactic medium density and the ultraviolet background, as well as the unknown orientation of the foreground quasar, result in a large variance of the He II Lyα transmission along the background sightline. We develop a fully Bayesian statistical formalism to compare far-ultraviolet He ii Lyα transmission spectra of the background quasars to our models, and extract joint constraints on t age and Ω obsc for the six Schmidt et al. foreground quasars with the highest implied He II photoionization rates. Our analysis suggests a bimodal distribution of quasar emission properties, whereby one foreground quasar, associated with a strong He II transmission spike, is relatively old (22 Myr) and unobscured (Ω obsc < 35%), whereas three others are either younger than 10 Myr or highly obscured (Ω obsc > 70%).
Investigation of magnetic proximity effect in Ta/YIG bilayer Hall bar structure
In this work, the investigation of magnetic proximity effect was extended to Ta which has been reported to have a negative spin Hall angle. Magnetoresistance (MR) and Hall measurements for in-plane and out-of-plane applied magnetic field sweeps were carried out at room temperature. The size of the MR ratio observed (∼10{sup −5}) and its magnetization direction dependence are similar to that reported in Pt/yttrium iron garnet, both of which can be explained by the spin Hall magnetoresistance theory. Additionally, a flip of magnetoresistance polarity is observed at 4 K in the temperature dependent measurements, which can be explained by the magnetic proximity effect induced anisotropic magnetoresistance at low temperature. Our findings suggest that both magnetic proximity effect and spin Hall magnetoresistance have contribution to the recently observed unconventional magnetoresistance effect.
Skin and Proximity Effects in Electrodes and Furnace Shells
A review of two-dimensional (2D) analytical models of skin and proximity effects in large industrial furnaces with three electrodes arranged in an equilateral triangle is given. The models cover three different cases: one electrode only, three electrodes where two are approximated by line currents, and induced shell currents where all electrodes are approximated by line currents. The first two models show how the skin and proximity effects depend on electrode material properties and size, and the distance between the electrodes. The third model shows how the strength of the induced shell currents will depend on electrode position and furnace size. These models are compared to numerical studies including distributed electrodes and shell currents. The analytical models are accurate when induced shell currents can be disregarded. However, strong shell currents may have a significant impact on the current distribution within the electrodes. This electrode-shell proximity effect competes with the electrode-electrode proximity effect. Finally, the 2D models have been compared with three-dimensional (3D) case studies of large industrial furnaces. In 3D, the shell currents are significantly smaller than what are predicted by the 2D models, but they are sufficiently strong to cause a significant correction of the electrode current density.
Statistical Detection of the He ii Transverse Proximity Effect: Evidence for Sustained Quasar Activity for >25 Million Years
The He ii transverse proximity effect—enhanced He ii Lyα transmission in a background sightline caused by the ionizing radiation of a foreground quasar—offers a unique opportunity to probe the morphology of quasar-driven He ii reionization. We conduct a comprehensive spectroscopic survey to find z∼3 quasars in the foreground of 22 background quasar sightlines with Hubble Space Telescope/COS He ii Lyα transmission spectra. With our two-tiered survey strategy, consisting of a deep pencil-beam survey and a shallow wide-field survey, we discover 131 new quasars, which we complement with known SDSS/BOSS quasars in our fields. Using a restricted sample of 66 foreground quasars with inferred He ii photoionization rates greater than the expected UV background at these redshifts (Γ{sub QSO}{sup He II}>5×10{sup −16} s{sup −1}) we perform the first statistical analysis of the He ii transverse proximity effect. Our results show qualitative evidence for a large object-to-object variance: among the four foreground quasars with the highest Γ{sub QSO}{sup He II} only one (previously known) quasar is associated with a significant He ii transmission spike. We perform a stacking analysis to average down these fluctuations, and detect an excess in the average He ii transmission near the foreground quasars at 3σ significance. This statistical evidence for the transverse proximity effect is corroborated by a clear dependence of the signal strength on Γ{sub QSO}{sup He II}. Our detection places a purely geometrical lower limit on the quasar lifetime of t{sub Q}>25 Myr. Improved modeling would additionally constrain quasar obscuration and the mean free path of He ii-ionizing photons.
Temperature dependence of the superconducting proximity effect quantified by scanning tunneling spectroscopy
Here, we present the first systematic study on the temperature dependence of the extension of the superconducting proximity effect in a 1–2 atomic layer thin metallic film, surrounding a superconducting Pb island. Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements reveal the spatial variation of the local density of state on the film from 0.38 up to 1.8 K. In this temperature range the superconductivity of the island is almost unaffected and shows a constant gap of a 1.20 ± 0.03 meV. Using a superconducting Nb-tip a constant value of the proximity length of 17 ± 3 nm at 0.38 and 1.8 K is found. In contrast, experiments with a normal conductive W-tip indicate an apparent decrease of the proximity length with increasing temperature. This result is ascribed to the thermal broadening of the occupation of states of the tip, and it does not reflect an intrinsic temperature dependence of the proximity length. Our tunneling spectroscopy experiments shed fresh light on the fundamental issue of the temperature dependence of the proximity effect for atomic monolayers, where the intrinsic temperature dependence of the proximity effect is comparably weak.
Interfacial alloying contributions to the magnetic proximity effect in Pt/dysprosium iron garnet
The magnetic proximity effect (MPE), a magnetic response from a heavy metal layer induced by an adjacent magnetic layer, plays an important role in the behavior of heavy-metal/ferro- or ferrimagnet thin film heterostructures. However, in the case of heavy-metal/rare earth iron garnet bilayers the presence and magnitude of the MPE has been debated. We previously reported an MPE in a Pt/dysprosium iron garnet (DyIG) heterostructure where the two layers were grown without breaking vacuum, finding that the magnetic moment present in the Pt layer scales with the magnitude of the DyIG moment and varies nonmonotonically through the DyIG compensation temperature. However, the origin of the magnetic signal from the Pt layer was not identified. In contrast, Pt/DyIG grown with a vacuum break did not exhibit an MPE. Here we investigate the origin of the magnetic moment in the Pt layer using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray circular dichroism, composition mapping and simulations of ion bombardment. In conclusion, the results are consistent with the presence of an intermixed Fe-Dy-Pt interfacial alloy layer formed during the growth of the Pt on the DyIG and resulting in a measurable MPE.
Proximity Effects and Topological Spin Currents in van der Waals Heterostructures (Final Report)
The major goal of this grant has been to study spin-polarized topological edge states. The original proposal was focused specifically on those of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect, which was proposed to be realizable via a (simultaneous) magnetic and spin-orbit proximity effect in graphene. En route to realizing the QAH effect, the goal was also to study the newly-discovered 2D magnetic insulators, which have finally been isolated in the single-to-few atomic layers from compounds whose bulk properties have known since the 1970s, and the extent to which magnetic effects could be seen in graphene via proximity coupling. Since the original proposal, the scope of the work has expanded to include study of the topological edge states of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect and how they are modified by proximity effects and in twisted bilayers. The broader scientific context of the experiments in this proposal is to understand the physical mechanisms behind proximity effects in van der Waals heterostructures. Perhaps the ultimate scientific and technological goal of realizing topological states through proximity effects is the creation of Majorana zero modes in solid-state devices, which has been identified as a major priority in condensed-matter physics and quantum information because of the potential use of Majorana zero modes in topological quantum computing. Van der Waals materials offer advantages in this area because of the diversity of materials that can potentially be used and the unique device architectures that are possible using the van der Waals assembly techniques.