arXiv subjects

A. Grüneis

Publications and source records attributed to A. Grüneis.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Continuous-wave laser absorption spectroscopy of the Thorium-229 nucleus

A low-energy nuclear transition in the isotope thorium-229 has been excited in thorium-doped crystals with laser light. This opens the perspective towards a highly stable and robust solid-state optical nuclear clock. The required laser radiation at 148 nm wavelength has so far been produced using pulsed laser systems where only a small fraction of the incident photons has been resonant with the narrow nuclear transition. Here we show that the nuclear resonance can be excited with a continuous-wave narrow-bandwidth laser source with a power of less than 1 nW, and that the resonance signal can be detected in absorption rather than in fluorescence. This eliminates the slow nuclear fluorescence decay from the detection process and offers a considerable advantage for clock operation through fast signal acquisition. The VUV laser source is based on three sequential frequency doublings, starting from a diode laser at 1187 nm that is well suited for linewidth narrowing and for frequency comparisons with optical atomic clocks. We use absorption spectroscopy for the quantitative characterization of two different Th-centers in calcium fluoride crystal and measure the isomeric shift between them. One of the centers shows a very small static electric crystal field gradient 0.1 V/$Å^2$, to be compared to gradients in the range of 100 V/$Å^2$ observed earlier. This indicates a center with high symmetry of the ions surrounding the Th nucleus, promising nuclear resonance lines that are nearly independent of the lattice spacing.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Origin of the flat band in heavily Cs doped graphene

A flat energy dispersion of electrons at the Fermi level of a material leads to instabilities in the electronic system and can drive phase transitions. Here we introduce a method to induce a flat band in two-dimensional (2D) materials. We show that the flat band can be achieved by sandwiching the 2D material by two cesium (Cs) layers. We apply this method to monolayer graphene and investigate the flat band by a combination of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiment and the calculation. Our work highlights that charge transfer, zone folding of graphene bands and the covalent bonding between C and Cs atoms are at the origin of the flat energy band formation. The presented approach is an alternative route for obtaining flat band materials to twisting bilayer graphene which yields thermodynamically stable flat band materials in large areas.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Emergent Dirac carriers across a pressure-induced Lifshitz transition in black phosphorus

The phase diagrams of correlated systems like cuprates or pnictides high-temperature superconductors are characterized by a topological change of the Fermi surface under continuous variation of an external parameter, the so-called Lifshitz transition. However, the large number of low-temperature instabilities and the interplay of multiple energy scales complicate the study of this phenomenon. Here we first identify the optical signatures of a pressure-induced Lifshitz transition in a clean elemental system, black phosphorus. By applying external pressures above 1.5 GPa, we observe a change in the pressure dependence of the Drude plasma frequency due to the appearance of massless Dirac fermions. At higher pressures, optical signatures of two structural phase transitions are also identified. Our findings suggest that a key fingerprint of the Lifshitz transition in solid state systems, and in absence of structural phase transitions, is a discontinuity of the Drude plasma frequency due to the change of Fermi surface topology.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Quasi-two-dimensional thermoelectricity in SnSe

Stannous selenide is a layered semiconductor that is a polar analogue of black phosphorus, and of great interest as a thermoelectric material. Unusually, hole doped SnSe supports a large Seebeck coefficient at high conductivity, which has not been explained to date. Angle resolved photo-emission spectroscopy, optical reflection spectroscopy and magnetotransport measurements reveal a multiple-valley valence band structure and a quasi two-dimensional dispersion, realizing a Hicks-Dresselhaus thermoelectric contributing to the high Seebeck coefficient at high carrier density. We further demonstrate that the hole accumulation layer in exfoliated SnSe transistors exhibits a field effect mobility of up to $250~\mathrm{cm^2/Vs}$ at $T=1.3~\mathrm{K}$. SnSe is thus found to be a high quality, quasi two-dimensional semiconductor ideal for thermoelectric applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Plasmonic enhancement of aligned semiconducting graphene nanoribbons

We couple photoluminescent semiconducting 7-atom wide armchair edge graphene nanoribbons to plasmonic nanoantenna arrays and demonstrate an enhancement of the photoluminescence and Raman scattering intensity of the nanoribbons by more than one order of magnitude. The increase in signal allows us to study Raman spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio. Using plasmonic enhancement we are able to detect the off-resonant Raman signals from the modified radial breathing-like mode (RBLM) due to physisorbed molecules, the 3rd order RBLM, and C-H vibrations. We find excellent agreement between data and simulations describing the spectral dependence of the enhancement and modifications of the polarization anisotropy. The strong field gradients in the optical near-field further allow us to probe the subwavelength coherence properties of the phonon modes in the nanoribbons. We theoretically model this considering a finite coherence length along the GNR direction. Our results allow estimating the coherence length in graphene nanoribbons.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Effect of hydrogen adsorption on the quasiparticle spectra of graphene

We use the non-interacting tight-binding model to study the effect of isolated hydrogen adsorbates on the quasiparticle spectra of single-layer graphene. Using the Green's function approach, we obtain analytic expressions for the local density of states and the spectral function of hydrogen-doped graphene, which are also numerically evaluated and plotted. Our results are relevant for the interpretation of scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data of functionalized graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Quasi-freestanding and single-atom thick layer of hexagonal boron nitride as a substrate for graphene synthesis

We demonstrate that freeing a single-atom thick layer of hexagonal boron nitride (hbn) from tight chemical bonding to a Ni(111) thin film grown on a W(110) substrate can be achieved by intercalation of Au atoms into the interface. This process has been systematically investigated using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission and absorption techniques. It has been demonstrated that the transition of the hbn layer from the "rigid" into the "quasi-freestanding" state is accompanied by a change of its lattice constant. Using chemical vapor deposition, graphene has been successfully synthesized on the insulating, quasi-freestanding hbn monolayer. We anticipate that the in situ synthesized weakly interacting graphene/hbn double layered system could be further developed for technological applications and may provide perspectives for further inquiry into the unusual electronic properties of graphene.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Graphite intercalation compound KC$_8$ revisited: a key to graphene

Electrons in isolated graphene layers are a two-dimensional gas of massless Dirac Fermions. In realistic devices, however, the electronic properties are modified by elastic deformations, interlayer coupling and substrate interaction. Here we unravel the electronic structure of doped graphene, revisiting the stage one graphite intercalation compound KC$_8$ using angle--resolved photoemission spectroscopy and ab--initio calculations. The full experimental dispersion is in excellent agreement to calculations of doped graphene once electron correlations are included on the $GW$ level. This highlights that KC$_8$ has negligible interlayer coupling. Therefore Dirac Fermion behaviour is preserved and we directly determine the full experimental Dirac cone of doped graphene. In addition we prove that superconductivity in KC$_8$ is mediated by electron--phonon coupling to an iTO phonon, yielding a strong kink in the quasiparticle dispersion at 166 meV. These results are key for understanding, both, the unique electronic properties of graphene and superconductivity in KC$_8$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Phonon surface mapping of graphite: disentangling quasi--degenerate phonon dispersions

The two-dimensional mapping of the phonon dispersions around the $K$ point of graphite by inelastic x-ray scattering is provided. The present work resolves the longstanding issue related to the correct assignment of transverse and longitudinal phonon branches at $K$. We observe an almost degeneracy of the three TO, LA and LO derived phonon branches and a strong phonon trigonal warping. Correlation effects renormalize the Kohn anomaly of the TO mode, which exhibits a trigonal warping effect opposite to that of the electronic band structure. We determined the electron--phonon coupling constant to be 166$\rm(eV/Å)^2$ in excellent agreement to $GW$ calculations. These results are fundamental for understanding angle-resolved photoemission, double--resonance Raman and transport measurements of graphene based systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Tight--binding description of the quasiparticle dispersion of graphite and few--layer graphene

A universal set of third--nearest neighbour tight--binding (TB) parameters is presented for calculation of the quasiparticle (QP) dispersion of $N$ stacked $sp^2$ graphene layers ($N=1... \infty$) with $AB$ stacking sequence. The QP bands are strongly renormalized by electron--electron interactions which results in a 20% increase of the nearest neighbour in--plane and out--of--plane TB parameters when compared to band structure from density functional theory. With the new set of TB parameters we determine the Fermi surface and evaluate exciton energies, charge carrier plasmon frequencies and the conductivities which are relevant for recent angle--resolved photoemission, optical, electron energy loss and transport measurements. A comparision of these quantitities to experiments yields an excellent agreement. Furthermore we discuss the transition from few layer graphene to graphite and a semimetal to metal transition in a TB framework.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗