arXiv subjects

Amir Yacoby

Publications and source records attributed to Amir Yacoby.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Imaging phonon-mediated hydrodynamic flow in WTe2

In the presence of interactions, electrons in condensed-matter systems can behave hydrodynamically, exhibiting phenomena associated with classical fluids, such as vortices and Poiseuille flow. In most conductors, electron-electron interactions are minimized by screening effects, hindering the search for hydrodynamic materials; however, recently, a class of semimetals has been reported to exhibit prominent interactions. Here we study the current flow in the layered semimetal tungsten ditelluride by imaging the local magnetic field using a nitrogen-vacancy defect in a diamond. We image the spatial current profile within three-dimensional tungsten ditelluride and find that it exhibits non-uniform current density, indicating hydrodynamic flow. Our temperature-resolve current profile measurements reveal a non-monotonic temperature dependence, with the strongest hydrodynamic effects at approximately 20 K. We also report ab initio calculations showing that electron-electron interactions are not explained by the Coulomb interaction alone, but are predominantly mediated by phonons. This provides a promising avenue in the search for hydrodynamic flow and prominent electron interactions in high-carrier-density materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Andreev reflection in the fractional quantum Hall state

We construct high-quality graphene-based van der Waals devices with narrow superconducting niobium nitride (NbN) electrodes, in which superconductivity and robust fqH coexist. We find crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) across the superconductor separating two fqH edges. Our observed CAR probabilities in the particle-like fractional fillings are markedly higher than those in the integer and hole-conjugate fractional fillings and depend strongly on temperature and magnetic field unlike the other fillings. Further, we find a filling-independent CAR probability in integer fillings, which we attribute to spin-orbit coupling in NbN allowing for Andreev reflection between spin-polarized edges. These results provide a route to realize novel topological superconducting phases in fqH-superconductor hybrid devices based on graphene and NbN.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Superconductivity in a quintuple-layer square-planar nickelate

Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in the copper oxide materials, there have been sustained efforts to both understand the origins of this phase and discover new cuprate-like superconducting materials. One prime materials platform has been the rare-earth nickelates and indeed superconductivity was recently discovered in the doped compound Nd$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$. Undoped NdNiO$_2$ belongs to a series of layered square-planar nickelates with chemical formula Nd$_{n+1}$Ni$_n$O$_{2n+2}$ and is known as the 'infinite-layer' ($n = \infty$) nickelate. Here, we report the synthesis of the quintuple-layer ($n = 5$) member of this series, Nd$_6$Ni$_5$O$_{12}$, in which optimal cuprate-like electron filling ($d^{8.8}$) is achieved without chemical doping. We observe a superconducting transition beginning at $\sim$13 K. Electronic structure calculations, in tandem with magnetoresistive and spectroscopic measurements, suggest that Nd$_6$Ni$_5$O$_{12}$ interpolates between cuprate-like and infinite-layer nickelate-like behavior. In engineering a distinct superconducting nickelate, we identify the square-planar nickelates as a new family of superconductors which can be tuned via both doping and dimensionality.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Fractional Chern insulators in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene

Fractional Chern insulators (FCIs) are lattice analogues of fractional quantum Hall states that may provide a new avenue toward manipulating non-abelian excitations. Early theoretical studies have predicted their existence in systems with energetically flat Chern bands and highlighted the critical role of a particular quantum band geometry. Thus far, however, FCI states have only been observed in Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene aligned with hexagonal boron nitride (BLG/hBN), in which a very large magnetic field is responsible for the existence of the Chern bands, precluding the realization of FCIs at zero field and limiting its potential for applications. By contrast, magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) supports flat Chern bands at zero magnetic field, and therefore offers a promising route toward stabilizing zero-field FCIs. Here we report the observation of eight FCI states at low magnetic field in MATBG enabled by high-resolution local compressibility measurements. The first of these states emerge at 5 T, and their appearance is accompanied by the simultaneous disappearance of nearby topologically-trivial charge density wave states. Unlike the BLG/hBN platform, we demonstrate that the principal role of the weak magnetic field here is merely to redistribute the Berry curvature of the native Chern bands and thereby realize a quantum band geometry favorable for the emergence of FCIs. Our findings strongly suggest that FCIs may be realized at zero magnetic field and pave the way for the exploration and manipulation of anyonic excitations in moiré systems with native flat Chern bands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Spectroscopic signatures of time-reversal symmetry breaking superconductivity

The collective mode spectrum of a symmetry-breaking state, such as a superconductor, provides crucial insight into the nature of the order parameter. In this context, we present a microscopic weak-coupling theory for the collective modes of a generic multi-component time-reversal symmetry breaking superconductor, and show that fluctuations in the relative amplitude and phase of the two order parameter components are well-defined underdamped collective modes, even in the presence of nodal quasiparticles. We then demonstrate that these "generalized clapping modes" can be detected using a number of experimental techniques including ac electronic compressibility measurements, electron energy loss spectroscopy, microwave spectroscopy, and ultrafast THz spectroscopy. Finally, we discuss the implications of our work as a new form of "collective mode spectroscopy" that drastically expands the number of experimental probes capable of detecting time-reversal symmetry breaking in unconventional superconductors such as Sr$_{\text{2}}$RuO$_{\text{4}}$, UTe$_{\text{2}}$, and moiré heterostructures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Phase-induced topological superconductivity in a planar heterostructure

Topological superconductivity in quasi-one-dimensional systems is a novel phase of matter with possible implications for quantum computation. Despite years of effort, a definitive signature of this phase in experiments is still debated. A major cause of this ambiguity is the side effects of applying a magnetic field: induced in-gap states, vortices, and alignment issues. Here we propose a planar semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure as a platform for realizing topological superconductivity without applying a magnetic field to the 2D electron gas hosting the topological state. Time-reversal symmetry is broken only by phase-biasing the proximitizing superconductors, which can be achieved using extremely small fluxes or bias currents far from the quasi-one-dimensional channel. Our platform is based on interference between this phase biasing and the phase arising from strong spin-orbit coupling in closed electron trajectories. The principle is demonstrated analytically using a simple model, and then shown numerically for realistic devices. We show a robust topological phase diagram, as well as explicit wavefunctions of Majorana zero modes. We discuss experimental issues regarding the practical implementation of our proposal, establishing it as an accessible scheme with contemporary experimental techniques.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Thermodynamics of free and bound magnons in graphene

Symmetry-broken electronic phases support neutral collective excitations. For example, monolayer graphene in the quantum Hall regime hosts a nearly ideal ferromagnetic phase at filling factor $ν=1$ that spontaneously breaks spin rotation symmetry. This ferromagnet has been shown to support spin-wave excitations known as magnons which can be generated and detected electrically. While long-distance magnon propagation has been demonstrated via transport measurements, important thermodynamic properties of such magnon populations--including the magnon chemical potential and density--have thus far proven out of reach of experiments. Here, we present local measurements of the electron compressibility under the influence of magnons, which reveal a reduction of the $ν=1$ gap by up to 20%. Combining these measurements with estimates of the temperature, our analysis reveals that the injected magnons bind to electrons and holes to form skyrmions, and it enables extraction of the free magnon density, magnon chemical potential, and average skyrmion spin. Our methods furnish a novel means of probing the thermodynamic properties of charge-neutral excitations that is applicable to other symmetry-broken electronic phases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

High-Energy Quasiparticle Injection into Mesoscopic Superconductors

At nonzero temperatures, superconductors contain excitations known as Bogoliubov quasiparticles. The mesoscopic dynamics of quasiparticles inform the design of quantum information processors, among other devices. Knowledge of these dynamics stems from experiments in which quasiparticles are injected in a controlled fashion, typically at energies comparable to the pairing energy . Here we perform tunnel spectroscopy of a mesoscopic superconductor under high electric field. We observe quasiparticle injection due to field-emitted electrons with 10^6 times the pairing energy, an unexplored regime of quasiparticle dynamics. Upon application of a gate voltage, the quasiparticle injection decreases the critical current and, at sufficiently high electric field, the field-emission current (< 0.1 nA) switches the mesoscopic superconductor into the normal state, consistent with earlier results. We expect that high-energy injection will be useful for developing quasiparticle-tolerant quantum information processors, will allow rapid control of resonator quality factors, and will enable the design of electric-field-controlled superconducting devices with new functionality.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Unconventional sequence of correlated Chern insulators in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene

The interplay between strong electron-electron interactions and band topology can lead to novel electronic states that spontaneously break symmetries. The discovery of flat bands in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) with nontrivial topology has provided a unique platform in which to search for new symmetry-broken phases. Recent scanning tunneling microscopy and transport experiments have revealed a sequence of topological insulating phases in MATBG with Chern numbers $C=\pm 3, \, \pm 2, \, \pm 1$ near moiré band filling factors $ν= \pm 1, \, \pm 2, \, \pm 3$, corresponding to a simple pattern of flavor-symmetry-breaking Chern insulators. Here, we report high-resolution local compressibility measurements of MATBG with a scanning single electron transistor that reveal a new sequence of incompressible states with unexpected Chern numbers observed down to zero magnetic field. We find that the Chern numbers for eight of the observed incompressible states are incompatible with the simple picture in which the $C= \pm 1$ bands are sequentially filled. We show that the emergence of these unusual incompressible phases can be understood as a consequence of broken translation symmetry that doubles the moiré unit cell and splits each $C=\pm 1$ band into a $C=\pm 1$ band and a $C=0$ band. Our findings significantly expand the known phase diagram of MATBG, and shed light onto the origin of the close competition between different correlated phases in the system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Nuclear Spin Assisted Magnetic Field Angle Sensing

Quantum sensing exploits the strong sensitivity of quantum systems to measure small external signals. The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is one of the most promising platforms for real-world quantum sensing applications, predominantly used as a magnetometer. However, its magnetic field sensitivity vanishes when a bias magnetic field acts perpendicular to the NV axis. Here, we introduce a novel sensing strategy assisted by the nitrogen nuclear spin that uses the entanglement between the electron and nuclear spins to restore the magnetic field sensitivity. This, in turn, allows us to detect small changes in the magnetic field angle relative to the NV axis. Furthermore, based on the same underlying principle, we show that the NV coupling strength to magnetic noise, and hence its coherence time, exhibits a strong asymmetric angle dependence. This allows us to uncover the directional properties of the local magnetic environment and to realize maximal decoupling from anisotropic noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Aharonov Bohm Effect in Graphene Fabry Pérot Quantum Hall Interferometers

Quantum interferometers are powerful tools for probing the wave-nature and exchange statistics of indistinguishable particles. Of particular interest are interferometers formed by the chiral, one-dimensional (1D) edge channels of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) that guide electrons without dissipation. Using quantum point contacts (QPCs) as beamsplitters, these 1D channels can be split and recombined, enabling interference of charged particles. Such quantum Hall interferometers (QHIs) can be used for studying exchange statistics of anyonic quasiparticles. In this study we develop a robust QHI fabrication technique in van der Waals (vdW) materials and realize a graphene-based Fabry-Pérot (FP) QHI. By careful heterostructure design, we are able to measure pure Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interference effect in the integer QHE, a major technical challenge in finite size FP interferometers. We find that integer edge modes exhibit high visibility interference due to relatively large velocities and long phase coherence lengths. Our QHI with tunable QPCs presents a versatile platform for interferometer studies in vdW materials and enables future experiments in the fractional QHE.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Imaging viscous flow of the Dirac fluid in graphene

The electron-hole plasma in charge-neutral graphene is predicted to realize a quantum critical system whose transport features a universal hydrodynamic description, even at room temperature. This quantum critical "Dirac fluid" is expected to have a shear viscosity close to a minimum bound, with an inter-particle scattering rate saturating at the Planckian time $\hbar/(k_B T)$. While electrical transport measurements at finite carrier density are consistent with hydrodynamic electron flow in graphene, a "smoking gun" of viscous behavior remains elusive. In this work, we directly image viscous Dirac fluid flow in graphene at room temperature via measurement of the associated stray magnetic field. Nanoscale magnetic imaging is performed using quantum spin magnetometers realized with nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Scanning single-spin and wide-field magnetometry reveals a parabolic Poiseuille profile for electron flow in a graphene channel near the charge neutrality point, establishing the viscous transport of the Dirac fluid. This measurement is in contrast to the conventional uniform flow profile imaged in an Ohmic conductor. Via combined imaging-transport measurements, we obtain viscosity and scattering rates, and observe that these quantities are comparable to the universal values expected at quantum criticality. This finding establishes a nearly-ideal electron fluid in neutral graphene at room temperature. Our results pave the way to study hydrodynamic transport in quantum critical fluids relevant to strongly-correlated electrons in high-$T_c$ superconductors. This work also highlights the capability of quantum spin magnetometers to probe correlated-electronic phenomena at the nanoscale.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Vector Electrometry in a Wide-Gap Semiconductor Device Using a Spin Ensemble Quantum Sensor

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond work as a quantum electrometer. Using an ensemble state of NV centers, we propose vector electrometry and demonstrate measurements in a diamond electronic device. A transverse electric field applied to the N-V axis under a high voltage was measured while applying a transverse magnetic field. The response of the energy level shift against the electric field was significantly enhanced compared with that against an axial magnetic field. Repeating the measurement of the transverse electric field for multiple N-V axes, we obtained the components of the electric field generated in the device.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Nanoscale Detection of Magnon Excitations with Variable Wavevectors Through a Quantum Spin Sensor

We report the optical detection of magnons with a broad range of wavevectors in magnetic insulator Y3Fe5O12 thin films by proximate nitrogen-vacancy (NV) single-spin sensors. Through multi-magnon scattering processes, the excited magnons generate fluctuating magnetic fields at the NV electron spin resonance frequencies, which accelerate the relaxation of NV spins. By measuring the variation of the emitted spin-dependent photoluminescence of the NV centers, magnons with variable wavevectors up to ~ 5 x 10^7 m-1 can be optically accessed, providing an alternative perspective to reveal the underlying spin behaviors in magnetic systems. Our results highlight the significant opportunities offered by NV single-spin quantum sensors in exploring nanoscale spin dynamics of emergent spintronic materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

A Magnon Scattering Platform

Scattering experiments have revolutionized our understanding of nature. Examples include the discovery of the nucleus, crystallography, and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Scattering techniques differ by the type of the particles used, the interaction these particles have with target materials and the range of wavelengths used. Here, we demonstrate a new 2-dimensional table-top scattering platform for exploring magnetic properties of materials on mesoscopic length scales. Long lived, coherent magnonic excitations are generated in a thin film of YIG and scattered off a magnetic target deposited on its surface. The scattered waves are then recorded using a scanning NV center magnetometer that allows sub-wavelength imaging and operation under conditions ranging from cryogenic to ambient environment. While most scattering platforms measure only the intensity of the scattered waves, our imaging method allows for spatial determination of both amplitude and phase of the scattered waves thereby allowing for a systematic reconstruction of the target scattering potential. Our experimental results are consistent with theoretical predictions for such a geometry and reveal several unusual features of the magnetic response of the target, including suppression near the target edges and gradient in the direction perpendicular to the direction of surface wave propagation. Our results establish magnon scattering experiments as a new platform for studying correlated many-body systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Crystallographic Orientation Dependent Reactive Ion Etch in Single Crystal Diamond

Sculpturing desired shapes in single crystal diamond is ever more crucial in the realization of complex devices for nanophotonics, quantum computing, and quantum optics. The crystallographic orientation dependent wet etch of single crystalline silicon in potassium hydroxide (KOH) allows a range of shapes formed and has significant impacts on MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), AFM (atomic force microscopy), and microfluidics. Here, a crystal direction dependent dry etching principle in an inductively-coupled plasma reactive ion etcher is presented, which allows to selectively reveal desired crystal planes in monocrystalline diamond by controlling the etching conditions. The principle is demonstrated when the kinetic energy of incident ions on diamond surfaces is reduced below a certain threshold leading to anisotropic etching and faceting along specific crystal planes. Using the principle, monolithic diamond nanopillars for magnetometry using nitrogen vacancy centers are fabricated. In these nanopillars, a half-tapering angle up to 21° is achieved, the highest angle reported, which leads to a high photon efficiency and high mechanical strength of the nanopillar. These results represent the first demonstration of crystallographic orientation dependent reactive ion etch principle, which opens a new window for shaping specific nanostructures which is at the heart of nanotechnology. It is believed that this principle will prove to be valuable for structuring and patterning of other single crystal materials as well.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Magnetic Field Fingerprinting of Integrated Circuit Activity with a Quantum Diamond Microscope

Current density distributions in active integrated circuits (ICs) result in patterns of magnetic fields that contain structural and functional information about the IC. Magnetic fields pass through standard materials used by the semiconductor industry and provide a powerful means to fingerprint IC activity for security and failure analysis applications. Here, we demonstrate high spatial resolution, wide field-of-view, vector magnetic field imaging of static (DC) magnetic field emanations from an IC in different active states using a Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM). The QDM employs a dense layer of fluorescent nitrogen-vacancy (NV) quantum defects near the surface of a transparent diamond substrate placed on the IC to image magnetic fields. We show that QDM imaging achieves simultaneous $\sim10$ $μ$m resolution of all three vector magnetic field components over the 3.7 mm $\times$ 3.7 mm field-of-view of the diamond. We study activity arising from spatially-dependent current flow in both intact and decapsulated field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); and find that QDM images can determine pre-programmed IC active states with high fidelity using machine-learning classification methods.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

A Cantilever Torque Magnetometry Method for the Measurement of Hall Conductivity of Highly Resistive Samples

We present the first measurements of Hall conductivity utilizing a new torque magnetometry method designed for insulators. A Corbino disk exhibits a magnetic dipole moment proportional to Hall conductivity when voltage is applied across a test material. This magnetic dipole moment can be measured through torque magnetometry. The symmetry of this contactless technique allows for the measurement of Hall conductivity in previously inaccessible materials. Finally, a low-temperature noise bound, the lack of systematic errors on dummy devices, and a measurement of the Hall conductivity of sputtered indium tin oxide demonstrate the efficacy of the technique.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗