arXiv subjects

Andrew T. S. Wee

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew T. S. Wee.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Precise Layer-Dependent Electronic Structure of MBE-Grown PtSe$_2$

Two-dimensional (2D) platinum diselenide (PtSe$_2$) has received significant attention for 2D transistor applications due to its high mobility. Here, using molecular beam epitaxy, we investigate the growth of 2D PtSe$_2$ on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and unveil their electronic properties via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectra, and scanning tunnelling microscopy/spectroscopy as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations. PtSe$_2$ adopts a layer-by-layer growth mode on HOPG and shows a decreasing band gap with increasing layer number. For the layer numbers from one to four, PtSe$_2$ has band gaps of $2.0 \pm 0.1$, $1.1 \pm 0.1$, $0.6 \pm 0.1$ and $0.20 \pm 0.1$ eV, respectively, and becomes semimetal from the fifth layer. DFT calculations reproduce the layer-dependent evolution of both the band gap and band edges, suggest an indirect band-gap structure, and elucidate the underlying physics at the atomic level.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Room temperature ferromagnetism of monolayer chromium telluride with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

The realization of long-range magnetic ordering in two-dimensional (2D) systems can potentially revolutionize next-generation information technology. Here, we report the successful fabrication of crystalline Cr3Te4 monolayers with room temperature ferromagnetism. Using molecular beam epitaxy, the growth of 2D Cr3Te4 films with monolayer thickness is demonstrated at low substrate temperatures (~100C), compatible with Si CMOS technology. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements reveal a Curie temperature (Tc) of ~344 K for the Cr3Te4 monolayer with an out-of-plane magnetic easy axis, which decreases to ~240 K for the thicker film (~ 7 nm) with an in-plane easy axis. The enhancement of ferromagnetic coupling and the magnetic anisotropy transition is ascribed to interfacial effects, in particular the orbital overlap at the monolayer Cr3Te4/graphite interface, supported by density-functional theory calculations. This work sheds light on the low-temperature scalable growth of 2D nonlayered materials with room temperature ferromagnetism for new magnetic and spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Phase diagram and superconducting dome of infinite-layer $\mathrm{Nd_{1-x}Sr_{x}NiO_{2}}$ thin films

Infinite-layer Nd1-xSrxNiO2 thin films with Sr doping level x from 0.08 to 0.3 were synthesized and investigated. We found a superconducting dome to be between 0.12 and 0.235 which is accompanied by a weakly insulating behaviour in both underdoped and overdoped regimes. The dome is akin to that in the electron-doped 214-type and infinite-layer cuprate superconductors. For x higher than 0.18, the normal state Hall coefficient ($R_{H}$) changes the sign from negative to positive as the temperature decreases. The temperature of the sign changes monotonically decreases with decreasing x from the overdoped side and approaches the superconducting dome at the mid-point, suggesting a reconstruction of the Fermi surface as the dopant concentration changes across the center of the dome.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

A Gaussian Thermionic Emission Model for Analysis of Au/MoS2 Schottky Barrier Devices

Schottky barrier inhomogeneities are expected at the metal/TMDC interface and this can impact device performance. However, it is difficult to account for the distribution of interface inhomogeneity as most techniques average over the spot-area of the analytical tool, or the entire device measured for electrical I-V measurements. Commonly used models to extract Schottky barrier heights (SBH) neglect or fail to account for such inhomogeneities, which can lead to the extraction of incorrect SBH and Richardson constants. Here, we show that a gaussian modified thermionic emission model gives the best fit to experimental I-V-T data of van der Waals Au/p-MoS2 interfaces and allow the deconvolution of the SBH of the defective regions from the pristine region. By the inclusion of a gaussian distributed SBH in the macroscopic I-V-T analysis, we demonstrate that interface inhomogeneities due to defects are deconvoluted and well correlated to the impact on the device behavior across a wide temperature range from room temperature of 300 K down to 120 K. We verified the gaussian thermionic model across two different types of p-MoS2 (geological and synthetic), and finally compared the macroscopic SBH with the results of a nanoscopic technique, ballistic hole emission microscopy (BHEM). The results obtained using BHEM were consistent with the pristine Au/p-MoS2 SBH extracted from the gaussian modified thermionic emission model over hundreds of nanometers. Our findings show that the inclusion of Schottky barrier inhomogeneities in the analysis of I-V-T data is important to elucidate the impact of defects (e.g. grain boundaries, metallic impurities, etc.) and hence their influence on device behavior. We also find that the Richardson constant, a material specific constant typically treated as merely a fitting constant, is an important parameter to check for the validity of the transport model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Momentum Conserved Ultrafast Charge Transfer Dynamics of Interlayer Excitons in vdW Heterostructures

Heterostructures comprising van der Waals (vdW) stacked transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers are a fascinating class of two-dimensional (2D) materials with unique properties. The presence of interlayer excitons, where the electron and the hole remain spatially separated in the two layers due to ultrafast charge transfer, is an intriguing feature of these heterostructures. Inevitably, the efficiency of 2D heterostructure devices is critically dependent on the charge transfer dynamics. However, the role of the relative rotation angle of the constituent layers on this charge transfer dynamics is hitherto unknown. Here, we investigate MoS$_2$/WSe$_2$ vdW heterostructures (hMWs) using monochromated low-loss electron energy loss (EEL) spectroscopy combined with aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and report that momentum conservation is a critical factor in the charge transfer dynamics of TMDC vdW heterostructures. The low-loss EEL spectra of the heterostructures with various rotation angles reveal that the charge transfer rate can be about one order-of-magnitude faster in the aligned (or anti-aligned) case than the misaligned cases. These results provide a deeper insight into the role of the fundamental principle of momentum conservation in 2D vdW heterostructure charge transfer dynamics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Oxygen passivation mediated tunability of trion and excitons in MoS$_2$

Using wide spectral range in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry with systematic ultra high vacuum annealing and in situ exposure to oxygen, we report the complex dielectric function of MoS$_2$ isolating the environmental effects and revealing the crucial role of unpassivated and passivated sulphur vacancies. The spectral weights of the A ($1.92$ eV) and B ($2.02$ eV) exciton peaks in the dielectric function reduce significantly upon annealing, accompanied by spectral weight transfer in a broad energy range. Interestingly, the original spectral weights are recovered upon controlled oxygen exposure. This tunability of the excitonic effects is likely due to passivation and reemergence of the gap states in the bandstructure during oxygen adsorption and desorption, respectively, as indicated by ab initio density functional theory calculation results. This work unravels and emphasizes the important role of adsorbed oxygen in the optical spectra and many-body interactions of MoS$_2$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Tunable room-temperature ferromagnet using an iron-oxide and graphene oxide nanocomposite

Magnetic materials have found wide application ranging from electronics and memories to medicine. Essential to these advances is the control of the magnetic order. To date, most room-temperature applications have a fixed magnetic moment whose orientation is manipulated for functionality. Here we demonstrate an iron-oxide and graphene oxide nanocomposite based device that acts as a tunable ferromagnet at room temperature. Not only can we tune its transition temperature in a wide range of temperatures around room temperature, but the magnetization can also be tuned from zero to 0.011 A.m$^2$/kg through an initialization process with two readily accessible knobs (magnetic field and electric current), after which the system retains its magnetic properties semi-permanently until the next initialization process. We construct a theoretical model to illustrate that this tunability originates from an indirect exchange interaction mediated by spin-imbalanced electrons inside the nanocomposite.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Tunable optical absorption and interactions in graphene via oxygen plasma

We report significant changes of optical conductivity in single layer graphene induced by mild oxygen plasma exposure, and explore the interplay between carrier doping, disorder, and many-body interactions from their signatures in the absorption spectrum. The first distinctive effect is the reduction of the excitonic binding energy that can be extracted from the renormalized saddle point resonance at 4.64 eV. Secondly, the real part of the frequency-dependent conductivity is nearly completely suppressed below an exposure-dependent threshold in the near infrared range. The clear step-like suppression follows the Pauli blocking behaviour expected for doped monolayer graphene. The nearly zero residual conductivity at frequencies below 2Ef can be interpreted as arising from the weakening of the electronic self-energy. Our data shows that mild oxygen exposure can be used to controlably dope graphene without introducing the strong physical and chemical changes that are common in other approaches to oxidized graphene, allowing a controllable manipulation of the optical properties of graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Frictional characteristics of exfoliated and epitaxial graphene

To determine the friction coefficient of graphene, micro-scale scratch tests are conducted on exfoliated and epitaxial graphene at ambient conditions. The experimental results show that the monolayer, bilayer, and trilayer graphene all yield friction coefficients of approximately 0.03. The friction coefficient of pristine graphene is less than that of disordered graphene, which is treated by oxygen plasma. Ramping force scratch tests are performed on graphene with various numbers of layers to determine the normal load required for the probe to penetrate graphene. A very low friction coefficient and also its high pressure resistance make graphene a promising material for antiwear coatings.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Study of electromagnetic enhancement for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of SiC graphene

The electromagnetic enhancement for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) of graphene is studied by inserting a layer of Al2O3 between epitaxial graphene and Au nanoparticles. Different excitation lasers are utilized to study the relationship between laser wavelength and SERS. The theoretical calculation shows that the extinction spectrum of Au nanoparticles is modulated by the presence of graphene. The experimental results of the relationship between the excitation laser wavelength and the enhancement factor fit well with the calculated results. An exponential relationship is observed between the enhancement factor and the thickness of the spacer layer.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Temperature-dependent transition from injection-limited to space-charge-limited current in metal-organic diodes

Based on the assumption that the contact barrier height determines the current flow in organic semiconductor-based electronic devices, charge injection at metal-organic (MO) interfaces has been extensively investigated, while space-charge conduction in organic bulk is generally overlooked. Recent theoretical modeling and simulation have pointed out that such a simplification is questionable due to the hopping nature of charge injection and hopping-related space-charge conduction. Here we show experimentally that charge transport in metal-organic diodes is complex interplay between injection-limited current (ILC) and space-charge-limited current (SCLC). We report the experimental observation of ILC-to-SCLC transition in Ag/pentacene/Ag diodes as a function of temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗