arXiv subjects

Daryl C. Chrzan

Publications and source records attributed to Daryl C. Chrzan.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Deterministic patterning and alignment of tellurium quantum wires using nanoscale templates

Tellurium (Te) is an intriguing one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor that has recently attracted considerable interest as a p-type channel material. However, scalable synthesis methods have lacked control over the orientation and patterning of the Te atomic chains, thus limiting its practical use. Guided by theory, we overcome this challenge using nanowire-shaped templates to achieve oriented, single-crystal growth of Te on amorphous substrates. Strong alignment of Te atomic chains is achieved as template widths are reduced to sub-20 nm. This high structural order, confirmed by 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy, enables the observation of pristine quantum transport phenomena for deterministically patterned Te. Field-effect transistors exhibit well-defined conductance plateaus at 77 K due to population of individual 1D subbands. Furthermore, Coulomb blockade emerges at 1.7 K, with the Te channel acting as a gate-tunable quantum dot. This synthesis approach provides a scalable pathway for integration of Te-based quantum materials for future electronic and quantum technologies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Mesoscale Crystallographic Helicity in Confined Tellurium Quantum Wires

Helical order can facilitate symmetry breaking and emergent physical responses in crystalline materials, yet how intrinsic chirality manifests beyond atomic length scales remains poorly understood. Here, the direct observation and quantitative characterization of long-range crystallographic helicity in template-grown tellurium (Te) quantum wires on amorphous substrates are reported. Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) enables quantitative mapping of crystallographic orientation with nanometer-scale spatial resolution. The resulting orientation maps establish continuous mesoscale lattice twisting, providing direct evidence of long-range crystallographic helicity. Correlated orientation and strain mapping reveal pronounced lateral strain heterogeneity, with compressive strain concentrated within the wire interior. Systematic analysis across multiple wires suggests that higher twist rates are generally associated with weaker lateral compressive strain, narrower wires, and better atomic chain - template axis alignment. Complementary first-principles calculations on finite Te nanorods further suggest that twisting is intrinsically accessible in nucleus-scale Te clusters and strain can bias the preferred torsional state. Together, these results support a growth-incorporated, strain-biased picture in which nanoscale confinement and anisotropic strain facilitate torsional relaxation and stabilize mesoscale helicity in Te nanostructures highlighting strain and confinement as potential routes for engineering chiral lattice states in van der Waals nanostructures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

MP-ALOE: An r2SCAN dataset for universal machine learning interatomic potentials

We present MP-ALOE, a dataset of nearly 1 million DFT calculations using the accurate r2SCAN meta-generalized gradient approximation. Covering 89 elements, MP-ALOE was created using active learning and primarily consists of off-equilibrium structures. We benchmark a machine learning interatomic potential trained on MP-ALOE, and evaluate its performance on a series of benchmarks, including predicting the thermochemical properties of equilibrium structures; predicting forces of far-from-equilibrium structures; maintaining physical soundness under static extreme deformations; and molecular dynamic stability under extreme temperatures and pressures. MP-ALOE shows strong performance on all of these benchmarks, and is made public for the broader community to utilize.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Compliant substrate epitaxy: Au on MoS$_2$

The epitaxial growth of {111} oriented Au on MoS$_2$ is well documented despite the large lattice mismatch (~8% biaxial strain), and the fact that a Au {001} orientation results in much less elastic strain. An analysis based on density functional and linear elasticity theories reveals that the {111} orientation is stabilized by a combination of favorable surface and interfacial contributions to the energy, and the compliance of the first layer of the MoS$_2$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗