arXiv subjects

David Muller

Publications and source records attributed to David Muller.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-Q superconducting microwave resonators using MBE titanium nitride

Using molecular beam epitaxy, we have realized thin films of titanium nitride (TiN) on c-plane sapphire that exhibit the lowest observed full-width at half maximum X-ray rocking curve width of 18 arcsec. Though the (111) oriented TiN exhibits an abrupt and crystalline interface with sapphire, for the first time we observe sub-surface defects in the sapphire substrate, which nucleate structural defects in the epitaxial TiN layer. Using quarter-wavelength coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonators in a 3 \textmu m/6 \textmu m/3 \textmu m gap/strip/gap lines in a hanger geometry, we find the internal quality factor of the TiN resonators to be $>10^{6}$ in the single-photon $\langle n \rangle \sim 1$ limit at 5.8 GHz and 10 mK, rising to $>20 \times 10^{6}$ at $\langle n \rangle \sim 10^{6}$. The results are of high interest for applications of superconducting TiN in several areas, and provide a path towards epitaxial Josephson junctions with crystalline barriers in the future for high coherence qubits.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Atomically-Sharp Superconductor-Dielectric Interface

Modification of superconductor-dielectric interfaces is known to strongly impact coherence times of superconducting quantum devices. This relationship is thought to arise from differences in the concentration of "two-level system" defects in the disordered dielectrics and superconductor-dielectric interfaces; these defects couple to electromagnetic modes in the device and cause dissipation. Zirconium oxide barrier layers on niobium have emerged as a promising pathway to low-loss interfaces in recent years, evidently due to the crystalline nature of these layers in comparison to the amorphous niobium native oxide. We explain the unique ability of zirconium oxide to form a crystalline layer, to maintain a sharp interface with metallic niobium, and to prevent niobium oxide re-growth in terms of the chemical properties of ZrO$_2$ and the Nb-Zr-O ternary system. We demonstrate a new method to grow air-stable zirconium oxide layers on niobium with a higher level of crystallinity and a sharper oxide-metal interface than previously shown, and provide the first comprehensive microscopic analysis of ZrO$_2$ capping layer properties. These developments pave the way toward vital performance advances in superconducting quantum devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Stacking-order-dependent electronic properties of MoTe2/WSe2 moir\'e bilayers

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) moir\'e bilayers have realized a wide range of strongly correlated and topological phenomena. The physics in these materials is often sensitive to the interlayer stacking order. Polarization-resolved optical second harmonic generation (SHG) is the most used technique for stacking order characterization but unverified for most heterobilayers. Here we calibrate the optical SHG for angle-aligned MoTe2/WSe2 bilayers by the scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). We directly compare the transport and magnetic properties and the electronic phase diagram for two distinct stacking orders. With the calibrated stacking order assignment, we clarify the interpretation of earlier results, including the nature of the Chern insulator, mechanism of an electric-field-tuned metal-insulator transition at half band filling, and the Kondo lattice physics. Our work provides a consistent picture of the relation between the stacking order and the electronic properties of MoTe2/WSe2 moir\'e bilayers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Anomalous Thermal Transport Reveals Weak First-Order Melting of Charge Density Waves in 2H-TaSe2

How ordered phases melt in low-dimensional quantum materials remain difficult to resolve because the relevant fluctuations are dynamic and charge neutral. In this work, we show that thermal transport provides a sensitive probe of these hidden fluctuations in the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 2H-TaSe2. We observe a striking V-shaped temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity that cannot be explained by conventional phonon-phonon scattering. Instead, it originates from scattering by persistent local charge-density-wave (CDW) correlations, consistent with our phenomenological model linking thermal transport to spatial CDW fluctuation. Electron diffraction reveals short-range periodic lattice distortions persisting to at least 300 K, while X-ray diffraction shows thermal hysteresis of the CDW wavevector. Together, these results reveal a dislocation- and fluctuation-driven weak first-order melting of the CDW state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Leveraging both faces of polar semiconductor wafers for functional devices

Unlike non-polar semiconductors such as silicon, the broken inversion symmetry of the wide bandgap semiconductor gallium nitride leads to a large electronic polarization along a unique crystal axis. This makes the two surfaces of the semiconductor wafer perpendicular to the polar axis dramatically different in their physical and chemical properties. In the last three decades, the cation (gallium) face of gallium nitride has been used for photonic devices such as LEDs and lasers. Though the cation face has also been predominantly used for electronic devices, the anion (nitrogen) face has recently shown promise for high electron mobility transistors due to favorable polarization discontinuities. In this work we introduce dualtronics, showing that it is possible to make photonic devices on the cation face, and electronic devices on the anion face, of the same semiconductor wafer. This opens the possibility for leveraging both faces of polar semiconductors in a single structure, where electronic, photonic, and acoustic properties can be implemented on opposite faces of the same wafer, dramatically enhancing the functional capabilities of this revolutionary semiconductor family.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2023

Inducing a Tunable Skyrmion-Antiskyrmion System through Ion Beam Modification of FeGe Films

Skyrmions and antiskyrmions are nanoscale swirling textures of magnetic moments formed by chiral interactions between atomic spins in magnetic non-centrosymmetric materials and multilayer films with broken inversion symmetry. These quasiparticles are of interest for use as information carriers in next-generation, low-energy spintronic applications. To develop skyrmion-based memory and logic, we must understand skyrmion-defect interactions with two main goals -- determining how skyrmions navigate intrinsic material defects and determining how to engineer disorder for optimal device operation. Here, we introduce a tunable means of creating a skyrmion-antiskyrmion system by engineering the disorder landscape in FeGe using ion irradiation. Specifically, we irradiate epitaxial B20-phase FeGe films with 2.8 MeV Au$^{4+}$ ions at varying fluences, inducing amorphous regions within the crystalline matrix. Using low-temperature electrical transport and magnetization measurements, we observe a strong topological Hall effect with a double-peak feature that serves as a signature of skyrmions and antiskyrmions. These results are a step towards the development of information storage devices that use skyrmions and anitskyrmions as storage bits and our system may serve as a testbed for theoretically predicted phenomena in skyrmion-antiskyrmion crystals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Real-time 3D analysis during electron tomography using tomviz

The demand for high-throughput electron tomography is rapidly increasing in biological and material sciences. However, this 3D imaging technique is computationally bottlenecked by alignment and reconstruction which runs from hours to days. We demonstrate real-time tomography with dynamic 3D tomographic visualization to enable rapid interpretation of specimen structure immediately as data is collected on an electron microscope. Using geometrically complex chiral nanoparticles, we show volumetric interpretation can begin in less than 10 minutes and a high quality tomogram is available within 30 minutes. Real time tomography is integrated into tomviz, an open source and cross platform 3D analysis tool that contains intuitive graphical user interfaces (GUI) to enable any scientist to characterize biological and material structure in 3D.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

High conductivity Polarization-induced 2D hole gases in Undoped GaN/AlN Heterojunctions enabled by Impurity Blocking Layers

High-conductivity undoped GaN/AlN 2D hole gases (2DHGs), the p-type dual of the AlGaN/GaN 2D electron gases (2DEGs), have offered valuable insights into hole transport in GaN and enabled the first GaN GHz RF p-channel FETs. They are an important step towards high-speed and high-power complementary electronics with wide-bandgap semiconductors. These technologically and scientifically relevant 2D hole gases are perceived to be not as robust as the 2DEGs because structurally similar heterostructures exhibit wide variations of the hole density over $\Delta p_s >$ 7 x 10$^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$, and low mobilities. In this work, we uncover that the variations are tied to undesired dopant impurities such as Silicon and Oxygen floating up from the nucleation interface. By introducing impurity blocking layers (IBLs) in the AlN buffer layer, we eliminate the variability in 2D hole gas densities and transport properties, resulting in a much tighter-control over the 2DHG density variations to $\Delta p_s \leq$ 1 x 10$^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$ across growths, and a 3x boost in the Hall mobilities. These changes result in a 2-3x increase in hole conductivity when compared to GaN/AlN structures without IBLs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Momentum-resolved electronic band structure and offsets in an epitaxial NbN/GaN superconductor/semiconductor heterojunction

The electronic structure of heterointerfaces play a pivotal role in their device functionality. Recently, highly crystalline ultrathin films of superconducting NbN have been integrated by molecular beam epitaxy with the semiconducting GaN. We use soft X-ray angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy to directly measure the momentum-resolved electronic band structures for both NbN and GaN constituents of this Schottky heterointerface, and determine their momentum-dependent interfacial band offset as well as the band-bending profile into GaN. We find, in particular, that the Fermi states in NbN are aligned against the band gap in GaN, which excludes any significant electronic cross-talk of the superconducting states in NbN through the interface to GaN. We support the experimental findings with first-principles calculations for bulk NbN and GaN. The Schottky barrier height obtained from photoemission is corroborated by electronic transport and optical measurements. The momentum-resolved understanding of electronic properties elucidated by the combined materials advances and experimental methods in our work opens up new possibilities in systems where interfacial states play a defining role.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

An unexplored MBE growth mode reveals new properties of superconducting NbN

Accessing unexplored conditions in crystal growth often reveals remarkable surprises and new regimes of physical behavior. In this work, performing molecular beam epitaxy of the technologically important superconductor NbN at temperatures greater than 1000$^\circ$C, higher than in the past, is found to reveal persistent RHEED oscillations throughout the growth, atomically smooth surfaces, normal metal resistivities as low as 37$\mu\Omega$-cm and superconducting critical temperatures in excess of 15 K. Most remarkably, a reversal of the sign of the Hall coefficient is observed as the NbN films are cooled, and the high material quality allows the first imaging of Abrikosov vortex lattices in this superconductor.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Significantly Reduced Thermal Conductivity in Beta-(Al0.1Ga0.9)2O3/Ga2O3 Superlattices

Beta-Ga2O3 has emerged as a promising candidate for electronic device applications because of its ultra-wide bandgap, high breakdown electric field, and large-area affordable substrates grown from the melt. However, its thermal conductivity is at least one order of magnitude lower than that of other wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC and GaN. Thermal dissipation in electronics made from beta-Ga2O3 will be the bottleneck for real-world applications, especially for high power and high frequency devices. Similar to GaN/AlGaN interfaces, beta-(AlxGa1-x)2O3/Ga2O3 heterogeneous structures have been used to form a high mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) where joule heating is localized. The thermal properties of beta-(AlxGa1-x)2O3/Ga2O3 are the key for heat dissipation in these devices while they have not been studied before. This work reports the first measurement on thermal conductivity of beta-(Al0.1Ga0.9)2O3/Ga2O3 superlattices from 80 K to 480 K. Its thermal conductivity is significantly reduced (5.7 times reduction) at room temperature comparing with that of bulk Ga2O3. Additionally, the thermal conductivity of bulk Ga2O3 with (010) orientation is measured and found to be consistent with literature values regardless of Sn doping. We discuss the phonon scattering mechanism in these structures by calculating their inverse thermal diffusivity. By comparing the estimated thermal boundary conductance (TBC) of beta-(Al0.1Ga0.9)2O3/Ga2O3 interfaces and Ga2O3 maximum TBC, we reveal that some phonons in the superlattices transmit through several interfaces before scattering with other phonons or structural imperfections. This study is not only important for Ga2O3 electronics applications especially for high power and high frequency applications, but also for the fundamental thermal science of phonon transport across interfaces and in superlattices.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2013

Measurement of Inclusive Production of Light Charged Hadrons at BaBar

Inclusive hadron production cross sections in e+e-collisions shed light on the fundamental fragmentation and hadronization processes. We present measurements of the inclusive spectra of charged pions, kaons and protons in hadronic events at a center-of-mass energy of 10.54 \gev. These results are compared with theoretical predictions and the predictions of three hadronization models. Along with previous measurements at higher energies, they are also used to study the scaling properties of hadron production.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2011

ISR Hadron Production in e+e- Annihilations and Meson-Photon Transition Form Factors

We present several recent results from the BaBar collaboration in the areas of initial state radiation physics and transition form factors. An updated study of the processes e+e- -> K+K-pi+pi- and e+e- -> K+K-pi0pi0 provides an improved understanding of the Y(2175) meson. A very precise study of the process e+e- -> pi+pi- improves the precision on the calculated anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and provides by far the best information on excited rho states. Our previous measurements of the timelike transition form factors (TFF) of the eta and eta' mesons at Q^2=112 GeV^2, combined with new measurements of the their spacelike TFFs and those of the pi0 and eta_c mesons, provide powerful tests of QCD and models of the distribution amplitudes of quarks inside these mesons. The eta_c TFF shows the expected behavior over the Q^2 range 1-50 GeV^2, and we are sensitive to next-to-leading-order QCD corrections. The eta and eta' TFFs are consistent with expected behavior, but those for the pi0 are not. Extracting the strange and nonstrange components of the eta and eta' TFFs, we find the nonstrange component to be consistent with theoretical expectations and inconsistent with the measured pi0 TFF.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2005

Hadron Physics at BABAR

The BaBar experiment at SLAC is designed to measure CP violation in the B meson system, however the very high statistics combined with the different electron and positron beam energies, the detector design and the open trigger allow a wide variety of spectroscopic measurements. We are beginning to tap this potential via several production mechanisms. Here we present recent results from initial state radiation, hadronic jets, few body B and D hadron decays, and interactions in the detector material. We also summarize measurements relevant to Ds meson spectroscopy, pentaquarks and charmonium spectroscopy from multiple production mechanisms.

hep-ex↗

arXiv1996

A separate SU(2) for the third family: Topflavor

We consider an extended gauge group for the electroweak interaction: SU(2)_1 \times SU(2)_2 \times U(1)_Y where the first and second generations of fermions couple to SU(2)_1 while the third generation couples to SU(2)_2. Bounds based on precision observables and heavy gauge boson searchesare placed on the new parameters of the theory, and the potential of the theory to explain R_b and R_c is explored. We investigate processes that could produce observable signals at the LHC and NLC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Topflavor: A Separate SU(2) for the Third Family

We consider an extended electroweak gauge group: SU(2)$_1 \times$ SU(2)$_2 \times$ U(1)$_Y$ where the first and second generation of fermions couple to SU(2)$_1$ and the third generation couples to SU(2)$_2$. Bounds based on heavy gauge boson searches and current precision electroweak measurements are placed on the masses of the new heavy gauge bosons. In particular we find that the mass of the heavy W boson can not be less than 800 GeV. For some range of the allowed parameter space, these heavy gauge bosons produce observable signals at the Tevatron and LEP-II.

hep-ph↗