arXiv subjects

Herre S. J. van der Zant

Publications and source records attributed to Herre S. J. van der Zant.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Nonlinear dynamics and magneto-elasticity of nanodrums near the phase transition

Nanomechanical resonances of two-dimensional (2D) materials are sensitive probes for condensed-matter physics, offering new insights into magnetic and electronic phase transitions. Despite extensive research, the influence of the spin dynamics near a second-order phase transition on the nonlinear dynamics of 2D membranes has remained largely unexplored. Here, we investigate nonlinear magneto-mechanical coupling to antiferromagnetic order in suspended FePS$_3$-based heterostructure membranes. By monitoring the motion of these membranes as a function of temperature, we observe characteristic features in both nonlinear stiffness and damping close to the Néel temperature $T_{\rm{N}}$. We account for these experimental observations with an analytical magnetostriction model in which these nonlinearities emerge from a coupling between mechanical and magnetic oscillations, demonstrating that magneto-elasticity can lead to nonlinear damping. Our findings thus provide insights into the thermodynamics and magneto-mechanical energy dissipation mechanisms in nanomechanical resonators due to the material's phase change and magnetic order relaxation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Quantum-assisted electron transport in microbial protein wires across macroscopic distances

Multicellular cable bacteria display an exceptional form of biological conduction, channeling electrical currents across centimeter distances through a regular network of protein fibers embedded in the cell envelope. The fiber conductivity is among the highest recorded for biomaterials, providing a promising outlook for new bio-electronic technologies, but the underlying mechanism of electron transport remains elusive. Here, we use detailed electrical characterization down to cryogenic temperatures, which reveals that long-range conduction in these bacterial protein wires is based on a unique type of quantum-assisted multistep hopping. The conductance near room temperature reveals thermally activated behavior, yet with a low activation energy, suggesting that substantial delocalization across charge carrier sites contributes to high conductivity. At cryogenic temperatures, the conductance becomes virtually independent of temperature, thus indicating that quantum vibrations couple to the charge transport. Our results demonstrate that quantum effects can manifest themselves in biological systems over macroscopic length scales.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2023

Nitrogen-vacancy magnetometry of CrSBr by diamond membrane transfer

Magnetic imaging using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) spins in diamonds is a powerful technique for acquiring quantitative information about sub-micron scale magnetic order. A major challenge for its application in the research on two-dimensional (2D) magnets is the positioning of the NV centers at a well-defined, nanoscale distance to the target material required for detecting the small magnetic fields generated by magnetic monolayers. Here, we develop a diamond 'dry-transfer' technique, akin to the state-of-the-art 2D-materials assembly methods, and use it to place a diamond micro-membrane in direct contact with the 2D interlayer antiferromagnet CrSBr. We harness the resulting NV-sample proximity to spatially resolve the magnetic stray fields generated by the CrSBr, present only where the CrSBr thickness changes by an odd number of layers. From the magnetic stray field of a single uncompensated ferromagnetic layer in the CrSBr, we extract a monolayer magnetization of $M_\mathrm{CSB}$ = 0.46(2) T, without the need for exfoliation of monolayer crystals or applying large external magnetic fields. The ability to deterministically place NV-ensemble sensors into contact with target materials and detect ferromagnetic monolayer magnetizations paves the way for quantitative analysis of a wide range of 2D magnets assembled on arbitrary target substrates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

MoRe Electrodes with 10-nm Nanogaps for Electrical Contact to Atomically Precise Graphene Nanoribbons

Atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are predicted to exhibit exceptional edge-related properties, such as localized edge states, spin polarization, and half-metallicity. However, the absence of low-resistance nano-scale electrical contacts to the GNRs hinders harnessing their properties in field-effect transistors. In this paper, we make electrical contact with 9-atom-wide armchair GNRs using superconducting alloy MoRe as well as Pd (as a reference), which are two of the metals providing low-resistance contacts to carbon nanotubes. We take a step towards contacting a single GNR by fabrication of electrodes with a needle-like geometry, with about 20 nm tip diameter and 10 nm separation. To preserve the nano-scale geometry of the contacts, we develop a PMMA-assisted technique to transfer the GNRs onto the pre-patterned electrodes. Our device characterizations as a function of bias-voltage and temperature, show a thermally-activated gate-tunable conductance in the GNR-MoRe-based transistors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Magnetic order in 2D antiferromagnets revealed by spontaneous anisotropic magnetostriction

The temperature dependent order parameter provides important information on the nature of magnetism. Using traditional methods to study this parameter in two-dimensional (2D) magnets remains difficult, however, particularly for insulating antiferromagnetic (AF) compounds. Here, we show that its temperature dependence in AF MPS$_{3}$ (M(II) = Fe, Co, Ni) can be probed via the anisotropy in the resonance frequency of rectangular membranes, mediated by a combination of anisotropic magnetostriction and spontaneous staggered magnetization. Density functional calculations followed by a derived orbital-resolved magnetic exchange analysis confirm and unravel the microscopic origin of this magnetization inducing anistropic strain. We further show that the temperature and thickness dependent order parameter allows to deduce the material's critical exponents characterising magnetic order. Nanomechanical sensing of magnetic order thus provides a future platform to investigate 2D magnetism down to the single-layer limit.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Specular electron focusing between gate-defined quantum point contacts in bilayer graphene

We report on multiterminal measurements in a ballistic bilayer graphene (BLG) channel where multiple spin and valley-degenerate quantum point contacts (QPCs) are defined by electrostatic gating. By patterning QPCs of different shapes and along different crystallographic directions, we study the effect of size quantization and trigonal warping on the transverse electron focusing (TEF) spectra. Our TEF spectra show eight clear peaks with comparable amplitude and weak signatures of quantum interference at the lowest temperature, indicating that reflections at the gate-defined edges are specular and transport is phase coherent. The temperature dependence of the scattering rate indicates that electron-electron interactions play a dominant role in the charge relaxation process for electron doping and temperatures below 100 K. The achievement of specular reflection, which is expected to preserve the pseudospin information of the electron jets, is promising for the realization of ballistic interconnects for new valleytronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Platinum contacts for 9-atom-wide armchair graphene nanoribbons

Creating a good contact between electrodes and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) has been a longstanding challenge in searching for the next GNR-based nanoelectronics. This quest requires the controlled fabrication of sub-20 nm metallic gaps, a clean GNR transfer minimizing damage and organic contamination during the device fabrication, as well as work function matching to minimize the contact resistance. Here, we transfer 9-atom-wide armchair-edged GNRs (9-AGNRs) grown on Au(111)/mica substrates to pre-patterned platinum electrodes, yielding polymer-free 9-AGNR field-effect transistor devices. Our devices have a resistance in the range of $10^6$ to $10^8$ $Ω$ in the low-bias regime, which is 2 to 4 orders of magnitude lower than previous reports. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function method (NEGF) explain the observed p-type electrical characteristics and further demonstrate that platinum gives strong coupling and higher transmission in comparison to other materials such as graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Nanomechanical resonators fabricated by atomic layer deposition on suspended 2D materials

Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a layer-by-layer controlled method to synthesize ultrathin materials, provides various merits over other techniques such as precise thickness control, large area scalability and excellent conformality. Here we demonstrate the possibility of using ALD growth on top of suspended 2D materials to fabricate nanomechanical resonators. We fabricate ALD nanomechanical resonators consisting of a graphene/MoS$_2$ heterostructure. Using AFM indentation and optothermal drive, we measure their mechanical properties including Young's modulus, resonance frequency and quality factor, showing similar values as their exfoliated and chemical vapor deposited counterparts. We also demonstrate the fabrication of nanomechanical resonators by exfoliating an ALD grown NbS$_2$ layer. This study exemplifies the potential of ALD techniques to produce high-quality suspended nanomechanical membranes, providing a promising route towards high-volume fabrication of future multilayer nanodevices and nanoelectromechanical systems.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Ultra-sensitive graphene membranes for microphone applications

Microphones exploit the motion of suspended membranes to detect sound waves. Since the microphone performance can be improved by reducing the thickness and mass of its sensing membrane, graphene-based microphones are expected to outperform state-of-the-art microelectromechanical (MEMS) microphones and allow further miniaturization of the device. Here, we present a laser vibrometry study of the acoustic response of suspended multilayer graphene membranes for microphone applications. We address performance parameters relevant for acoustic sensing, including mechanical sensitivity, limit of detection and nonlinear distortion, and discuss the trade-offs and limitations in the design of graphene microphones. We demonstrate superior mechanical sensitivities of the graphene membranes, reaching more than 2 orders of magnitude higher compliances than commercial MEMS devices, and report a limit of detection as low as 15 dBSPL, which is 10 - 15 dB lower than that featured by current MEMS microphones.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Controlling magnetism with light in a zero orbital angular momentum antiferromagnet

Antiferromagnetic materials feature intrinsic ultrafast spin dynamics, making them ideal candidates for future magnonic devices operating at THz frequencies. A major focus of current research is the investigation of optical methods for the efficient generation of coherent magnons in antiferromagnetic insulators. In magnetic lattices endowed with orbital angular momentum, spin-orbit coupling enables spin dynamics through the resonant excitation of low-energy electric dipoles such as phonons and orbital resonances which interact with spins. However, in magnetic systems with zero orbital angular momentum, microscopic pathways for the resonant and low-energy optical excitation of coherent spin dynamics are lacking. Here, we consider experimentally the relative merits of electronic and vibrational excitations for the optical control of zero orbital angular momentum magnets, focusing on a limit case: the antiferromagnet manganese thiophoshate (MnPS3), constituted by orbital singlet Mn2+ ions. We study the correlation of spins with two types of excitations within its band gap: a bound electron orbital excitation from the singlet orbital ground state of Mn2+ into an orbital triplet state, which causes coherent spin precession, and a vibrational excitation of the crystal field that causes thermal spin disorder. Our findings cast orbital transitions as key targets for magnetic control in insulators constituted by magnetic centers of zero orbital angular momentum.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Magnetic Field Universality of the Kondo Effect Revealed by Thermocurrent Spectroscopy

Probing the universal low temperature magnetic field scaling of Kondo-correlated quantum dots via electrical conductance has proved to be experimentally challenging. Here, we show how to probe this in nonlinear thermocurrent spectroscopy applied to a molecular quantum dot in the Kondo regime. Our results demonstrate that the bias-dependent thermocurrent is a sensitive probe of universal Kondo physics, directly measures the splitting of the Kondo resonance in a magnetic field, and opens up possibilities for investigating nanosystems far from thermal and electrical equilibrium.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Nanomechanical probing and strain tuning of the Curie temperature in suspended Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ heterostructures

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials with strong magnetostriction are interesting systems for strain-tuning the magnetization, enabling potential for realizing spintronic and nanomagnetic devices. Realizing this potential requires understanding of the magneto-mechanical coupling in the 2D limit. In this work, we suspend thin Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ layers, creating nanomechanical membrane resonators. We probe its mechanical and magnetic properties as a function of temperature and strain. Pronounced signatures of magneto-elastic coupling are observed in the temperature-dependent resonance frequency of these membranes near $T_{\rm C}$. We further utilize Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ in heterostructures with thin layers of WSe$_2$ and FePS$_3$, which have positive thermal expansion coefficients, to compensate the negative thermal expansion coefficient of Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$ and quantitatively probe the corresponding $T_{\rm C}$. Finally, we induce a strain of $0.016\%$ in a suspended heterostructure via electrostatic force and demonstrate a resulting enhancement of $T_{\rm C}$ by $2.5 \pm 0.6$ K in the absence of an external magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Self-sealing complex oxide resonators

Although 2D materials hold great potential for next-generation pressure sensors, recent studies revealed that gases permeate along the membrane-surface interface that is only weakly bound by van der Waals interactions, necessitating additional sealing procedures. In this work, we demonstrate the use of free-standing complex oxides as self-sealing membranes that allow the reference cavity of pressure sensors to be sealed by a simple anneal. To test the hermeticity, we study the gas permeation time constants in nano-mechanical resonators made from SrRuO3 and SrTiO3 membranes suspended over SiO2/Si cavities which show an improvement up to 4 orders of magnitude in the permeation time constant after annealing the devices for 15 minutes. Similar devices fabricated on Si3N4/Si do not show such improvements, suggesting that the adhesion increase over SiO2 is mediated by oxygen bonds that are formed at the SiO2/complex oxide interface during the self-sealing anneal. We confirm the enhancement of adhesion by picosecond ultrasonics measurements which show an increase in the interfacial stiffness by 70% after annealing. Since it is straigthforward to apply, the presented self-sealing method is thus a promising route toward realizing ultrathin hermetic pressure sensors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Chemical design and magnetic ordering in thin layers of 2D MOFs

Through rational chemical design, and thanks to the hybrid nature of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), it is possible to prepare molecule-based 2D magnetic materials stable at ambient conditions. Here, we illustrate the versatility of this approach by changing both the metallic nodes and the ligands in a family of layered MOFs that allows the tuning of their magnetic properties. Specifically, the reaction of benzimidazole-type ligands with different metal centres (MII = Fe, Co, Mn, Zn) in a solvent-free synthesis produces a family of crystalline materials, denoted as MUV-1(M), which order antiferromagnetically with critical temperatures that depend on M. Furthermore, the incorporation of additional substituents in the ligand results in a novel system, denoted as MUV-8, formed by covalently bound magnetic double-layers interconnected by van der Waals interactions, a topology that is very rare in the field of 2D materials and unprecedented for 2D magnets. These layered materials are robust enough to be mechanically exfoliated down to a few layers with large lateral dimensions. Finally, the robustness and crystallinity of these layered MOFs allow the fabrication of nanomechanical resonators that can be used to detect -- through laser interferometry -- the magnetic order in thin layers of these 2D molecule-based antiferromagnets.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Tunable strong coupling of mechanical resonance between spatially separated FePS$_3$ nanodrums

Coupled nanomechanical resonators made of two-dimensional materials are promising for processing information with mechanical modes. However, the challenge for these types of systems is to control the coupling. Here, we demonstrate strong coupling of motion between two suspended membranes of the magnetic 2D material FePS$_3$. We describe a tunable electromechanical mechanism for control over both the resonance frequency and the coupling strength using a gate voltage electrode under each membrane. We show that the coupling can be utilized for transferring data from one drum to the other by amplitude modulation. Finally, we also study the temperature dependence of the coupling, and in particular how it is affected by the antiferromagnetic phase transition characteristic of this material. The presented electrical coupling of resonant magnetic 2D membranes holds promise of transferring mechanical energy over a distance at low electrical power, thus enabling novel data readout and information processing technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Squeeze-film effect on atomically thin resonators in the high-pressure limit

The resonance frequency of membranes depends on the gas pressure due to the squeeze-film effect, induced by the compression of a thin gas film that is trapped underneath the resonator by the high frequency motion. This effect is particularly large in low-mass graphene membranes, which makes them promising candidates for pressure sensing applications. Here, we study the squeeze-film effect in single layer graphene resonators and find that their resonance frequency is lower than expected from models assuming ideal compression. To understand this deviation, we perform Boltzmann and continuum finite-element simulations, and propose an improved model that includes the effects of gas leakage and can account for the observed pressure dependence of the resonance frequency. Thus, this work provides further understanding of the squeeze-film effect and provides further directions into optimizing the design of squeeze-film pressure sensors from 2D materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Large tunability of strain in WO3 single-crystal microresonators controlled by exposure to H2 gas

Strain engineering is one of the most effective approaches to manipulate the physical state of materials, control their electronic properties, and enable crucial functionalities. Because of their rich phase diagrams arising from competing ground states, quantum materials are an ideal playground for on-demand material control, and can be used to develop emergent technologies, such as adaptive electronics or neuromorphic computing. It was recently suggested that complex oxides could bring unprecedented functionalities to the field of nanomechanics, but the possibility of precisely controlling the stress state of materials is so far lacking. Here we demonstrate the wide and reversible manipulation of the stress state of single-crystal WO3 by strain engineering controlled by catalytic hydrogenation. Progressive incorporation of hydrogen in freestanding ultra-thin structures determines large variations of their mechanical resonance frequencies and induces static deformation. Our results demonstrate hydrogen doping as a new paradigm to reversibly manipulate the mechanical properties of nanodevices based on materials control.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Dynamics of 2D Material Membranes

The dynamics of suspended two-dimensional (2D) materials has received increasing attention during the last decade, yielding new techniques to study and interpret the physics that governs the motion of atomically thin layers. This has led to insights into the role of thermodynamic and nonlinear effects as well as the mechanisms that govern dissipation and stiffness in these resonators. In this review, we present the current state-of-the-art in the experimental study of the dynamics of 2D membranes. The focus will be both on the experimental measurement techniques and on the interpretation of the physical phenomena exhibited by atomically thin membranes in the linear and nonlinear regimes. We will show that resonant 2D membranes have emerged both as sensitive probes of condensed matter physics in ultrathin layers, and as sensitive elements to monitor small external forces or other changes in the environment. New directions for utilizing suspended 2D membranes for material characterization, thermal transport, and gas interactions will be discussed and we conclude by outlining the challenges and opportunities in this upcoming field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗