arXiv subjects

Hugh O. H. Churchill

Publications and source records attributed to Hugh O. H. Churchill.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Voltage-tunable Josephson Junctions on Germanium Quantum Wells with in-situ Aluminum Contacts

Voltage-tunable Josephson junctions (VT-JJs) are an emerging element in superconducting quantum electronics with potential to expand the functionality of conventional designs. While VT-JJs are largely compatible with wafer-scale semiconductor processing, their integration into quantum circuits remains a challenge due to unmitigated semiconductor microwave loss. Here, a deep mesa etch process, wherein the epitaxial material is removed except the VT-JJ device, will facilitate the integration of VT-JJs with low-microwave-loss circuit elements by allowing these circuit elements to be placed directly on a low-loss substrate. A Germanium quantum well is grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) on a float zone silicon substrate with in-situ deposited aluminum contacts. This combination allows the formation of an oxide-free superconductor-semiconductor interface. The deep mesa etch process is optimized to produce a sidewall taper sufficient for continuous metal deposition from the substrate to the top of the mesa for electrostatic gate electrodes and interconnects. The fabricated Josephson junctions demonstrate gate-tunable supercurrents with a maximum critical current over 100 nA and critical-current normal-resistance product of $8.63~μV$. These results demonstrate a pathway toward improved integration of voltage-tunable superconducting circuit elements with quantum electronic building blocks such as couplers and qubits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Fabry-Perot Interference, g-factor Anisotropy, and Gate-Tunable Quantum dot in Chiral Tellurium Nanowires

Chiral materials with strong spin-orbit coupling offer a unique platform for exploring the interplay between topology, chirality, and quantum transport yet the quantum coherent regime in elemental tellurium nanostructures remains largely unexplored. Here we demonstrate phase-coherent quasi-ballistic transport, anisotropic Zeeman spectroscopy, and gate-tunable quantum dot formation in hydrothermally grown t-tellurium nanowires. Single nanowire field-effect transistors exhibit p-type transport with hole mobilities rising from approx. 80 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 210 K to approx. 190 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 1 K, consistent with a crossover from phonon-limited to Coulomb scattering dominated regimes near 50 K. Notably, devices segregate into two distinct regimes based on their room temperature two-terminal resistance : low-resistance devices (< 30 kOhm) exhibit Fabry-Perot interference, whereas high resistance devices (> 30 kOhm) display Coulomb-blockade behavior revealing a two-terminal resistance-driven transition between quasi-ballistic and strongly localized transport regimes. Zeeman spectroscopy in in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields yields highly anisotropic Lande g-factors (an in-plane gparallel = 1.18 and an out-of-plane gperp = 18.41) and directly resolves a spin-orbit energy gap DeltaSO = 0.864 meV from an avoided crossing. These results establish chiral tellurium nanowires as a versatile platform for gate-defined spin qubits exploiting large, tunable g-factors and for hybrid tellurium-superconductor architectures targeting Majorana zero modes in an elemental vdW system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Evolution of Magnetoresistance in the magnetic topological semimetals NdSbxTe2-x

Magnetic topological semimetals LnSbTe (Ln = lanthanide elements) provide a platform to study the interplay of structure, magnetism, topology, and electron correlations. Varying Sb and Te compositions in LnSbxTe2-x can effectively control the electronic, magnetic, and transport properties. Here, we report the evolution of transport properties with Sb and Te contents in NdSbxTe2-x, (0 < x < 1). Our work reveals nonmonotonic evolution in magnetoresistance with varying composition stoichiometry. Specifically, reducing Sb content x leads to strong negative magnetoresistance up to 99.9%. Such a strong magnetoresistance, which is likely attributed to the interplay between structure, magnetism, and electronic bands, establishes this material as a promising platform for investigating topological semimetal for future device applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Classical to Quantum Diffusive Transport in Atomically Thin Semiconductors Capped with High-k Dielectric

The dielectric environment surrounding semiconductors plays a crucial role in determining device performance, a role that becomes especially pronounced in atomically thin semiconductors where charge carriers are confined within a few atomic layers and strongly interact with their surroundings. High-k dielectrics, such as hafnium oxide (HfO2), have been shown to enhance the performance of two-dimensional (2D) materials by suppressing scattering from charged impurities and phonons, but most studies to date have focused on room-temperature transistor operation. Their influence on quantum transport properties at low temperatures remains largely unexplored. In this work, we investigate how capping monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with HfO2 modifies its electronic behavior in the quantum regime. By comparing devices with and without HfO2 capping, we find that uncapped devices exhibit transport dominated by classical diffusive scattering, whereas capped devices show clear Fabry-Perot interference patterns, providing direct evidence of phase-coherent quantum transport enabled by dielectric screening. To gain further insight, we develop a tight-binding interferometer model that captures the effect of dielectric screening on conductive modes and reproduces the experimental trends. Our findings demonstrate that dielectric engineering provides a powerful route to control transport regimes in TMD devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Quantum oscillation studies of the nodal line semimetal Ni3In2S2-xSex

Ternary shandite compounds with the general formula T3M2X2 (T = Ni, Co, Rh or Pd; M = Sn, In or Pb and X = S or Se) have emerged as a large pool of topological semimetals. This family of compounds hosts different topological phases for various combinations of T, M and X. This paper reports the observation of quantum oscillations under the high magnetic fields in Ni3In2S2-xSex single crystals. Angular dependence of oscillation frequency suggests an evolution of the Fermi surface from three-dimensional to two-dimensional on Se substitution for S in Ni3In2S2. The effective mass obtained for each composition by fitting the oscillation amplitude with the Lifshitz-Kosevich formula, shows no significant change, suggesting that the topological phase might be relatively robust against enhanced SOC upon Se doping in Ni3In2S2.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Single Electron Quantum Dot in Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Spin-valley properties in two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) has attracted significant interest due to the possible applications in quantum computing. Spin-valley properties can be exploited in TMDC quantum dot (QD) with well-resolved energy levels. This requires smaller QDs, especially in material systems with heavy carrier effective mass e.g. TMDCs and silicon. Device architectures employed for TMDC QDs so far have difficulty achieving smaller QDs. Therefore, an alternative approach in the device architecture is needed. Here, we propose a multilayer device architecture to achieve a gate-defined QD in TMDC with a relatively large energy splitting on the QD. We provide a range of device dimensions and dielectric thicknesses and its correlation with the QD energy splitting. The device architecture is modeled realistically. Moreover, we show that all the device parameters used in modeling are experimentally achievable. These studies lay the foundation for future work toward spin-valley qubits in TMDCs. The successful implementation of these device architectures will drive the technological development of 2D materials-based quantum technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Coupling Between Magnetic and Transport Properties in Magnetic Layered Material Mn2-xZnxSb

We synthesized single crystals for Mn2-xZnxSb and studied their magnetic and electronic transport properties. This material system displays rich magnetic phase tunable with temperature and Zn composition. In addition, two groups of distinct magnetic and electronic properties, separated by a critical Zn composition of x = 0.6, are discovered. The Zn-less samples are metallic and characterized by a resistivity jump at the magnetic ordering temperature, while the Zn-rich samples lose metallicity and show a metal-to-insulator transition-like feature tunable by magnetic field. Our findings establish Mn2-xZnxSb as a promising material platform that offers opportunities to study how the coupling of spin, charge, and lattice degrees of freedom governs interesting transport properties in 2D magnets, which is currently a topic of broad interest.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Giant topological Hall effect in centrosymmetric tetragonal Mn2-xZnxSb

Topological magnetism typically appears in noncentrosymmetric compounds or compounds with geometric frustration. Here we report the effective tuning of magnetism in centrosymmetric tetragonal Mn2-xZnxSb by Zn substitution. The magnetism is found to be closely coupled to the transport properties, giving rise to to a very large topological hall effect is possibly associated with topological magnetism. Our finding suggests Mn2-xZnxSb is a candidate material for the centrosymmetric tetragonal topological magnetic system, offers opportunities for studying and tuning spin textures and developing near room temperature spin-based devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Evidence for a magnetic-field induced ideal type-II Weyl state in antiferromagnetic topological insulator Mn(Bi1-xSbx)2Te4

The discovery of Weyl semimetals (WSMs) has fueled tremendous interest in condensed matter physics. WSMs require breaking of either inversion symmetry (IS) or time-reversal symmetry (TRS); they can be categorized into type-I and type-II WSMs, characterized by un-tilted and strongly tilted Weyl cones respectively. Type-I WSMs with breaking of IS or TRS and type-II WSMs with IS breaking have been realized experimentally, but TRS-breaking type-II WSM still remains elusive. In this article, we report an ideal TRS-breaking type-II WSM with only one pair of Weyl nodes observed in the antiferromagnetic topological insulator Mn(Bi1-xSbx)2Te4 under magnetic fields. This state is manifested by a large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect, a non-trivial $\mathrm{π}$ Berry phase of the cyclotron orbit and a large positive magnetoresistance in the ferromagnetic phase at an optimal sample composition. Our results establish a promising platform for exploring the physics underlying the long-sought, ideal TRS breaking type-II WSM.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Modulation Doping via a 2d Atomic Crystalline Acceptor

Two-dimensional (2d) nano-electronics, plasmonics, and emergent phases require clean and local charge control, calling for layered, crystalline acceptors or donors. Our Raman, photovoltage, and electrical conductance measurements combined with \textit{ab initio} calculations establish the large work function and narrow bands of $α$-RuCl$_3$ enable modulation doping of exfoliated, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) materials. Short-ranged lateral doping (${\leq}65\ \text{nm}$) and high homogeneity are achieved in proximate materials with a single layer of \arucl. This leads to the highest monolayer graphene (mlg) mobilities ($4,900\ \text{cm}^2/ \text{Vs}$) at these high hole densities ($3\times10^{13}\ \text{cm}^{-2}$); and yields larger charge transfer to bilayer graphene (blg) ($6\times10^{13}\ \text{cm}^{-2}$). We further demonstrate proof of principle optical sensing, control via twist angle, and charge transfer through hexagonal boron nitride (hBN).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Growth and Strain Engineering of Trigonal Te for Topological Quantum Phases in Non-Symmorphic Chiral Crystals

Strained trigonal Te has been predicted to host Weyl nodes supported by a non-symmorphic chiral symmetry. Using low-pressure physical vapor deposition, we systematically explored the growth of trigonal Te nanowires with naturally occurring strain caused by curvature of the wires. Raman spectra and high mobility electronic transport attest to the highly crystalline nature of the wires. Comparison of Raman spectra for both straight and curved nanowires indicates a breathing mode that is significantly broader and shifted in frequency for the curved wires. Strain induced by curvature during growth therefore may provide a simple pathway to investigate topological phases in trigonal Te.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Exfoliation energy, quasi-particle bandstructure, and excitonic properties of selenium and tellurium atomic chains

Effects that are not captured by the generalized-gradient density-functional theory play a prominent effect on the structural binding, and on the electronic and optical properties of reduced-dimensional and weakly-bound materials. Here, we report the exfoliation energy of selenium and tellurium atomic chains with non-empirical van der Waals corrections, and their electronic and optical properties with the GW and Bethe-Salpeter formalisms. The exfoliation energy is found to be within 0.547 to 0.719 eV/u.c. for the selenium atomic chain, and 0.737 to 0.926 eV/u.c. for the tellurium atomic chain (u.c. stands for unit cell), depending on the approximation for the van der Waals interaction and the numerical tool chosen. The GW electronic bandgap turned out to be 5.22--5.47 (4.44--4.59) eV for the Se (Te) atomic chains, with the lowest bound obtained with the Godby-Needs (GB), and the upper bound to the Hybertsen-Louie (HL) plasmon-pole models (PPMs). The binding energy of the ground-state excitonic state ranges between 2.69 to 2.72 eV for selenium chains within the HL and GB PPM, respectively, and turned out to be 2.35 eV for tellurium chains with both approximations. The ground state excitonic wave function is localized within 50 Å along the axis for both types of atomic chains, and its energy lies within the visible spectrum: blue [2.50(GN)--2.78(HL) eV] for selenium, and yellow--green [2.09(GN)--2.28(HL) eV] for tellurium, which could be useful for LED applications in the visible spectrum.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Two-dimensional disorder in black phosphorus and monochalcogenide monolayers

Ridged, orthorhombic two-dimensional atomic crystals with a bulk {\em Pnma} structure such as black phosphorus and monochalcogenide monolayers are an exciting and novel material platform for a host of applications. Key to their crystallinity, monolayers of these materials have a four-fold degenerate structural ground state, and a single energy scale $E_C$ (representing the elastic energy required to switch the longer lattice vector along the $x-$ or $y-$direction) determines how disordered these monolayers are at finite temperature. Disorder arises when nearest neighboring atoms become gently reassigned as the system is thermally excited beyond a critical temperature $T_c$ that is proportional to $E_C/k_B$. $E_C$ is tunable by chemical composition and it leads to a classification of these materials into two categories: (i) Those for which $E_C\ge k_BT_m$, and (ii) those having $k_BT_m>E_C\ge 0$, where $T_m$ is a given material's melting temperature. Black phosphorus and SiS monolayers belong to category (i): these materials do not display an intermediate order-disorder transition and melt directly. All other monochalcogenide monolayers with $E_C>0$ belonging to class (ii) will undergo a two-dimensional transition prior to melting. $E_C/k_B$ is slightly larger than room temperature for GeS and GeSe, and smaller than 300 K for SnS and SnSe monolayers, so that these materials transition near room temperature. The onset of this generic atomistic phenomena is captured by a planar Potts model up to the order-disorder transition. The order-disorder phase transition in two dimensions described here is at the origin of the {\em Cmcm} phase being discussed within the context of bulk layered SnSe.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Optoelectronics with electrically tunable PN diodes in a monolayer dichalcogenide

One of the most fundamental devices for electronics and optoelectronics is the PN junction, which provides the functional element of diodes, bipolar transistors, photodetectors, LEDs, and solar cells, among many other devices. In conventional PN junctions, the adjacent p- and n-type regions of a semiconductor are formed by chemical doping. Materials with ambipolar conductance, however, allow for PN junctions to be configured and modified by electrostatic gating. This electrical control enables a single device to have multiple functionalities. Here we report ambipolar monolayer WSe2 devices in which two local gates are used to define a PN junction exclusively within the sheet of WSe2. With these electrically tunable PN junctions, we demonstrate both PN and NP diodes with ideality factors better than 2. Under excitation with light, the diodes show photodetection responsivity of 210 mA/W and photovoltaic power generation with a peak external quantum efficiency of 0.2%, promising numbers for a nearly transparent monolayer sheet in a lateral device geometry. Finally, we demonstrate a light-emitting diode based on monolayer WSe2. These devices provide a fundamental building block for ubiquitous, ultra-thin, flexible, and nearly transparent optoelectronic and electronic applications based on ambipolar dichalcogenide materials.

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