arXiv subjects

J. L. McChesney

Publications and source records attributed to J. L. McChesney.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-resolution calorimetric sample platforms for cryogenic thermodynamic studies with multimodal synchrotron x-ray compatibility

X-ray calorimetric sample platforms combining specific heat and synchrotron x-ray measurements provide a powerful means to investigate fundamental material properties. Calorimeter cell designs featuring a compact heater and thermometer arranged in a sidecar geometry, with the sample positioned directly above the heater at the center of a silicon nitride membrane, are presented. High-yield, wafer-level batch fabrication of precision calorimetric sensor chips, beamline and laboratory cryostat plugins with sensor mounting and packaging are described. Using our calorimetric sensors, we present specific heat measurements on samples with masses ranging from 4 μg to 145 μg. The sample and reference cells are characterized with relaxation and ac steady-state measurements. The thermal response is captured using lock-in detection at carefully optimized measurement frequencies, with phase-lag correction ensuring precise extraction of heat capacity. The reference cell's background heat capacity was measured to be under 320 nJ/K at 300 K, decreasing to just 0.4 nJ/K at 0.7 K. The calorimeter performance is illustrated by studying the specific heat of small samples of superconducting Nb and a 4 μg piece of superconducting Al under different magnetic field strengths. The determination of fundamental thermodynamic quantities from low-temperature electronic and lattice specific heat measurements is discussed. These versatile, high-throughput sample platforms are engineered for small-sample calorimetry across a broad cryogenic temperature range, and they support scalable integration with a wide range of cryostats, including beamline cryostats at the Advanced Photon Source. They accommodate multimodal geometries and enable operation under ultra-high vacuum, millikelvin temperatures, magnetic fields, and x-ray illumination.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Resonant soft x-ray scattering from stripe-ordered La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$ detected by a transition edge sensor array detector

Resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS) is a leading probe of valence band order in materials best known for detecting charge density wave order in the copper-oxide superconductors. One of the biggest limitations on the RSXS technique is the presence of a severe fluorescence background which, like the RSXS cross section itself, is enhanced under resonant conditions. This background prevents the study of weak signals such as diffuse scattering from glassy or fluctuating order that is spread widely over momentum space. Recent advances in superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) detectors have led to major improvements in energy resolution and detection efficiency in the soft x-ray range. Here, we perform a RSXS study of stripe-ordered La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$ at the Cu $L_{3/2}$ edge (932.2 eV) using a TES detector with 1.5 eV resolution, to evaluate its utility for mitigating the fluorescence background problem. We find that, for suitable degree of detuning from the resonance, the TES rejects the fluorescence background, leading to a 5 to 10 times improvement in the statistical quality of the data compared to an equivalent, energy-integrated measurement. We conclude that a TES presents a promising approach to reducing background in RSXS studies and may lead to new discoveries in materials exhibiting valence band order that is fluctuating or glassy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Strictly One-Dimensional Electron System in Au Chains on Ge(001) Revealed By Photoelectron K-Space Mapping

Atomic nanowires formed by Au on Ge(001) are scrutinized for the band topology of the conduction electron system by k-resolved photoemission. Two metallic electron pockets are observed. Their Fermi surface sheets form straight lines without undulations perpendicular to the chains within experimental uncertainty. The electrons hence emerge as strictly confined to one dimension. Moreover, the system is stable against a Peierls distortion down to 10 K, lending itself for studies of the spectral function. Indications for unusually low spectral weight at the chemical potential are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Loss of nodal quasiparticle integrity in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x

Arguably the most intriguing aspect of the physics of cuprates is the close proximity between the record high-Tc superconductivity (HTSC) and the antiferromagnetic charge-transfer insulating state driven by Mott-like electron correlations. These are responsible for the intimate connection between high and low-energy scale physics, and their key role in the mechanism of HTSC was conjectured very early on. More recently, the detection of quantum oscillations in high-magnetic field experiments on YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO) has suggested the existence of a Fermi surface of well-defined quasiparticles in underdoped cuprates, lending support to the alternative proposal that HTSC might emerge from a Fermi liquid across the whole cuprate phase diagram. Discriminating between these orthogonal scenarios hinges on the quantitative determination of the elusive quasiparticle weight Z, over a wide range of hole-doping p. By means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on in situ doped YBCO, and following the evolution of bilayer band-splitting, we show that the overdoped metal electronic structure (0.25<p<0.37) is in remarkable agreement with density functional theory and the Z=2p/(p+1) mean-field prediction. Below p~0.10-0.15, we observe the vanishing of the nodal quasiparticle weight Z_N; this marks a clear departure from Fermi liquid behaviour and -- consistent with dynamical mean-field theory -- is even a more rapid crossover to the Mott physics than expected for the doped resonating valence bond (RVB) spin liquid.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

The Fermi surface of Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2 and its evolution with doping

We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the electronic properties of the newly discovered iron-arsenic superconductor, Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2 and non-supercondcuting BaFe2As2. Our study indicates that the Fermi surface of the undoped, parent compound BaFe$_2$As$_2$ consists of hole pocket(s) at Gamma (0,0) and larger electron pocket(s) at X (1,0), in general agreement with full-potential linearized plane wave (FLAPW) calculations. Upon doping with potassium, the hole pocket expands and the electron pocket becomes smaller with its bottom approaching the chemical potential. Such an evolution of the Fermi surface is consistent with hole doping within a rigid band shift model. Our results also indicate that FLAPW calculation is a reasonable approach for modeling the electronic properties of both undoped and K-doped iron arsenites.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Fermi surface and strong coupling superconductivity in single crystal NdFeAsO_{1-x}F_x

We use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the electronic properties of the newly discovered oxypnictide superconductor, NdFeAsO_{1-x}F_x. We find a well-defined Fermi surface that consists of a large hole pocket at the Brillouin zone center and a smaller electron pocket in each corner of the Brillouin zone. The overall location and shape of the Fermi surface agrees reasonably well with calculations. The band dispersion is quite complicated with many flat bands located just below the chemical potential. We observe a superconducting gap of 20 meV, which indicates that this system is in the strong coupling regime. The emergence of a coherent peak below the critical temperature Tc and diminished spectral weight at the chemical potential above Tc closely resembles the spectral characteristics of the cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Controlling the self-doping of YBa2C3O7-d polar surfaces: From Fermi surface to nodal Fermi arcs by ARPES

The discovery of quantum oscillations in the normal-state electrical resistivity of YBa2Cu3O6.5 provides the first evidence for the existence of Fermi surface (FS) pockets in an underdoped cuprate. However, the pockets' electron vs. hole character, and the very interpretation in terms of closed FS contours, are the subject of considerable debate. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), with its ability to probe electronic dispersion as well as the FS, is ideally suited to address this issue. Unfortunately, the ARPES study of YBa2C3O7-d (YBCO) has been hampered by the technique's surface sensitivity. Here we show that this stems from the polarity and corresponding self-doping of the YBCO surface. By in-situ deposition of potassium atoms on the cleaved surface, we are able to continuously tune the doping of a single sample from the heavily overdoped to the underdoped regime. This reveals the progressive collapse of the normal-metal-like FS into four disconnected nodal FS arcs, or perhaps into hole but not electron pockets, in underdoped YBCO6.5.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Interlayer interaction and electronic screening in multilayer graphene

The unusual transport properties of graphene are the direct consequence of a peculiar bandstructure near the Dirac point. We determine the shape of the pi bands and their characteristic splitting, and the transition from a pure 2D to quasi-2D behavior for 1 to 4 layers of graphene by angle-resolved photoemission. By exploiting the sensitivity of the pi bands to the electronic potential, we derive the layer-dependent carrier concentration, screening length and strength of interlayer interaction by comparison with tight binding calculations, yielding a comprehensive description of multilayer graphene's electronic structure.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Synthesis and characterization of atomically-thin graphite films on a silicon carbide substrate

This paper reports the synthesis and detailed characterization of graphite thin films produced by thermal decomposition of the (0001) face of a 6H-SiC wafer, demonstrating the successful growth of single crystalline films down to approximately one graphene layer. The growth and characterization were carried out in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. The growth process and sample quality were monitored by low-energy electron diffraction, and the thickness of the sample was determined by core level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows constant energy map patterns, which are very sharp and fully momentum-resolved, but nonetheless not resolution limited. We discuss the implications of this observation in connection with scanning electron microscopy data, as well as with previous studies.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Gd disilicide nanowires attached to Si(111) steps

Self-assembled electronic devices, such as quantum dots or switchable molecules, need self-assembled nanowires as connections. We explore the growth of conducting Gd disilicide nanowires at step arrays on Si(111). Atomically smooth wires with large aspect ratios are formed at low coverage and high growth rate (length >1 micron, width 10nm, height 0.6nm). They grow parallel to the steps in the [-1 1 0 ] direction, which is consistent with a lattice match of 0.8% with the a-axis of the hexagonal silicide, together with a large mismatch in all other directions. This mechanism is similar to that observed previously on Si(100). In contrast to Si(100), the wires are always attached to step edges on Si(111) and can thus be grown selectively on regular step arrays.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Atomic Scale Memory at a Silicon Surface

The limits of pushing storage density to the atomic scale are explored with a memory that stores a bit by the presence or absence of one silicon atom. These atoms are positioned at lattice sites along self-assembled tracks with a pitch of 5 atom rows. The writing process involves removal of Si atoms with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The memory can be reformatted by controlled deposition of silicon. The constraints on speed and reliability are compared with data storage in magnetic hard disks and DNA.

cond-mat↗