arXiv subjects

Jairo Velasco Jr.

Publications and source records attributed to Jairo Velasco Jr..

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Individual Vanadium Dopants Form Deep In-Gap States in Monolayer WS2

Point defects in atomically thin materials have a strong impact on physical properties and those that induce in-gap states are advantageous for quantum information science and engineering (QISE). However, dopant engineering consisting of well-controlled synthesis and robust identification of in-gap states is challenging. In this work, we addressed this challenge by first using finely tuned chemical vapor deposition to incorporate vanadium dopants into a monolayer WS2 (V-WS2). Next, we utilized a suite of scanned probe microscopy techniques to identify and characterize individual dopants. The latter included conductive atomic force microscopy (cAFM), low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS), and scanning transmission electron microscopy and unambiguously revealed that vanadium dopants form deep in-gap states 0.35 eV above the valence band maximum in V-WS2. Our experimental results are well supported by first principles calculations and taken together demonstrate that V-WS2 is a promising platform for QISE applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Direct electrical access to the spin manifolds of individual monovalent lanthanide atoms

Lanthanide atoms show long magnetic lifetimes because of their strongly localized 4f electrons, but electrical control of their spins has been difficult because of their closed valence shell configurations. We achieved electron spin resonance of individual lanthanide atoms using a scanning tunneling microscope to probe the atoms bound to a protective insulating film. These atoms were prepared in the monovalent state with an unpaired 6s electron, enabling tunnel current to access their 4f electrons. Europium spectra display a rich array of transitions among the 54 combined electron and nuclear spin states. In contrast, samarium's ground state is a Kramers doublet with an extraordinarily large g-factor of nearly 5. These results demonstrate that all-electronic sensing and control of individual lanthanide spins is possible for quantum devices and spin-based electronics by using their rarely-observed monovalent cation state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Denoising Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Images of Graphene with Supervised Machine Learning

Machine learning (ML) methods are extraordinarily successful at denoising photographic images. The application of such denoising methods to scientific images is, however, often complicated by the difficulty in experimentally obtaining a suitable expected result as an input to training the ML network. Here, we propose and demonstrate a simulation-based approach to address this challenge for denoising atomic-scale scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images, which consists of training a convolutional neural network on STM images simulated based on a tight-binding electronic structure model. As model materials, we consider graphite and its mono- and few-layer counterpart, graphene. With the goal of applying it to any experimental STM image obtained on graphitic systems, the network was trained on a set of simulated images with varying characteristics such as tip height, sample bias, atomic-scale defects, and non-linear background. Denoising of both simulated and experimental images with this approach is compared to that of commonly-used filters, revealing a superior outcome of the ML method in the removal of noise as well as scanning artifacts - including on features not simulated in the training set. An extension to larger STM images is further discussed, along with intrinsic limitations arising from training set biases that discourage application to fundamentally unknown surface features. The approach demonstrated here provides an effective way to remove noise and artifacts from typical STM images, yielding the basis for further feature discernment and automated processing.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Ultra-sharp lateral $p\text{-}n$ junctions in modulation-doped graphene

We demonstrate ultra-sharp (${\lesssim}\,10\text{ nm}$) lateral $p\text{-}n$ junctions in graphene using electronic transport, scanning tunneling microscopy, and first principles calculations. The $p\text{-}n$ junction lies at the boundary between differentially-doped regions of a graphene sheet, where one side is intrinsic and the other is charge-doped by proximity to a flake of $α$-RuCl$_3$ across a thin insulating barrier. We extract the $p\text{-}n$ junction contribution to the device resistance to place bounds on the junction width. We achieve an ultra-sharp junction when the boundary between the intrinsic and doped regions is defined by a cleaved crystalline edge of $α$-RuCl$_3$ located 2 nm from the graphene. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy in heterostructures of graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and $α$-RuCl$_3$ shows potential variations on a sub-10 nm length scale. First principles calculations reveal the charge-doping of graphene decays sharply over just nanometers from the edge of the $α$-RuCl$_3$ flake.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Gate Tunable Magnetism and Giant Magnetoresistance in ABC-stacked Few-Layer Graphene

Magnetism is a prototypical phenomenon of quantum collective state, and has found ubiquitous applications in semiconductor technologies such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In conventional materials, it typically arises from the strong exchange interaction among the magnetic moments of d- or f-shell electrons. Magnetism, however, can also emerge in perfect lattices from non-magnetic elements. For instance, flat band systems with high density of states (DOS) may develop spontaneous magnetic ordering, as exemplified by the Stoner criterion. Here we report tunable magnetism in rhombohedral-stacked few-layer graphene (r-FLG). At small but finite doping (n~10^11 cm-2), we observe prominent conductance hysteresis and giant magnetoconductance that exceeds 1000% as a function of magnetic fields. Both phenomena are tunable by density and temperature, and disappears for n>10^12 cm-2 or T>5K. These results are confirmed by first principles calculations, which indicate the formation of a half-metallic state in doped r-FLG, in which the magnetization is tunable by electric field. Our combined experimental and theoretical work demonstrate that magnetism and spin polarization, arising from the strong electronic interactions in flat bands, emerge in a system composed entirely of carbon atoms. The electric field tunability of magnetism provides promise for spintronics and low energy device engineering.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Visualization and Control of Single Electron Charging in Bilayer Graphene Quantum Dots

Graphene p-n junctions provide an ideal platform for investigating novel behavior at the boundary between electronics and optics that arise from massless Dirac fermions, such as whispering gallery modes and Veselago lensing. Bilayer graphene also hosts Dirac fermions, but they differ from single-layer graphene charge carriers because they are massive, can be gapped by an applied perpendicular electric field, and have very different pseudospin selection rules across a p-n junction. Novel phenomena predicted for these massive Dirac fermions at p-n junctions include anti-Klein tunneling, oscillatory Zener tunneling, and electron cloaked states. Despite these predictions there has been little experimental focus on the microscopic spatial behavior of massive Dirac fermions in the presence of p-n junctions. Here we report the experimental manipulation and characterization of massive Dirac fermions within bilayer graphene quantum dots defined by circular p-n junctions through the use of scanning tunneling microscopy-based (STM) methods. Our p-n junctions are created via a flexible technique that enables realization of exposed quantum dots in bilayer graphene/hBN heterostructures. These quantum dots exhibit sharp spectroscopic resonances that disperse in energy as a function of applied gate voltage. Spatial maps of these features show prominent concentric rings with diameters that can be tuned by an electrostatic gate. This behavior is explained by single-electron charging of localized states that arise from the quantum confinement of massive Dirac fermions within our exposed bilayer graphene quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Imaging electrostatically confined Dirac fermions in graphene quantum dots

Electrostatic confinement of charge carriers in graphene is governed by Klein tunneling, a relativistic quantum process in which particle-hole transmutation leads to unusual anisotropic transmission at pn junction boundaries. Reflection and transmission at these novel potential barriers should affect the quantum interference of electronic wavefunctions near these boundaries. Here we report the use of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to map the electronic structure of Dirac fermions confined by circular graphene pn junctions. These effective quantum dots were fabricated using a new technique involving local manipulation of defect charge within the insulating substrate beneath a graphene monolayer. Inside such graphene quantum dots we observe energy levels corresponding to quasi-bound states and we spatially visualize the quantum interference patterns of confined electrons. Dirac fermions outside these quantum dots exhibit Friedel oscillation-like behavior. Bolstered with a theoretical model describing relativistic particles in a harmonic oscillator potential, our findings yield new insight into the spatial behavior of electrostatically confined Dirac fermions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Nanoscale control of rewriteable doping patterns in pristine graphene/boron nitride heterostructures

Nanoscale control of charge doping in two-dimensional (2D) materials permits the realization of electronic analogs of optical phenomena, relativistic physics at low energies, and technologically promising nanoelectronics. Electrostatic gating and chemical doping are the two most common methods to achieve local control of such doping. However, these approaches suffer from complicated fabrication processes that introduce contamination, change material properties irreversibly, and lack flexible pattern control. Here we demonstrate a clean, simple, and reversible technique that permits writing, reading, and erasing of doping patterns for 2D materials at the nanometer scale. We accomplish this by employing a graphene/boron nitride (BN) heterostructure that is equipped with a bottom gate electrode. By using electron transport and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we demonstrate that spatial control of charge doping can be realized with the application of either light or STM tip voltage excitations in conjunction with a gate electric field. Our straightforward and novel technique provides a new path towards on-demand graphene pn junctions and ultra-thin memory devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Characterization and manipulation of individual defects in insulating hexagonal boron nitride using scanning tunneling microscopy

Defects play a key role in determining the properties of most materials and, because they tend to be highly localized, characterizing them at the single-defect level is particularly important. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has a history of imaging the electronic structure of individual point defects in conductors, semiconductors, and ultrathin films, but single-defect electronic characterization at the nanometer-scale remains an elusive goal for intrinsic bulk insulators. Here we report the characterization and manipulation of individual native defects in an intrinsic bulk hexagonal boron nitride (BN) insulator via STM. Normally, this would be impossible due to the lack of a conducting drain path for electrical current. We overcome this problem by employing a graphene/BN heterostructure, which exploits graphene's atomically thin nature to allow visualization of defect phenomena in the underlying bulk BN. We observe three different defect structures that we attribute to defects within the bulk insulating boron nitride. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), we obtain charge and energy-level information for these BN defect structures. In addition to characterizing such defects, we find that it is also possible to manipulate them through voltage pulses applied to our STM tip.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Suspension and Measurement of Graphene and Bi2Se3 Atomic Membranes

Coupling high quality, suspended atomic membranes to specialized electrodes enables investigation of many novel phenomena, such as spin or Cooper pair transport in these two dimensional systems. However, many electrode materials are not stable in acids that are used to dissolve underlying substrates. Here we present a versatile and powerful multi-level lithographical technique to suspend atomic membranes, which can be applied to the vast majority of substrate, membrane and electrode materials. Using this technique, we fabricated suspended graphene devices with Al electrodes and mobility of 5500 cm^2/Vs. We also demonstrate, for the first time, fabrication and measurement of a free-standing thin Bi2Se3 membrane, which has low contact resistance to electrodes and a mobility of >~500 cm^2/Vs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Quantum Transport and Field Induced Insulating States in Bilayer Graphene pnp Junctions

We perform transport measurements in high quality bilayer graphene pnp junctions with suspended top gates. At a magnetic field B=0, we demonstrate band gap opening by an applied perpendicular electric field, with an On/Off ratio up to 20,000 at 260mK. Within the band gap, the conductance decreases exponentially by 3 orders of magnitude with increasing electric field, and can be accounted for by variable range hopping with a gate-tunable density of states, effective mass, and localization length. At large B, we observe quantum Hall conductance with fractional values, which arise from equilibration of edge states between differentially-doped regions, and the presence of an insulating state at filling factor ν=0. Our work underscores the importance of bilayer graphene for both fundamental interest and technological applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Probing Charging and Localization in the Quantum Hall Regime by Graphene pnp Junctions

Using high quality graphene pnp junctions, we observe prominent conductance fluctuations on transitions between quantum Hall (QH) plateaus as the top gate voltage Vtg is varied. In the Vtg-B plane, the fluctuations form crisscrossing lines that are parallel to those of the adjacent plateaus, with different temperature dependences for the conductance peaks and valleys. These fluctuations arise from Coulomb-induced charging of electron- or hole-doped localized states when the device bulk is delocalized, underscoring the importance of electronic interactions in graphene in the QH regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Electrical Transport in High Quality Graphene pnp Junctions

We fabricate and investigate high quality graphene devices with contactless, suspended top gates, and demonstrate formation of graphene pnp junctions with tunable polarity and doping levels. The device resistance displays distinct oscillations in the npn regime, arising from the Fabry-Perot interference of holes between the two pn interfaces. At high magnetic fields, we observe well-defined quantum Hall plateaus, which can be satisfactorily fit to theoretical calculations based on the aspect ratio of the device.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗