arXiv subjects

Jinfeng Jia

Publications and source records attributed to Jinfeng Jia.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Observation of integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects in twisted bilayer MoTe2

The interplay between strong correlations and topology can lead to the emergence of intriguing quantum states of matter. One well-known example is the fractional quantum Hall effect, where exotic electron fluids with fractionally charged excitations form in partially filled Landau levels. The emergence of topological moiré flat bands provides exciting opportunities to realize the lattice analogs of both the integer and fractional quantum Hall states without the need for an external magnetic field. These states are known as the integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall (IQAH and FQAH) states. Here, we present direct transport evidence of the existence of both IQAH and FQAH states in twisted bilayer MoTe2 (AA stacked). At zero magnetic field, we observe well-quantized Hall resistance of h/e2 around moiré filling factor ν = -1 (corresponding to one hole per moiré unit cell), and nearly-quantized Hall resistance of 3h/2e2 around ν = -2/3, respectively. Concomitantly, the longitudinal resistance exhibits distinct minima around ν = -1 and -2/3. The application of an electric field induces topological quantum phase transition from the IQAH state to a charge transfer insulator at ν = -1, and from the FQAH state to a generalized Wigner crystal state, further transitioning to a metallic state at ν = -2/3. Our study paves the way for the investigation of fractionally charged excitations and anyonic statistics at zero magnetic field based on semiconductor moiré materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Interaction-driven spontaneous broken-symmetry insulator and metals in ABCA tetralayer graphene

Interactions among charge carriers in graphene can lead to the spontaneous breaking of multiple degeneracies. When increasing the number of graphene layers following rhombohedral stacking, the dominant role of Coulomb interactions becomes pronounced due to the significant reduction in kinetic energy. In this study, we employ phonon-polariton assisted near-field infrared imaging to determine the stacking orders of tetralayer graphene devices. Through quantum transport measurements, we observe a range of spontaneous broken-symmetry states and their transitions, which can be finely tuned by carrier density n and electric displacement field D. Specifically, we observe a layer antiferromagnetic insulator at n = D = 0 with a gap of approximately 15 meV. Increasing D allows for a continuous phase transition from a layer antiferromagnetic insulator to a layer polarized insulator. By simultaneously tuning n and D, we observe isospin polarized metals, including spin-valley-polarized and spin-polarized metals. These transitions are associated with changes in Fermi surface topology and are consistent with the Stoner criteria. Our findings highlight the efficient fabrication of specially stacked multilayer graphene devices and demonstrate that crystalline multilayer graphene is an ideal platform for investigating a wide range of broken symmetries driven by Coulomb interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Observation of magnetism induced topological edge state in antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi4Te7

Breaking time reversal symmetry in a topological insulator may lead to quantum anomalous Hall effect and axion insulator phase. MnBi4Te7 is a recently discovered antiferromagnetic topological insulator with TN ~12.5 K, which is constituted of alternatively stacked magnetic layer (MnBi2Te4) and non-magnetic layer (Bi2Te3). By means of scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we clearly observe the electronic state present at a step edge of a magnetic MnBi2Te4 layer but absent at non-magnetic Bi2Te3 layers at 4.5 K. Furthermore, we find that as the temperature rises above TN, the edge state vanishes, while the point defect induced state persists upon temperature increasing. These results confirm the observation of magnetism induced edge states. Our analysis based on an axion insulator theory reveals that the nontrivial topological nature of the observed edge state.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Quantum phase transition in magnetic nanographenes on a lead superconductor

Quantum spins, referred to the spin operator preserved by full SU(2) symmetry in the absence of the magnetic anistropy, have been proposed to host exotic interactions with superconductivity4. However, spin orbit coupling and crystal field splitting normally cause a significant magnetic anisotropy for d/f-shell spins on surfaces6,9, breaking SU(2) symmetry and fabricating the spins with Ising properties10. Recently, magnetic nanographenes have been proven to host intrinsic quantum magnetism due to their negligible spin orbital coupling and crystal field splitting. Here, we fabricate three atomically precise nanographenes with the same magnetic ground state of spin S=1/2 on Pb(111) through engineering sublattice imbalance in graphene honeycomb lattice. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals the coexistence of magnetic bound states and Kondo screening in such hybridized system. Through engineering the magnetic exchange strength between the unpaired spin in nanographenes and cooper pairs, quantum phase transition from the singlet to the doublet state has been observed, in consistent with quantum models of spins on superconductors. Our work demonstrates delocalized graphene magnetism host highly tunable magnetic bound states with cooper pairs, which can be further developed to study the Majorana bound states and other rich quantum physics of low-dimensional quantum spins on superconductors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Catalytic growth of ultralong graphene nanoribbons on insulating substrates

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with widths of a few nanometres are promising candidates for future nano-electronic applications due to their structurally tunable bandgaps, ultrahigh carrier mobilities, and exceptional stability. However, the direct growth of micrometre-long GNRs on insulating substrates, which is essential for the fabrication of nano-electronic devices, remains an immense challenge. Here, we report the epitaxial growth of GNRs on an insulating hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate through nanoparticle-catalysed chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Ultra-narrow GNRs with lengths of up to 10 μm are synthesized. Remarkably, the as-grown GNRs are crystallographically aligned with the h-BN substrate, forming one-dimensional (1D) moiré superlattices. Scanning tunnelling microscopy reveals an average width of 2 nm and a typical bandgap of ~1 eV for similar GNRs grown on conducting graphite substrates. Fully atomistic computational simulations support the experimental results and reveal a competition between the formation of GNRs and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) during the nucleation stage, and van der Waals sliding of the GNRs on the h-BN substrate throughout the growth stage. Our study provides a scalable, single-step method for growing micrometre-long narrow GNRs on insulating substrates, thus opening a route to explore the performance of high-quality GNR devices and the fundamental physics of 1D moiré superlattices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Topological Defects Induced High-Spin Quartet State in Truxene-Based Molecular Graphenoids

Topological defects in graphene materials introduce exotic properties which are absent in their defect-free counterparts with both fundamental importance and technological implications. Although individual topological defects have been widely studied, collective magnetic behaviors originating from well-organized multiple topological defects remain a great challenge. Here, we studied the collective magnetic properties originating from three pentagon topological defects in truxene-based molecular graphenoids by using scanning tunneling microscopy and non-contact atomic force microscopy. Unpaired $π$ electrons are introduced into the aromatic topology of truxene molecular graphenoids one by one by dissociating hydrogen atoms at the pentagon defects via atom manipulation. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements together with density functional theory calculations suggest that the unpaired electrons are ferromagnetically coupled, forming a collective high-spin quartet state of S=3/2. Our work demonstrates that the collective spin ordering can be realized through engineering regular patterned topological defects in molecular graphenoids, providing a new platform for designer one-dimensional ferromagnetic spin chains and two-dimensional ferromagnetic networks.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Electronic nature of chiral charge order in the kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5

Kagome superconductors with Tc up to 7K have been discovered over 40 years. Recently, unconventional chiral charge order has been reported in kagome superconductor KV3Sb5, with an ordering temperature of one order of magnitude higher than the TC. However, the chirality of the charge order has not been reported in the cousin kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5, and the electronic nature of the chirality remains elusive. In this letter, we report the observation of electronic chiral charge order in CsV3Sb5 via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We observe a 2x2 charge modulation and a 1x4 superlattice in both topographic data and tunneling spectroscopy. 2x2 charge modulation is highly anticipated as a charge order by fundamental kagome lattice models at van Hove filling, and is shown to exhibit intrinsic chirality. We find that the 1x4 superlattices forms various small domain walls, and can be a surface effect as supported by our first-principles calculations. Crucially, we find that the amplitude of the energy gap opened by the charge order exhibits real space modulations, and features 2x2 wave vectors with chirality, highlighting the electronic nature of the chiral charge order. STM study at 0.4K reveals a superconducting energy gap with a gap size 2Δ=0.85meV, which estimates a moderate superconductivity coupling strength with 2Δ/kBTc=3.9. When further applying a c-axis magnetic field, vortex core bound states are observed within this gap, indicative of clean-limit superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Coexistence of Ferroelectric-like Polarization and Dirac-like Surface State in TaNiTe5

By combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and first-principles calculations, we have studied the low-energy band structure, atomic structure and charge polarization on the surface of a topological semimetal candidate TaNiTe5. Dirac-like surface states were observed on the (010) surface by ARPES, consistent with the first-principles calculations. On the other hand, PFM reveals a switchable ferroelectric-like polarization on the same surface. We propose that the noncentrosymmetric surface reconstruction observed by STM could be the origin of the observed ferroelectric-like state in this novel material. Our findings provide a new platform with the coexistence of ferroelectric-like surface charge distribution and novel surface states.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Emergence of new van Hove singularities in the charge density wave state of a topological kagome metal RbV3Sb5

Quantum materials with layered kagome structures have drawn considerable attention due to their unique lattice geometry, which gives rise to flat bands co-existing with Dirac-like dispersions. The interplay between strong Coulomb correlations and nontrivial band topology in these systems results in various exotic phenomena. Recently, vanadium-based materials with layered kagome structures are discovered to be topological metals, which exhibit charge density wave (CDW) properties, significant anomalous Hall effect, and unusual superconductivity at low temperatures. Here we exploit high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the electronic structure evolution induced by the CDW transition in a vanadium-based kagome material RbV3Sb5. A remarkable band renormalization in the CDW state is observed, which is consistent with first principles calculations based on an inverse star-of-David superstructure. The CDW phase transition gives rise to a partial energy gap opening at the Fermi level, a shift in the band dispersion, and most importantly, the emergence of new van Hove singularities associated with large density of states, which are absent in the normal phase and may be related to superconductivity observed at lower temperatures. Our work would shed light on the microscopic mechanisms for the formation of the CDW and superconducting states in these topological kagome metals.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Hydrogen-assisted layer-by-layer growth and robust nontrivial topology of stanene films on Bi(111)

Ever since the first successful synthesis of stanene via epitaxial growth, numerous efforts have been devoted to improving its overall quality and exploring its topological and other exotic properties under different growth conditions. Here, using first-principles approaches, we reveal the atomistic growth mechanisms and robust topological properties of few-layer stanene on Bi(111). We first show that monolayer stanene grown on Bi(111) follows a highly desirable nucleation-and-growth mechanism, characterized by attractive interaction of the Sn adatoms. More importantly, we reveal that surface passivation by the residual hydrogen is essential in achieving layer-by-layer growth of high-quality few-layer stanene, with the hydrogen functioning as a surfactant in stabilizing the growing films. Furthermore, we investigate systematically the dependence of the topological properties of stanene on the film thickness, hydrogen passivation, and substrate, and obtain robust quantum spin Hall effects under diverse physical conditions. The robustness of the nontrivial topology is attributable to the strong spin-orbit coupling of the Bi substrate. The atomistic growth mechanisms and nontrivial topology of stanene as presented here are also discussed in connection with recent experimental findings.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Designer spin order in diradical nanographenes

The magnetic properties of carbon materials are at present the focus of an intense research effort in physics, chemistry and materials science due to their potential applications in spintronics and quantum computations. Although the presence of spins in open-shell nanographenes has been recently confirmed, the ability to control magnetic coupling sign has remained elusive, but the most desirable. Here, we demonstrate an effective approach of engineering magnetic ground states in atomically precise open-shell bipartite/nonbipartite nanographenes using combined scanning probe techniques and mean-field Hubbard model calculations. The magnetic coupling sign between two spins has been controlled via breaking bipartite lattice symmetry of nanographenes. In addition, the exchange-interaction strength between two spins has been widely tuned by finely tailoring their spin density overlap, realizing a large exchange-interaction strength of 42 meV. Our demonstrated method provides ample opportunities for designer above-room-temperature magnetic phases and functionalities in graphene nanomaterials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Strain Tunable Semimetal-Topological-Insulator Transition in Monolayer 1T'-WTe2

A quantum spin hall insulator(QSHI) is manifested by its conducting edge channels that originate from the nontrivial topology of the insulating bulk states. Monolayer 1T'-WTe2 exhibits this quantized edge conductance in transport measurements, but because of its semimetallic nature, the coherence length is restricted to around 100 nm. To overcome this restriction, we propose a strain engineering technique to tune the electronic structure, where either a compressive strain along a axis or a tensile strain along b axis can drive 1T'-WTe2 into an full gap insulating phase. A combined study of molecular beam epitaxy and in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy then confirmed such a phase transition. Meanwhile, the topological edge states were found to be very robust in the presence of strain.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Stanene: A Good Platform for Topological Insulator and Topological Superconductor

Two dimensional (2D) topological insulators (TIs) and topological superconductors (TSCs) have been intensively studied for recent years due to its great potential for dissipationless electron transportation and fault-tolerant quantum computing, respectively. Here we focus on stanene, the tin analogue of graphene, to give a brief review of its development as a candidate for both 2D TI and TSC. Stanene is proposed to be a TI with a large gap of 0.3 eV, and its topological properties are sensitive to various factors, e.g., the lattice constants, chemical functionalization and layer thickness, which offer various methods for phase tunning. Experimentally, the inverted gap and edge states are observed recently, which are strong evidence for TI. In addition, stanene is also predicted to be a time reversal invariant TSC by breaking inversion symmetry, supporting helical Majorana edge modes. The layer-dependent superconductivity of stanene is recently confirmed by both transport and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. This review gives a detailed introduction to stanene and its topological properties and some prospects are also discussed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Combining quantum spin hall effect and superconductivity in few-layer stanene

Stanene was proposed to be a quantum spin hall insulator containing topological edges states and a time reversal invariant topological superconductor hosting helical Majorana edge mode. Recently, experimental evidences of existence of topological edge states have been found in monolayer stanene films and superconductivity has been observed in few-layer stanene films excluding single layer. An integrated system with both topological edge states and superconductivity are higly pursued as a possible platform to realize topological superconductivity. Few-layer stanene show great potential to meet this requirement and is highly desired in experiment. Here we successfully grow few-layer stanene on bismuth (111) substrate. Both topological edge states and superconducting gaps are observed by in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). Our results take a further step towards topological superconductivity by stanene films.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Anisotropic gapping of topological Weyl rings in the charge-density-wave superconductor InxTaSe2

Topological materials and topological phases have recently become a hot topic in condensed matter physics. In this work, we report a topological nodal-line semimetal InxTaSe2, in the presence of both charge density wave (CDW) and superconductivity. In the x = 0.58 samples, the 2 * /3 commensurate CDW (CCDW) and the 2 * 2 CCDW are observed below 116 K and 77 K, respectively. Consistent with theoretical calculations, the spin-orbital coupling gives rise to two two-fold-degenerate nodal rings (Weyl rings) connected by drumhead surface states, confirmed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our results suggest that the 2 * 2 CCDW ordering gaps out one Weyl ring in accordance with the CDW band folding, while the other Weyl ring remains gapless with intact surface states. In addition, superconductivity emerges at 0.91 K, with the upper critical field deviating from the s-wave behavior at low temperature, implying possibly unconventional superconductivity. Therefore, InxTaSe2 represents an interesting material system to study the interplay between CDW, nontrivial band topology and superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Highly Mobile Carriers in a Candidate of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Topological Semimetal AuTe$_2$Br

We report the crystal and electronic structures of a non-centrosymmetric quasi-two-dimensional (2D), candidate of topological semimetal AuTe2Br. The Fermi surface of this layered compound consists of 2D-like, topological trivial electron and non-trivial hole pockets which host a Dirac cone along the kz direction. Our transport measurements on the single crystals show highly anisotropic, compensated low-density electrons and holes, both of which exhibit ultrahigh mobility at a level of 10^5cm^2V^-1s^-1 at low temperature. The highly mobile, compensated carriers lead a non-saturated, parabolic magnetoresistance as large as 3*10^5 in single-crystalline AuTe2Br in a magnetic field up to 58 T.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

The Unusual Suppression of Superconducting Transition Temperature in Double-Doping 2H-NbSe$_2$

2H-NbSe2 is one of the most widely researched transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductors, which undergoes charge-density wave (CDW) transition at TCDW about 33 K and superconducting transition at Tc of 7.3 K. To explore the relation between its superconductivity and Fermi surface nesting, we combined S substitution with Cu intercalation in 2H-NbSe2 to make CuxNbSe2-ySy. Upon systematic substitution of S and intercalation of Cu ions into 2H-NbSe2, we found that when the Cu and S contents increases, the Tc decreases in CuxNbSe2-ySy. While at higher x and y values, Tc keeps a constant value near 2 K, which is not commonly observed for a layered TMD. For comparison, we found the simultaneous substitution of Nb by Cu and Se by S in CuxNb1-xSe2-ySy lowered the Tc substantially faster. We construct a superconducting phase diagrams for our double-doping compounds in contrast with the related single-ions doping systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Possible structural origin of superconductivity in Sr-doped Bi2Se3

Doping bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) with elements such as copper and strontium (Sr) can induce superconductivity, making the doped materials interesting candidates to explore potential topological superconducting behaviors. It was thought that the superconductivity of doped Bi2Se3 was induced by dopant atoms intercalated in van der Waals gaps. However, several experiments have shown that the intercalation of dopant atoms may not necessarily make doped Bi2Se3 superconducting. Thus, the structural origin of superconductivity in doped Bi2Se3 remains an open question. Herein, we combined material synthesis and characterization, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and first-principles calculations to study the doping structure of Sr-doped Bi2Se3. We found that the emergence of superconductivity is strongly related with n-type dopant atoms. Atomic-level energy-dispersive X-ray mapping revealed various n-type Sr dopants that occupy intercalated and interstitial positions. First-principles calculations showed that the formation energy of a specific interstitial Sr doping position depends strongly on Sr doping level. This site changes from a metastable position at low Sr doping level to a stable position at high Sr doping level. The calculation results explain why quenching is necessary to obtain superconducting samples when the Sr doping level is low and also why slow furnace cooling can yield superconducting samples when the Sr doping level is high. Our findings suggest that Sr atoms doped at interstitial locations, instead of those intercalated in van der Waals gaps, are most likely to be responsible for the emergence of superconductivity in Sr-doped Bi2Se3.

cond-mat.supr-con↗