SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Juhn-Jong Lin

Publications and source records attributed to Juhn-Jong Lin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

1/ f noise and two-level systems in MBE-grown Al thin films

Aluminum thin films are essential to the functionalities of electronic and quantum devices, where two-level systems (TLS) can degrade device performance. MBE-grown Al films may appeal to these applications due to their low TLS densities. We studied the energy distributions of TLS densities, g(E), in 10-nm-thick MBE-grown and electron-beam evaporated Al films through 1/f noise measurements between 80 and 360 K. At 300 K, the noise magnitudes in MBE-grown films are about three times lower than in the electron-beam evaporated films, corresponding to the g(E) values about ten times lower in the former than in the latter. Compared with previously established observations, we identified that the 1/f noise was generated by thermally activated TLS at grain boundaries.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Giant Hall effect in two-dimensional CoSi$_2$ granular arrays

Granular metals offer tailorable electronic properties and play crucial roles in device and sensor applications. We have fabricated a series of nonmagnetic granular CoSi2 thin films and studied the Hall effect and transport properties. We observed a two orders of magnitude enhancement in the Hall coefficient in films fall slightly above the metal-insulator transition. This giant Hall effect (GHE) is ascribed to the local quantum-interference effect induced reduction of the charge carriers. Transmission electron microscopy images and transport properties indicate that our films form two dimensional granular arrays. The GHE may provide useful and sensitive applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall

1/f frequency fluctuations due to kinetic inductance in CoSi$_2$ microwave cavities

Cobalt disilicide provides a promising nearly-epitaxial superconducting material on silicon, which is compatible with high-density integrated circuit technology. We have characterized CoSi$_{2}$ superconducting microwave cavities around 5.5 GHz for resonance frequency fluctuations at temperatures 10 - 200 mK. We found relatively weak fluctuations $(δf/f)^2$ following the spectral density $A/f^γ $, with $A \simeq 6 \times 10^{-16}$ and $γ$ slightly below 1 at an average number of photons of $10^4$; the noise decreased with measurement power as $1/P^{1/2}$. We identify the noise as arising from kinetic inductance fluctuations and discuss possible origins of such fluctuations.

cond-mat.supr-con

Electronic conduction and superconducting properties of CoSi$_2$ films on silicon--an unconventional superconductor with technological potential

We report observations of unusual normal-state electronic conduction properties and superconducting characteristics of high-quality CoSi$_2$/Si films grown on silicon Si(100) and Si(111) substrates. A good understanding of these features shall help to address the underlying physics of the unconventional pairing symmetry recently observed in transparent CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterojunctions [S. P. Chiu \textit{et al.}, Sci. Adv. \textbf{7}, eabg6569 (2021); Nanoscale \textbf{15}, 9179 (2023)], where CoSi$_2$/Si is a superconductor with a superconducting transition temperature $T_c \simeq$ (1.1--1.5) K, dependent on its dimensions, and TiSi$_2$ is a normal metal. In CoSi$_2$/Si films, we find a pronounced positive magnetoresistance caused by the weak-antilocalization effect, indicating a strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). This SOC generates two-component superconductivity in CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterojunctions. The CoSi$_2$/Si films are stable under ambient conditions and have ultralow 1/$f$ noise. Moreover, they can be patterned via the standard lithography techniques, which might be of considerable practical value for future scalable superconducting and quantum device fabrication.

cond-mat.supr-con

Kinetic inductance in superconducting CoSi$_2$ coplanar microwave transmission lines

We have looked into cobalt disilicide (CoSi$_2$) as a potential building block for superconducting quantum circuits. In order to achieve this, we annealed a thin layer of Co to create 10-105 nm thick microwave cavities from CoSi$_2$ embedded in the silicon substrate. The cavity properties were measured as a function of temperature and power. In films measuring 10 and 25 nm, we find a significant kinetic inductance $L_\mathrm{K}$ with a non-BCS power-law variation $δL_\mathrm{K} \propto T^{4.3 \pm 0.2}$ at low temperatures. The quality factor of the studied microwave resonances increased almost linearly with thickness, with two-level systems having very little effect. The power dependence of kinetic inductance was analyzed in terms of heat flow due to electron-phonon coupling, which was found stronger than estimated for heat relaxation by regular quasiparticles.

cond-mat.supr-con

Tomography Scan of Charge Density Wave in NbSe2

Charge density wave (CDW) resulted from a small distortion in the lattice is able to create new orders beyond the original lattice. In 2H-NbSe2, one of the layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), the 3x3 charge order appears in two-dimensional (2D) layers. Although CDW is usually described by a sine wave, the spatial distribution within a 2D layer has never been systematically visualized. Here by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT), we have monitored the evolution of 3x3 CDW along c-axis and realized a nearly tomography scan of CDW of the topmost layer. The results show that the strength of 3x3 charge order varies while increasing the tunneling current. The 3x3 charge order is relatively strong at the outermost Se level and decreases while probing in between Se and Nb levels. Interestingly, the 3x3 charge order gets strong again as reaching Nb level but along with a phase shift. We further calculated the orbital charge distributions and found that both CDW intensity modulation and phase shift are strongly correlated with the distribution of Se p orbitals and Nb d orbitals.

physics.app-ph

Quantum-interference origin and magnitude of 1/$f$ noise in Dirac nodal line IrO$_2$ nanowires at low temperatures

We present 1/$f$ noise measurements of IrO$_2$ nanowires from 1.7 to 350 K. Results reveal that the noise magnitude (represented by Hooge parameter $γ$) increases at low temperatures, indicating low-frequency resistance noise from universal conductance fluctuations. The cause of this noise is determined to be due to oxygen vacancies in the rutile structure of IrO$_2$. Additionally, the number density of these mobile defects can be calculated from the $\sqrt{T}$ resistance rise caused by the orbital two-channel Kondo effect in the Dirac nodal line metal IrO$_2$.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Granular Effect on Electron Conduction in Discontinuous Metal Films

We reanalyze the seminal work by Dolan and Osheroff [Phys. Rev. Lett. $\textbf{43}$, 721 (1979)] which reported anomalous low-temperature conduction of high-resistivity thin-film metal strips. We argue that the observed logarithmic increase of resistance with decreasing temperature in their 3-nm-thick Au-Pd strips be ascribed to the granularity effect on electron conduction in discontinuous metal films. This reanalysis is further supported by our measurements on conducting Pb$_x$(SiO$_2$)$_{1-x}$ nanogranular films, where $x$ is the volume fraction of Pb.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Enhanced two-component superconductivity in CoSi2/TiSi2 heterojunctions

We report enhanced two-component superconductivity in (CoSi2/Si)/TiSi2 superconductor/normal-metal (S/N) heterojunctions. An enhanced superconducting transition temperature about twice that of CoSi2 and an upper critical field about 20 times bigger than that of epitaxial CoSi2/Si films were found. The tunneling spectra of three-terminal S/N junctions show pronounced zero-bias conductance peaks (ZBCPs) that signify penetration of odd-frequency, spin-triplet and even-parity Cooper pairs in TiSi2 from triplet dominant pairing in CoSi2/Si driven by symmetry reduction at the CoSi2/Si interface. Both the enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature and the ZBCPs are found to be more pronounced if TiSi2 is made more diffusive.

cond-mat.supr-con

Observation of triplet superconductivity in CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterostructures

Unconventional superconductivity and in particular triplet superconductivity have been front and center of topological materials and quantum technology research. Here we report our observation of triplet superconductivity in nonmagnetic CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterostructures on silicon. CoSi$_2$ undergoes a sharp superconducting transition at a critical temperature $T_c \approx$ 1.5 K, while TiSi$_2$ is a normal metal. We investigate conductance spectra of both two-terminal CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ tunnel junctions and three-terminal T-shaped CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ superconducting proximity structures. We report an unexpectedly large spin-orbit coupling in CoSi$_2$ heterostructures. Below $T_c$, we observe (1) a narrow zero-bias conductance peak on top of a broad hump, accompanied by two symmetric side dips in the tunnel junctions, (2) a narrow zero-bias conductance peak in T-shaped structures, and (3) hysteresis in the junction magnetoresistance. These three independent and complementary observations are indicative of chiral $p$-wave pairing in CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterostructures. This chiral triplet superconductivity and the excellent fabrication compatibility of CoSi$_2$ and TiSi$_2$ with present-day silicon integrated-circuit technology facilitate full scalability for potential use in quantum-computing devices.

cond-mat.supr-con

Oxygen vacancy-driven orbital multichannel Kondo effect in Dirac nodal line metals IrO2 and RuO2

Strong electron correlations have long been recognized as driving the emergence of novel phases of matter. A well recognized example is high-temperature superconductivity which cannot be understood in terms of the standard weak-coupling theory. The exotic properties that accompany the formation of the two-channel Kondo effect including the emergence of an unconventional metallic state in the low-energy limit also originate from strong electron interactions. Despite its paradigmatic role for the formation of non-standard metal behavior, the stringent conditions required for its emergence have made the observation of the nonmagnetic, orbital two-channel Kondo effect in real quantum materials difficult, if not impossible. We report the observation of orbital one- and two-channel Kondo physics in the symmetry-enforced Dirac nodal line metals IrO2 and RuO2 nanowires and show that the symmetries that enforce the existence of Dirac nodal lines also promote the formation of nonmagnetic Kondo correlations. Rutile oxide nanostructures thus form a versatile quantum matter platform to engineer and explore intrinsic, interacting topological states of matter.

cond-mat.str-el

Probing Thermally Activated Atomic and Nanocrystalline Defect Motion through Noise Processes in RuO$_2$ Nanowires

The present-day nanodevice dimensions continuously shrink, with the aim to prolong Moore's law. As downsizing meticulously persists, undesirable dynamic defects, which cause low-frequency noise and structural instability, play detrimental roles on limiting the ultimate performance and reliability of miniaturized devices. A good understanding and a meaningful control of the defect kinetics then become fundamental and urgent issues. Here we report observations of thermally activated atomic defect motion as well as nanocrystalline defect motion through electrical noise processes in metallic RuO$_2$ rutile nanowires around room temperature. First, we extract the energy distribution function and the number density of mobile atomic defects (oxygen vacancies). Second, we obtain the geometrical size, grain-boundary bonding strength, and relaxation times of dynamic nanocrystallites. Our results show clearly a powerful probe for effective and noninvasive characterizations of nanostructures and nanomaterials for which quantitative information about mechanical hardness, breakdown current density, and/or resistance noise is essential.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Activation energy distribution of dynamical structural defects in RuO$_2$ films

Ruthenium dioxide (RuO$_2$) is an important metal widely used in nanoelectronic devices. It plays indispensable roles in the applications as catalyst and supercapacitors. A good understanding of the origin of the flicker or 1/$f$ noise in RuO$_2$ will advance the design and efficiency of these applications. We demonstrate in a series of sputtered RuO$_2$ polycrystalline films that the 1/$f$ noise originates from fluctuating oxygen vacancies which act as dynamical structural defects, i.e., moving scattering centers. Reducing the number of oxygen vacancies by adjusting thermal annealing conditions significantly reduces the noise magnitude $γ$, the Hooge parameter. We quantify the activation energy distribution function, $g(E)$, and calculate the oxygen vacancy density, $n_{TLS}$, from the measured $γ$ value. We show that $g(E)$ can be explicitly expressed in terms of $γ(T)$ and the electronic parameters of the metal, where $T$ denotes temperature. The inferred $n_{TLS}$ value is in line with the oxygen content determined from the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Bistable Transport Properties of a Quasi-One-Dimensional Wigner Solid on Liquid Helium under Continuous Driving

We investigate low-frequency fluctuations in the transport characteristics of a quasi-1D Wigner solid (WS) moving along a liquid helium substrate in response to a sinusoidal driving voltage. The fluctuations occur between distinct transport modes in which the decoupling of the WS from ripplonic polarons (or 'dimple lattice', DL) formed on the helium surface does, or does not, occur during each ac cycle. We demonstrate that a Gaussian-like distribution in the decoupling threshold force gives rise to this bistability, as the low-frequency switching occurs when the probability of decoupling during each ac cycle is small but finite. We attribute the distribution in the decoupling threshold force to the range of structural configurations allowed for the quasi-1D electron lattice, which influences the strength of the WS-DL coupling. Hence, the switching rate between the ac transport modes is extremely sensitive to the microscopic properties of the electron solid.

cond-mat.str-el

Granular hopping conduction in (Ag,Mo)$_x$(SnO$_2$)$_{1-x}$ films in the dielectric regime

We have studied the temperature dependence of conductivity, $σ(T)$, in two series of Ag$_{x}$(SnO$_2$)$_{1-x}$ and Mo$_{x}$(SnO$_2$)$_{1-x}$ granular films lying below the percolation threshold, where $x$ is the metal volume fraction. The metal grains in the former series have approximately spherical shape, whereas in the latter series contain numerous small substructures. In both series of films, we have observed the $σ\propto \exp[-(T_0/T)^m]$ temperature dependence, with $m\,\simeq\,1/2$, over the wide $T$ range from 2 to 80 (100) K, where $T_0$ is a characteristic temperature. Our $σ$($T$) results are explained in term of the Abeles-Sheng model which considers the structural effect of metal grains. The extracted values of the optimal separation between grains ($s_{m}$) and the charging energy ($E_{c}$) slightly increase with decreasing $x$. The variation of the parameter $C(x)$, defined in the Abeles-Sheng model, is in consistency with a simplified expression which depends only on $x$ and the dielectric constant of the insulating matrix. As the temperature is increased to above $\sim$\,100 K, a crossover to the thermally fluctuation-induced tunneling conduction processes is observed.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Gate tunable spin-orbit coupling and weak antilocalization effect in an epitaxial La$_{2/3}$Sr$_{1/3}$MnO$_3$ thin film

Epitaxial La$_{2/3}$Sr$_{1/3}$MnO$_3$ (LSMO) films have been grown on SrTiO$_3$ (001) substrates via pulsed laser deposition. In a 22-nm thick LSMO film with a low residual resistivity of $ρ_0$ = 59 $μΩ$ cm, we found a zero-field dip in the magnetoresistance (MR) below 10 K, manifesting the weak antilocalization (WAL) effect due to strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We have analyzed the MR data by including the D'yakonov-Perel' spin-relaxation mechanism in the WAL theory. We explain that the delocalized spin-down electron subband states play a crucial role for facilitating marked SOC in clean LSMO. Moreover, we find that the SOC strength and gate voltage tunability is similar to that in the 2DEG at LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface, indicating the presence of an internal electric field near the LSMO/SrTiO$_3$ interface. In a control measurement on a 5-nm thick high resistivity ($ρ_0$ = 280 $μΩ$ cm) LSMO film, we observe only a small zero-field peak in MR from weak localization effect, indicating negligible SOC.

cond-mat.str-el

Probing nanocrystalline grain dynamics in nanodevices

Dynamical structural defects exist naturally in a wide variety of solids. They fluctuate temporally, and hence can deteriorate the performance of many electronic devices. Thus far, the entities of such dynamic objects have been identified to be individual atoms. On the other hand, it is a long-standing question whether a nanocrystalline grain constituted of a large number of atoms can switch, as a whole, reversibly like a dynamical atomic defect (i.e., a two-level system). This is an emergent issue considering the current development of nanodevices with ultralow electrical noise, qubits with long quantum coherence time, and nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) sensors with ultrahigh resolution. Here we demonstrate experimental observations of dynamic nanocrystalline grains which repeatedly switch between two or more metastable coordinate states. We study temporal resistance fluctuations in thin ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) metal nanowires and extract microscopic parameters including relaxation time scales, mobile grain sizes, and the bonding strengths of nanograin boundaries. Such material parameters are not obtainable by other experimental approaches. When combined with previous in-situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), our electrical method can be used to infer rich information about the structural dynamics of a wide variety of nanodevices and new 2D materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall