arXiv subjects

Péter Kun

Publications and source records attributed to Péter Kun.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ultrastrong Au-Te bonding drives disorder in monolayer ZrTe$_5$ on gold

Monolayer ZrTe$_5$ is predicted to host a large-gap quantum spin Hall phase, motivating efforts to isolate single layers of the material. Gold-assisted exfoliation produces clean monolayers of many chalcogen-terminated van der Waals crystals, but the strong Te-Au bond may compete with the bonding network of the ZrTe$_5$ layer itself. Across tens of samples, low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy on gold-exfoliated flakes shows a disordered monolayer surface in the overwhelming majority of cases, while thicker flakes preserve the characteristic quasi-one-dimensional chain structure. \emph{Ab initio} calculations of the ZrTe$_5$/Au(111) interface reproduce this asymmetry and resolve its mechanism: the Te atoms facing the gold chemisorb, rupturing the weak zigzag Te-Te bonds that cross-link the ZrTe$_3$ chains, turning the discrete bond-length spectrum of the crystal into a continuous one, while the chains persist as distorted units. Charge analysis shows the signature of covalent Te-Au bonding with a modest transfer that hole-dopes the monolayer; in the bilayer, the distortion and the doping stay confined to the layer contacting the gold, and the chemisorption and disorder each preclude the predicted quantum spin Hall phase. The same quasi-covalent Te-Au bond may perturb the contact layer of other gold-exfoliated Te-terminated crystals, particularly those with weakly connected intralayer networks.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Observation of competing, correlated ground states in the flat band of rhombohedral graphite

In crystalline solids the interactions of charge and spin can result in a variety of emergent quantum ground states, especially in partially filled, topological flat bands such as Landau levels or in 'magic-angle' bilayer graphene. Much less explored is rhombohedral graphite (RG), perhaps the simplest and structurally most perfect condensed matter system to host a flat band protected by symmetry. By scanning tunneling microscopy we map the flat band charge density of 8, 10 and 17 layers and identify a domain structure emerging from a competition between a sublattice antiferromagnetic insulator and a gapless correlated paramagnet. Our density-matrix renormalization group calculations explain the observed features and demonstrate that the correlations are fundamentally different from graphene based magnetism identified until now, forming the ground state of a quantum magnet. Our work establishes RG as a new platform to study many-body interactions beyond the mean-field approach, where quantum fluctuations and entanglement dominate.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Robust quantum point contact operation of narrow graphene constrictions patterned by AFM cleavage lithography

Detecting conductance quantization in graphene nanostructures turned out more challenging than expected. The observation of well-defined conductance plateaus through graphene nanoconstrictions so far has only been accessible in the highest quality suspended or h-BN encapsulated devices. However, reaching low conductance quanta in zero magnetic field, is a delicate task even with such ultra-high mobility devices. Here, we demonstrate a simple AFM-based nanopatterning technique for defining graphene constrictions with high precision (down to 10 nm width) and reduced edge-roughness (+/- 1 nm). The patterning process is based on the in-plane mechanical cleavage of graphene by the AFM tip, along its high symmetry crystallographic directions. As-defined, narrow graphene constrictions with improved edge quality enable an unprecedentedly robust QPC operation, allowing the observation of conductance quantization even on standard $SiO_2/Si$ substrates, down to low conductance quanta. Conductance plateaus, were observed at $ne^2/h$, evenly spaced by $2e^2/h$ (corresponding to n = 3, 5, 7, 9, 11) in the absence of an external magnetic field, while spaced by $e^2/h$ (n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) in 8T magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

In situ tuning of symmetry-breaking induced non-reciprocity in giant-Rashba semiconductor BiTeBr

Non-reciprocal transport, where the left to right flowing current differs from the right to left flowing one, is an unexpected phenomenon in bulk crystals. BiTeBr is a non-centrosymmetric material, with a giant Rashba spin-orbit coupling which presents this unusual effect when placed in an in-plane magnetic field. It has been shown that this effect depends strongly on the carrier density, however, in-situ tuning has not yet been demonstrated. We developed a method where thin BiTeBr flakes are gate tuned via ionic-liquid gating through a thin protective hBN layer. Tuning the carrier density allows a more than \SI{400}{\percent} variation of the non-reciprocal response. Our study serves as a milestone on how a few-atomic-layer-thin van der Waals protection layer allows ionic gating of chemically sensitive, exotic nanocrystals.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Large intravalley scattering due to pseudo-magnetic fields in crumpled graphene

The pseudo-magnetic field generated by mechanical strain in graphene can have dramatic consequences on the behavior of electrons and holes. Here we show that pseudo-magnetic field fluctuations present in crumpled graphene can induce significant intravalley scattering of charge carriers. We detect this by measuring the confocal Raman spectra of crumpled areas, where we observe an increase of the D'/D peak intensity ratio by up to a factor of 300. We reproduce our observations by numerical calculation of the double resonant Raman spectra and interpret the results as experimental evidence of the phase shift suffered by Dirac charge carriers in the presence of a pseudo-magnetic field. This lifts the restriction on complete intravalley backscattering of Dirac fermions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Dynamic strain in gold nanoparticle supported graphene induced by focused laser irradiation

Graphene on noble-metal nanostructures constitutes an attractive nanocomposite with possible applications in sensors or energy conversion. In this work we study the properties of hybrid graphene/gold nanoparticle structures by Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Probe Methods. The nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by local annealing of gold thin films using focused laser beam. The method resulted in a patterned surface, with NPs formed at arbitrarily chosen microscale areas. Graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition was transferred onto the prepared, closely spaced gold NPs. While we found that successive higher intensity (6 mW) laser irradiation increased gradually the doping and the defect concentration in SiO2 supported graphene, the same irradiation procedure did not induce such irreversible effects in the graphene supported by gold NPs. Moreover, the laser irradiation induced dynamic hydrostatic strain in the graphene on Au NPs, which turned out to be completely reversible. These results can have implications in the development of graphene/plasmonic nanoparticle based high temperature sensors operating in dynamic regimes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Exfoliation of single layer BiTeI flakes

Spin orbit interaction can be strongly boosted when a heavy element is embedded into an inversion asymmetric crystal field. A simple structure to realize this concept in a 2D crystal contains three atomic layers, a middle one built up from heavy elements generating strong atomic spin-orbit interaction and two neighboring atomic layers with different electron negativity. BiTeI is a promising candidate for such a 2D crystal, since it contains heavy Bi layer between Te and I layers. Recently the bulk form of BiTeI attracted considerable attention due to its giant Rashba interaction, however, 2D form of this crystal was not yet created. In this work we report the first exfoliation of single layer BiTeI using a recently developed exfoliation technique on stripped gold. Our combined scanning probe studies and first principles calculations show that SL BiTeI flakes with sizes of 100 $μ$m were achieved which are stable at ambient conditions. The giant Rashba splitting and spin-momentum locking of this new member of 2D crystals open the way towards novel spintronic applications and synthetic topological heterostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗