arXiv subjects

Shu-Ze Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Shu-Ze Wang.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Quantum spin driven Yu-Shiba-Rusinov multiplets and fermion-parity-preserving phase transition in K$_3$C$_{60}$

Magnetic impurities in superconductors are of increasing interest due to emergent Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states and Majorana zero modes for fault-tolerant quantum computation. However, a direct relationship between the YSR multiple states and magnetic anisotropy splitting of quantum impurity spins remains poorly characterized. By using scanning tunneling microscopy, we resolve systematically individual transition-metal (Fe, Cr and Ni) impurities induced YSR multiplets as well as their Zeeman effects in K$_3$C$_{60}$ superconductor. The YSR multiplets show identical $d$ orbital-like wave functions that are symmetry-mismatched to the threefold K$_3$C$_{60}$(111) host surface, breaking point-group symmetries of the spatial distribution of YSR bound states in real space. Remarkably, we identify an unprecedented fermion-parity-preserving quantum phase transition between ground states with opposite signs of the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy that can be manipulated by an external magnetic field. These findings can be readily understood in terms of anisotropy splitting of quantum impurity spins, and thus elucidate the intricate interplay between the magnetic anisotropy and YSR multiplets.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Tuning the electronic states and superconductivity in alkali fulleride films

The successful preparation of superconducting alkali fulleride (A$_x$C$_{60}$, A = K, Rb, Cs) films using state-of-the-art molecular beam epitaxy overcomes the disadvantages of the air-sensitivity and phase separation in bulk A$_x$C$_{60}$, enabling for the first time a direct investigation of the superconductivity in alkali fullerides on the molecular scale. In this paper, we briefly review recent cryogenic scanning tunneling microscopy results of the structural, electronic, and superconducting properties of the fcc A$_x$C$_{60}$ films grown on graphitized SiC substrates. Robust $s$-wave superconductivity is revealed against the pseudogap, electronic correlation, non-magnetic impurities, and merohedral disorder. By controlling the alkali metal species, film thickness, and electron doping, we systematically tune the C$_{60}^{x-}$ orientational orderings and superconductivity in A$_x$C$_{60}$ films and then complete a unified phase diagram of superconducting gap size vs electronic correlation and doping. These investigations are conclusive and elucidated that the $s$-wave superconductivity retains in alkali fullerides despite of the electronic correlation and presence of pseudogap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Semiconductor-metal phase transition and emergent charge density waves in 1T-ZrX$_2$ (X = Se, Te) at the two-dimensional limit

Charge density wave (CDW) is a collective quantum phenomenon in metals and features a wave-like modulation of the conduction electron density. A microscopic understanding and experimental control of this many-body electronic state in atomically thin materials remain hot topics in materials physics. By means of material engineering, we realized a dimensionality and Zr intercalation induced semiconductor-metal phase transition in 1T-ZrX$_2$ (X = Se, Te) ultra-thin films, accompanied by a commensurate 2 $\times$ 2 CDW order. Furthermore, we observed a CDW energy gap up to 22 meV around the Fermi level. Fourier-transformed scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveal that 1T-ZrX$_2$ films exhibit the simplest Fermi surface among the known CDW materials in TMDCs, consisting only of Zr 4d-derived elliptical electron conduction band at the corners of the Brillouin zone.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Merohedral disorder and impurity impacts on superconductivity of fullerenes

Local quasiparticle states around impurities provide essential insight into the mechanism of unconventional superconductivity, especially when the candidate materials are proximate to an antiferromagnetic Mott-insulating phase. While such states have been reported in atom-based cuprates and iron-based compounds, they are unexplored in organic superconductors which feature tunable molecular orientation. Here we employ scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to reveal multiple forms of robustness of an exotic $s$-wave superconductivity in epitaxial Rb$_3$C$_{60}$ films against merohedral disorder, non-magnetic single impurities and step edges at the atomic scale. Also observed have been Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states induced by deliberately incurred Fe adatoms that act as magnetic scatters. The bound states display abrupt spatial decay and vary in energy with the Fe adatom registry. Our results and the universal optimal superconductivity at half-filling point towards local electron pairing in which the multiorbital electronic correlations and intramolecular phonons together drive the high-temperature superconductivity of doped fullerenes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Charge density waves and Fermi level pinning in monolayer and bilayer SnSe$_2$

Materials with reduced dimensionality often exhibit exceptional properties that are different from their bulk counterparts. Here we report the emergence of a commensurate 2 $\times$ 2 charge density wave (CDW) in monolayer and bilayer SnSe$_2$ films by scanning tunneling microscope. The visualized spatial modulation of CDW phase becomes prominent near the Fermi level, which is pinned inside the semiconductor band gap of SnSe$_2$. We show that both CDW and Fermi level pinning are intimately correlated with band bending and virtual induced gap states at the semiconductor heterointerface. Through interface engineering, the electron-density-dependent phase diagram is established in SnSe$_2$. Fermi surface nesting between symmetry inequivalent electron pockets is revealed to drive the CDW formation and to provide an alternative CDW mechanism that might work in other compounds.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Molecular beam epitaxy growth and surface structure of Sr1-xNdxCuO2 cuprate films

We report on the epitaxial growth and surface structure of infinite-layer cuprate Sr1-xNdxCuO2 films on SrTiO3(001) substrates by combining ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy. Careful substrate temperature and flux control has been used to achieve single-phase, stoichiometric, and c-axis oriented films. The surface of the films is usually characterized by a mixed CuO2 surface and gridlike superstructure. The superstructure exhibits a periodicity of 3.47 nm that corresponds to a coincidence lattice between the overlayer peroxide SrO2 and underlying CuO2 plane, and gives rise to a conductance spectrum that is distinct from the Mott-Hubbard band structure of CuO2. At a higher Nd composition x > 0.1, a (2 x 2) surface characteristic of the hole-doped CuO2 emerges, which we ascribe to the intake of apical oxygens in the intervening Sr planes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Coexistence of full-gap superconductivity and pseudogap in two-dimensional fullerides

Alkali-fulleride superconductors with a maximum critical temperature Tc of 40 K exhibit similar electronic phase diagram with unconventional high-Tc superconductors where the superconductivity resides proximate to a magnetic Mott-insulating state. However, distinct from cuprate compounds, which superconduct through two-dimensional (2D) CuO2 planes, alkali fullerides are attributed to the three-dimensional (3D) members of high-Tc family. Here, we employ scanning tunneling microscopy to show that trilayer K3C60 displays fully gapped strong coupling s-wave superconductivity that coexists spatially with a cuprate-like pseudogap state above Tc = 22 K and within vortices. A precise control of electronic correlations and doping reveals that superconductivity occurs near a superconductor-Mott insulator transition and reaches maximum at half-filling. The s-wave symmetry retains over the entire phase diagram, which, in conjunction with an abrupt decline of superconductivity below half-filling, demonstrates that alkali fullerides are predominantly phonon-mediated superconductors, although the multiorbital electronic correlations also come into play.

cond-mat.supr-con↗