arXiv subjects

Yoshihiro Iwasa

Publications and source records attributed to Yoshihiro Iwasa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Gate-controlled BCS-BEC crossover in a two-dimensional superconductor

The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) condensation and the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) are the two extreme limits of the ground state of the paired fermion systems. We report crossover behavior from the BCS condensation to the BEC realized in the two-dimensional (2D) superconductor, electron doped layered material ZrNCl. The phase diagram, established by simultaneous experiments of resistivity and tunneling spectra under the ionic gating, demonstrates the pseudogap phase at the low doping regime. In the low carrier density limit, $T_{\rm BKT}$ (Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature for 2D superconductors) scales as $T_{\rm BKT}/T_{\rm F} = 0.12$, where $T_{\rm F}$ is the Fermi temperature, which is consistent with the theoretical upper bound expected in the BCS-BEC crossover regime. The present results indicate that the gate-doped semiconductor provides an ideal platform for the 2D BCS-BEC crossover without any added complexity, such as magnetic orders and density waves.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Dynamical vortex phase diagram of 2D superconductivity in gated MoS2

Recent discoveries of two-dimensional (2D) superconductors have uncovered various new aspects of physical properties including vortex matter. In this paper, we report transport properties and a dynamical phase diagram at zero magnetic field in ion-gated MoS2. In addition to the universal jump in the current-voltage characteristic showing unambiguous evidence of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, we observed multiple peaks in the temperature- and current-derivative of the electrical resistance, based on which a dynamical phase diagram in the current-temperature plane was constructed. We found current-induced dynamical states of vortex-antivortex pairs, containing that with the phase slip line. Also, we present a global phase diagram of vortices in gated MoS2 which captures the nature of vortex matter of clean 2D superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Antiferromagnet-semiconductor van der Waals heterostructures: interlayer interplay of exciton with magnetic ordering

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures have attracted great interest because of their rich material combinations.The discovery of two-dimensional magnets has provided a new platform for magnetic vdW heterointerfaces; however, research on magnetic vdW heterointerfaces has been limited to those with ferromagnetic surfaces. Here we report a magnetic vdW heterointerface using layered intralayer-antiferromagnetic MPSe3 (M=Mn, Fe) and monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). We found an anomalous upshift of the excitonic peak in monolayer TMDs below the antiferromagnetic transition temperature in the MPSe3, capturing a signature of the interlayer exciton-magnon coupling. This is a concept extended from single materials to heterointerfaces. Moreover, this coupling strongly depends on the in-plane magnetic structure and stacking direction, showing its sensitivity to their magnetic interfaces. Our finding offers an opportunity to investigate interactions between elementary excitations in different materials across interfaces and to search for new functions of magnetic vdW heterointerfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Intrinsic 2D Ferromagnetism in V5Se8 Epitaxial Thin Films

The discoveries of intrinsic ferromagnetism in atomically-thin van der Waals crystals have opened up a new research field enabling fundamental studies on magnetism at two-dimensional (2D) limit as well as development of magnetic van der Waals heterostructures. To date, a variety of 2D ferromagnetism has been explored mainly by mechanically exfoliating 'originally ferromagnetic (FM)' van der Waals crystals, while bottom-up approach by thin film growth technique has demonstrated emergent 2D ferromagnetism in a variety of 'originally non-FM' van der Waals materials. Here we demonstrate that V5Se8 epitaxial thin films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) exhibit emergent 2D ferromagnetism with intrinsic spin polarization of the V 3d electrons despite that the bulk counterpart is 'originally antiferromagnetic (AFM)'. Moreover, thickness-dependence measurements reveal that this newly-developed 2D ferromagnet could be classified as an itinerant 2D Heisenberg ferromagnet with weak magnetic anisotropy, broadening a lineup of 2D magnets to those potentially beneficial for future spintronics applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Pressure-induced topological phase transition in noncentrosymmetric elemental Tellurium

Recent progress in understanding the electronic band topology and emergent topological properties encourage us to reconsider the band structure of well-known materials including elemental substances. Controlling such a band topology by external field is of particular interest from both fundamental and technological view point. Here we report the pressure-induced topological phase transition from a semiconductor to a Weyl semimetal in elemental tellurium probed by transport measurements. Pressure variation of the periods of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, as well as oscillations phases, shows an anomaly around the pressure theoretically predicted for topological phase transition. This behavior can be well understood by the pressure-induced band deformation and resultant band crossing effect. Moreover, effective cyclotron mass is reduced toward the critical pressure, potentially reflecting the emergence of massless linear dispersion. The present result paves the way for studying the electronic band topology in well-known compounds and topological phase transition by the external field.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Deep learning-based quality filtering of mechanically exfoliated 2D crystals

Two-dimensional (2D) crystals are attracting growing interest in various research fields such as engineering, physics, chemistry, pharmacy and biology owing to their low dimensionality and dramatic change of properties compared to the bulk counterparts. Among the various techniques used to manufacture 2D crystals, mechanical exfoliation has been essential to practical applications and fundamental research. However, mechanically exfoliated crystals on substrates contain relatively thick flakes that must be found and removed manually, limiting high-throughput manufacturing of atomic 2D crystals and van der Waals heterostructures. Here we present a deep learning-based method to segment and identify the thickness of atomic layer flakes from optical microscopy images. Through carefully designing a neural network based on U-Net, we found that our neural network based on U-net trained only with the data based on 24 images successfully distinguish monolayer and bilayer MoS2 with a success rate of 70%, which is a practical value in the first screening process for choosing monolayer and bilayer flakes of MoS2 of all flakes on substrates without human eye. The remarkable results highlight the possibility that a large fraction of manual laboratory work can be replaced by AI-based systems, boosting productivity.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Photoinduced Rashba spin to charge conversion via interfacial unoccupied state

At interfaces with inversion symmetry breaking, Rashba effect couples the motion of electrons to their spin; as a result, spin-charge interconversion mechanism can occur. These interconversion mechanisms commonly exploit Rashba spin splitting at the Fermi level by spin pumping or spin torque ferromagnetic resonance. Here, we report evidence of significant photoinduced spin to charge conversion via Rashba spin splitting in an unoccupied state above the Fermi level at the Cu(111)/$α$-Bi$_{2}$O$_{3}$ interface. We predict an average Rashba coefficient of $1.72\times 10^{-10}eV.m$ at 1.98 eV above the Fermi level, by fully relativistic first-principles analysis of the interfacial electronic structure with spin orbit interaction. We find agreement with our observation of helicity dependent photoinduced spin to charge conversion excited at 1.96 eV at room temperature, with spin current generation of $J_{s}=10^{6}A/m^{2}$. The present letter shows evidence of efficient spin-charge conversion exploiting Rashba spin splitting at excited states, harvesting light energy without magnetic materials or external magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Quantum and classical ratchet motions of vortices in a 2D trigonal superconductor

Dynamical behavior of vortices plays central roles in the quantum phenomena of two-dimensional (2D) superconductors. Quantum metallic state, for example, showing an anomalous temperature-independent resistive state down to low-temperatures, has been a common subject in recently developed 2D crystalline superconductors, whose microscopic origin is still under debate. Here, we unveil a new aspect of the vortex dynamics in a noncentrosymmetric 2D crystalline superconductor of MoS$_{2}$ through the nonreciprocal transport measurement. The second harmonic resistance $R^{2w}$ at low temperature with high current indicates the classical vortex flow accompanying the ratchet motion. Furthermore, we found that $R^{2w}$ is substantially suppressed in the quantum metallic state with low current region, allowing identification of the quantum and classical ratchet motions of vortices by the magnitude of the second harmonic generation. This suggests that nonreciprocal transport measurement can be a powerful tool to probe the vortex dynamics in noncentrosymmetric 2D superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Signatures of charge-order correlations in transport properties of electron-doped cuprate superconductors

The high-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides emerges under strong influence of spin correlations in doped Mott insulators. Recent discoveries of charge-order (CO) correlations in Y-based hole-doped cuprates as well as in electron-doped cuprates suggest that charge correlations should also play an important role on the electronic states of cuprates, although those correlations have been so far detected mainly by x-ray scattering measurements. Here we show signatures of CO correlations in transport properties of electron-doped cuprates as anomalous enhancement of the metal-to-insulator crossover temperature (Tmin) appears in the limited doping range near the onset of superconductivity, while it decreases exactly when superconductivity sets in. We explain this non-monotonous peak-like behavior of Tmin in terms of the evolution of the electronic states through development of CO correlations and appearance of the hole pockets in the folded Fermi surface, which impact on transport properties consecutively at different locations in the momentum space.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Gate-controlled low carrier density superconductors: Toward the two-dimensional BCS-BEC crossover

Superconductivity mostly appears in high carrier density systems and sometimes exhibits common phase diagrams in which the critical temperature Tc continuously develops with carrier density. Superconductivity enhanced in lightly doped regime has seldom been reported, although it is an ideal direction towards the crossover between Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) limits, where the behavior of Cooper pairs changes dramatically. Here we report transport properties and superconducting gaps in single-crystalline lithium-intercalated layered nitrides (LixHfNCl and LixZrNCl) down to the low-doping regime, enabled by a combination of ionic gating device and tunneling spectroscopy. Upon the reduction of doping, both systems display the increase of Tc, up to 24.9 K especially in LixHfNCl, with the concomitant enhancement of two-dimensionality leading to a pseudogap state below 35.5 K as well as the increase of superconducting coupling strengths 2D/kBTc reaching 5.9. Such behavior in the carrier density region as low as 10^20 cm-3 indicates that lightly doped two-dimensional superconductors exhibit the unprecedented nature that is distinct from that in conventional superconductors, and offer a new route to access BCS-BEC crossover.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Quantum phase transitions in highly crystalline two-dimensional superconductors

Superconductor-insulator transition is one of the remarkable phenomena driven by quantum fluctuation in two-dimensional (2D) systems. Such a quantum phase transition (QPT) was investigated predominantly on highly disordered thin films with amorphous or granular structures using scaling law with constant exponents. Here, we provide a totally different view of QPT in highly crystalline 2D superconductors. According to the magneto-transport measurements in 2D superconducting ZrNCl and MoS2, we found that the quantum metallic state commonly observed at low magnetic fields is converted via the quantum Griffiths state to the weakly localized metal at high magnetic fields. The scaling behavior, characterized by the diverging dynamical critical exponent (Griffiths singularity), indicates that the quantum fluctuation manifests itself as superconducting puddles, in marked contrast with the thermal fluctuation. We suggest that an evolution from the quantum metallic to the quantum Griffiths state is generic nature in highly crystalline 2D superconductors with weak pinning potentials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Layer-by-layer epitaxial growth of scalable WSe2 on sapphire by molecular-beam epitaxy

Molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) provides a simple but powerful way to synthesize large-area high-quality thin films and heterostructures of a wide variety of materials including accomplished group III-V and II-VI semiconductors as well as newly-developing oxides and chalcogenides, leading to major discoveries in condensed-matter physics. For two-dimensional (2D) materials, however, main fabrication routes have been mechanical exfoliation and chemical-vapor deposition by making good use of weak van der Waals bonding nature between neighboring layers, and MBE growth of 2D materials, in particular on insulating substrates for transport measurements, has been limited despite its fundamental importance for future advanced research. Here we report layer-by-layer epitaxial growth of scalable transition-metal dichalocogenide (TMDC) thin films on insulating substrates by MBE, and demonstrate ambipolar transistor operation. The proposed growth protocol is broadly applicable to other TMDC, providing a key milestone toward fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures with various 2D materials for novel properties and functionalities.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Gate-Tuned Thermoelectric Power in Black Phosphorus

The electric field effect is a useful means of elucidating intrinsic material properties as well as for designing functional devices. The electric-double-layer transistor (EDLT) enables the control of carrier density in a wide range, which is recently proved to be an effective tool for the investigation of thermoelectric properties. Here, we report the gate-tuning of thermoelectric power in a black phosphorus (BP) single crystal flake with the thickness of 40 nm. Using an EDLT configuration, we successfully control the thermoelectric power (S), and find that the S of ion-gated BP reached +510 $μ$V/K at 210 K in the hole depleted state, which is much higher than the reported bulk single crystal value of +340 $μ$V/K at 300 K. We compared this experimental data with the first-principles-based calculation and found that this enhancement is qualitatively explained by the effective thinning of the conduction channel of the BP flake and non-uniformity of the channel owing to the gate operation in a depletion mode. Our results provide new opportunities for further engineering BP as a thermoelectric material in nanoscale.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Highly crystalline 2D superconductors

Recent technological advances in controlling materials have developed methods to produce idealized two-dimensional (2D) electron systems such as heterogeneous interfaces, molecular-beam-epitaxy (MBE) grown atomic layers, exfoliated thin flakes and field-effect devices. These 2D electron systems are highly-crystalline with less disorder in common, some of which indeed show sheet resistance more than one order of magnitude lower even in atomic layers or single layers than that of conventional amorphous/granular thin films. Here, we present a review on the recent developments of highly-crystalline 2D superconductors and a series of unprecedented physical properties discovered in these systems. In particular, we highlight the quantum metallic state (or possible metallic ground state), the quantum Griffiths phase in out-of-plane magnetic fields, and the superconducting state maintained in anomalously large in-plane magnetic fields, which were observed in exfoliated 2D materials, MBE-grown atomic-layer thin films and electric-double-layer (ion-gated) interfaces. These phenomena are discussed on the basis of weakened disorder and/or broken spatial inversion symmetry. These novel aspects suggest that highly-crystalline 2D systems are promising platforms for exploring new quantum physics and superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Photodetection in p-n junctions formed by electrolyte-gated transistors of two-dimensional crystals

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers have attracted much attention due to their strong light absorption and excellent electronic properties. These advantages make this type of two-dimensional crystal a promising one for optoelectronic device applications. In the case of photoelectric conversion devices such as photodetectors and photovoltaic cells, p-n junctions are one of the most important devices. Here, we demonstrate photodetection with WSe2 monolayer films. We prepare the electrolyte-gated ambipolar transistors and electrostatic p-n junctions are formed by the electrolyte-gating technique at 270 K. These p-n junctions are cooled down to fix the ion motion (and p-n junctions) and we observed the reasonable photocurrent spectra without the external bias, indicating the formation of p-n junctions. Very interestingly, two-terminal devices exhibit higher photoresponsivity than that of three-terminal ones, suggesting the formation of highly balanced anion and cation layers. The maximum photoresponsivity reaches 5 mA/W in resonance with the first excitonic peak. Our technique provides important evidence for optoelectronics in atomically thin crystals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Evolution of Insulator-Metal Phase Transitions in Epitaxial Tungsten Oxide Films during Electrolyte-Gating

An interface between an oxide and an electrolyte gives rise to various processes as exemplified by electrostatic charge accumulation/depletion and electrochemical reactions such as intercalation/decalation under electric field. Here we directly compare typical device operations of those in electric double layer transistor geometry by adopting ${A}$-site vacant perovskite WO$_3$ epitaxial thin films as a channel material and two different electrolytes as gating agent. $\textit{In situ}$ measurements of x-ray diffraction and channel resistance performed during the gating revealed that in both the cases WO$_3$ thin film reaches a new metallic state through multiple phase transitions, accompanied by the change in out-of-plane lattice constant. Electrons are electrostatically accumulated from the interface side with an ionic liquid, while alkaline metal ions are more uniformly intercalated into the film with a polymer electrolyte. We systematically demonstrate this difference in the electrostatic and electrochemical processes, by comparing doped carrier density, lattice deformation behavior, and time constant of the phase transitions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Superconductivity protected by spin-valley locking in ion-gated MoS2

Symmetry-breaking has been known to play a key role in noncentrosymmetric superconductors with strong spin-orbit-interaction (SOI). The studies, however, have been so far mainly focused on a particular type of SOI, known as Rashba SOI, whereby the electron spin is locked to its momentum at a right-angle, thereby leading to an in-planar helical spin texture. Here we discuss electric-field-induced superconductivity in molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), which exhibits a fundamentally different type of intrinsic SOI manifested by an out-of-plane Zeeman-type spin polarization of energy valleys. We find an upper critical field of approximately 52 T at 1.5 K, which indicates an enhancement of the Pauli limit by a factor of four as compared to that in centrosymmetric conventional superconductors. Using realistic tight-binding calculations, we reveal that this unusual behaviour is due to an inter-valley pairing that is symmetrically protected by Zeeman-type spin-valley locking against external magnetic fields. Our study sheds a new light on the interplay of inversion asymmetry with SOI in confined geometries, and its unprecedented role in superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Metallic ground state in an ion-gated two-dimensional superconductor

Recently emerging two-dimensional (2D) superconductors in atomically thin layers and at heterogeneous interfaces are attracting growing interest in condensed matter physics. Here, we report that ion-gated ZrNCl surface, exhibiting a dome-shaped phase diagram with a maximum critical temperature of 14.8 kelvin, behaves as a superconductor persisting to the 2D limit. The superconducting thickness estimated from the upper critical fields is ~ 1.8 nanometers, which is thinner than one-unit-cell. The majority of the vortex phase diagram down to 2 kelvin is occupied by a metallic state with a finite resistance, owing to the quantum creep of vortices caused by extremely weak pinning and diminishing disorder. Our findings highlight the potential of electric-field-induced superconductivity, establishing a new platform for accessing quantum phases in clean 2D superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗