arXiv subjects

Zhi-Xin Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Zhi-Xin Hu.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

The Origin of Two-dimensional Electron Gas in Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_x$O/ZnO Heterostructures

Although the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in (001) Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_x$O/ZnO heterostructures has been discovered for about twenty years, the origin of the 2DEG is still inconclusive. In the present letter, the formation mechanisms of 2DEG near the interfaces of (001) Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_x$O/ZnO heterostructures were investigated via the first-principles calculations method. It is found that the polarity discontinuity near the interface can neither lead to the formation of 2DEG in devices with thick Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_{x}$O layers nor in devices with thin Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_{x}$O layers. For the heterostructure with thick Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_{x}$O layers, the oxygen vacancies near the interface introduce a defect band in the band gap, and the top of the defect band overlaps with the bottom of the conduction band, leading to the formation of the 2DEG near the interface of the device. For the heterostructure with thin Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_{x}$O layers, the absorption of hydrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, or OH groups on the surface of Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_{x}$O film plays a key role for the formation of 2DEG in the device. Our results manifest the sources of 2DEGs in Zn$_{1-x}$Mg$_x$O/ZnO heterostructures on the electronic structure level.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

High-mobility two-dimensional electron gas in $γ$-Al$_2$O$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ heterostructures

The origin of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the interface between $γ$-Al$_2$O$_3$ (GAO) and SrTiO$_3$ (STO) (GAO/STO) as well as the reason for the high mobility of the 2DEG is still in debate. In this paper, the electronic structures of [001]-oriented GAO/STO heterostructures with and without oxygen vacancies are investigated by first-principle calculations based on the density functional theory. The calculation results show that the necessary condition for the formation of 2DEG is that the GAO/STO heterostructure has the interface composed of Al and TiO$_2$ layers. For the heterostructure without oxygen vacancy on the GAO side, the 2DEG originates from the polar discontinuity near the interface, and there is a critical thickness for the GAO film, below which the 2DEG would not present and the heterostructure exhibits insulator characteristics. For the case that only the GAO film contains oxygen vacancies, the polar discontinuity near the interface disappears, but the 2DEG still exists. In this situation, the critical thickness of the GAO film for 2DEG formation does not exist either. When the GAO film and STO substrate both contain oxygen vacancies, it is found that the 2DEG retains as long as the oxygen vacancies on the STO side are not very close to the interface. The low-temperature mobilities of the 2DEGs in these GAO/STO heterostructures are considered to be governed by the ionized impurity scattering, and $\sim$3 to $\sim$11 times as large as that in LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ heterojunction. The high mobility of the 2DEG is mainly due to the small electron effective mass in GAO/STO heterostructure.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Interface coupling in twisted multilayer graphene by resonant Raman spectroscopy of layer breathing modes

Raman spectroscopy is the prime non-destructive characterization tool for graphene and related layered materials. The shear (C) and layer breathing modes (LBMs) are due to relative motions of the planes, either perpendicular or parallel to their normal. This allows one to directly probe the interlayer interactions in multilayer samples. Graphene and other two-dimensional (2d) crystals can be combined to form various hybrids and heterostructures, creating materials on demand with properties determined by the interlayer interaction. This is the case even for a single material, where multilayer stacks with different relative orientation have different optical and electronic properties. In twisted multilayer graphene samples there is a significant enhancement of the C modes due to resonance with new optically allowed electronic transitions, determined by the relative orientation of the layers. Here we show that this applies also to the LBMs, that can be now directly measured at room temperature. We find that twisting does not affect LBMs, quite different from the case of the C modes. This implies that the periodicity mismatch between two twisted layers mostly affects shear interactions. Our work shows that Raman spectroscopy is an ideal tool to uncover the interface coupling of 2d hybrids and heterostructures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Interlayer electronic hybridization leads to exceptional thickness-dependent vibrational properties in few-layer black phosphorus

Stacking two-dimensional (2D) materials into multi-layers or heterostructures, known as van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy, is an essential degree of freedom for tuning their properties on demand. Few-layer black phosphorus (FLBP), a material with high potential for nano- and optoelectronics applications, appears to have interlayer couplings much stronger than graphene and other 2D systems. Indeed, these couplings call into question whether the stacking of FLBP can be governed only by vdW interactions, which is of crucial importance for epitaxy and property refinement. Here, we perform a theoretical investigation of the vibrational properties of FLBP, which reflect directly its interlayer coupling, by discussing six Raman-observable phonons, including three optical, one breathing, and two shear modes. With increasing sample thickness, we find anomalous redshifts of the frequencies for each optical mode but a blueshift for the armchair shear mode. Our calculations also show splitting of the phonon branches, due to anomalous surface phenomena, and strong phonon-phonon coupling. By computing uniaxial stress effects, inter-atomic force constants, and electron densities, we provide a compelling demonstration that these properties are the consequence of strong and highly directional interlayer interactions arising from electronic hybridization of the lone electron-pairs of FLBP, rather than from vdW interactions. This exceptional interlayer coupling mechanism controls the stacking stability of BP layers and thus opens a new avenue beyond vdW epitaxy for understanding the design of 2D heterostructures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

High-mobility transport anisotropy and linear dichroism in few-layer black phosphorus

Two-dimensional crystals are emerging materials for nanoelectronics. Development of the field requires candidate systems with both a high carrier mobility and, in contrast to graphene, a sufficiently large electronic bandgap. Here we present a detailed theoretical investigation of the atomic and electronic structure of few-layer black phosphorus (BP) in order to predict its electrical and optical properties. This system has a direct bandgap, tunable from 1.51 eV for a monolayer to 0.59 eV for a 5-layer sample. We predict that the mobilities are hole-dominated, rather high and highly anisotropic. The monolayer is exceptional in having an extremely high hole-mobility (of order 10000 cm$^{2}$ V$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$) and anomalous elastic properties which reverse the anisotropy. Light absorption spectra indicate linear dichroism between perpendicular in-plane directions, which allows optical determination of the crystalline orientation and optical activation of the anisotropic transport properties. These results make few-layer BP a promising candidate for future electronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Role of the dispersion force in modeling the interfacial properties of molecule-metal interfaces: adsorption of thiophene on copper surfaces

We present density functional theory calculations of the geometry, adsorption energy and electronic structure of thiophene adsorbed on Cu(111), Cu(110) and Cu(100) surfaces. Our calculations employ dispersion corrections and self-consistent van der Waals density functionals (vdW-DFs). In terms of speed and accuracy, we find that the dispersion-energy-corrected Revised Perdue-Burke-Enzerhof (RPBE) functional is the "best balanced" method for predicting structural and energetic properties, while vdW-DF is also highly accurate if a proper exchange functional is used. Discrepancies between theory and experiment in molecular geometry can be solved by considering x-ray generated core-holes. However, the discrepancy concerning the adsorption site for thiophene/Cu(100) remains unresolved and requires both further experiments and deeper theoretical analysis. For all the interfaces, the PBE functional reveals a covalent bonding picture which the inclusion of dispersive contributions does not change to a vdW one. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of dispersive forces in modelling molecule-metal interfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Molecular ordering of glycine on Cu(100): the p($2\times4$) superstructure

Glycine molecules deposited on Cu(100) surface give rise to an anisotropic free-electron-like (FEL) electronic dispersion in its p(2$\times$4) superstructure, as reported in recent experiments [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 99}, 216102 (2007); J. Am. Chem. Soc. {\bf 129}, 740 (2007)]. Using density functional theory and exhaustively calculating sixteen possible structures, we have determined the molecular arrangement that can give the experimentally observed FEL behavior. Eight configurations, among the sixteen, were not investigated before in the literature and one of them (denoted Str-3) is able to provide the FEL behavior in excellent agreement with the experiments. In addition, the particular configuration Str-3 satisfies other criteria of the observed p(2$\times$4) superstructure, e.g. chirality and cleavable orientation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗