arXiv subjects

Zijin Lei

Publications and source records attributed to Zijin Lei.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Atomic-scale composition of the ternary III-V semiconductor (Al,Ga)Sb visualized by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy

Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy at 5 K is used to investigate cation mixing in (Al,Ga)Sb layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy, via direct atom counting at the (1-10) and (110) cleavage planes. Electronic contrast between Al and Ga surface cations enables statistical analysis of the metal sublattice along the non-equivalent <110> directions within the zincblende (001) surface and along the [001] growth direction. The cation distribution is found to be random both along the growth direction and within the growth plane, with no evidence of long-range order or anisotropic growth kinetics; notably, the mean numbers of consecutive cations of the same type along the two in-plane directions are equal, possibly due to statistical averaging over randomly distributed subsurface cations. The results are compatible with either strain-mediated interactions during cation incorporation at the growth front or ideal, uncorrelated cation mixing. Overall, the examined (Al,Ga)Sb alloy shows an exceptionally high degree of atomic-level homogeneity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Impact of Layer Structure and Strain on Morphology and Electronic Properties of InAs Quantum Wells on InP (001)

High-quality InAs quantum wells grown on InP are a promising platform for topological quantum information processing due to their large g-factor, strong Rashba spin-orbit interaction, and their compatibility with in-situ-deposited superconductors. In this work, we investigate InAs/InGaAs quantum wells grown on InP (001) wafers, focusing on how the layer structure and strain influence the electronic properties and surface morphology. By combining quantum transport measurements with atomic force microscopy, we show that the layer design predominantly affects the mobility anisotropy, which aligns well with the surface morphology. Surface characterization further reveals the mechanism of quantum well collapse when the layer thickness exceeds the strain limit. In addition, transport measurements demonstrate that quantum confinement has a clear impact on band nonparabolicity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

An InAsSb surface quantum well with in-situ deposited Nb as a platform for semiconductor-superconductor hybrid devices

We present a novel semiconductor-superconductor hybrid material based on a molecular beam epitaxially grown InAsSb surface quantum well with an in-situ deposited Nb top layer. Relative to conventional Al-InAs based systems, the InAsSb surface quantum well offers a lower effective mass and stronger spin-orbit interaction, while the Nb layer has a higher critical temperature and a larger critical magnetic field. The in-situ deposition of the Nb results in a high-quality interface that enables strong coupling to the InAsSb quantum well. Transport measurements on Josephson junctions reveal an induced superconducting gap of 1.3 meV. Furthermore, a planar asymmetric SQUID is realized, exhibiting gate-tunable superimposed oscillations originating from both the individual Josephson junction and the full SQUID loop. The large induced superconducting gap combined with strong spin-orbit interaction position this material as an attractive platform for experiments exploring gate-tunable superconductivity and topological superconducting devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Improving Electrical Contact Quality and Extraordinary Magnetoresistance in High Mobility III-V Semiconductors

Magnetometers based on the extraordinary magnetoresistance (EMR) effect are promising for applications which demand high sensitivity combined with room temperature operation but their application for magnetic field sensing requires further optimization. A key challenge is to obtain Ohmic metal/semiconductor contacts with low contact resistances in EMR devices comprising semiconductors with low carrier densities and high electron mobilities, yet, this topic remains scarcely investigated experimentally. By annealing high-mobility InSb in argon with systematically increasing temperatures, we experimentally demonstrate how the contact resistance to InSb films can be improved by two orders of magnitude by annealing to the micro-Ohm cm2 range without degrading the high mobility. We further show that lowering the contact resistance monotonously increases the room temperature magnetoresistance at 2 T from 700% to 65,000%. Lastly, we explore the origin of intrinsic magnetoresistance in high-mobility InSb thin films and suggest that it can best be explained by multiple band conduction.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Memory resistor based in GaAs 2D-bilayers: In and out of equilibrium

Resonant tunneling between closely spaced two dimensional electron gases is a single particle phenomenon that has sparked interest for decades. High tunneling conductances at equal electron densities are observed whenever the Fermi levels of the two quantum wells align. Detuning the Fermi levels out of the resonant 2D-2D tunneling regime causes a negative differential resistance. The negative differential resistance leads to a hysteresis when operating the device in a current driven mode, allowing a bilayer system to function as a volatile memory resistor.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Gate-defined Two-dimensional Hole and Electron Systems in an Undoped InSb Quantum Well

Quantum transport measurements are performed in gate-defined, high-quality, two-dimensional hole and electron systems in an undoped InSb quantum well. For both polarities, the carrier systems show tunable spin-orbit interaction as extracted from weak anti-localization measurements. The effective mass of InSb holes strongly increases with carrier density as determined from the temperature dependence of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Coincidence measurements in a tilted magnetic field are performed to estimate the spin susceptibility of the InSb two-dimensional hole system. The g-factor of the two-dimensional hole system decreases rapidly with increasing carrier density.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

High-quality Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in Undoped InSb Quantum Wells

We report on transport experiments through high-mobility gate-tunable undoped InSb QWs. Due to the elimination of any Si modulation doping, the gate-defined two-dimensional electron gases in the quantum wells display a significantly increased mobility of 260,000 cm$^2$/Vs at a rather low density of $2.4\times10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$. Using magneto-transport experiments, we characterize spin-orbit interactions by measuring weak antilocalization. Furthermore, by measuring Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in tilted magnetic fields, we find that the g-factor agrees with $k \cdot p$ theory calculations at low magnetic fields but grows with spin polarization and carrier density at high magnetic fields. Additionally, signatures of Ising quantum Hall ferromagnetism are found at filling factor $ν$ = 2 for tilt angles where the Landau level energy equals the Zeeman energy. Despite the high mobility, the undoped InSb quantum wells exhibit no fractional quantum Hall effect up to magnetic fields of 25 T.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Gate-defined Quantum Point Contact in an InSb Two-dimensional Electron Gas

We investigate an electrostatically defined quantum point contact in a high-mobility InSb two-dimensional electron gas. Well-defined conductance plateaus are observed, and the subband structure of the quantum point contact is extracted from finite-bias measurements. The Zeeman splitting is measured in both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields. We find an in-plane g factor $|g_{\parallel}^* | \approx$ 40. The out-of-plane g factor is measured to be $|g_{\perp}^* | \approx$ 50, which is close to the g factor in the bulk.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Electronic g-factor and Magneto-transport in InSb Quantum Wells

High mobility InSb quantum wells with tunable carrier densities are investigated by transport experiments in magnetic fields tilted with respect to the sample normal. We employ the coincidence method and the temperature dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations and find a value for the effective g-factor of $\mid g^{\ast}\mid $ =35$\pm$4 and a value for the effective mass of $m^*\approx0.017 m_0$, where $m_0$ is the electron mass in vacuum. Our measurements are performed in a magnetic field and a density range where the enhancement mechanism of the effective g-factor can be neglected. Accordingly, the obtained effective g-factor and the effective mass can be quantitatively explained in a single particle picture. Additionally, we explore the magneto-transport up to magnetic fields of 35 T and do not find features related to the fractional quantum Hall effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

A Gate-Defined Quantum Point Contact in an InAs Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

We experimentally study quantized conductance in an electrostatically defined constriction in a high-mobility InAs two-dimensional electron gas. A parallel magnetic field lifts the spin degeneracy and allows for the observation of plateaus in integer multiples of $e^2/h$. Upon the application of a perpendicular magnetic field, spin-resolved magnetoelectric subbands are visible. Through finite bias spectroscopy we measure the subband spacings in both parallel and perpendicular direction of the magnetic field and determine the $g$-factor.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Quantum transport in high-quality shallow InSb quantum wells

InSb is one of the promising candidates to realize a topological state through proximity induced superconductivity in a material with strong spin-orbit interactions. In two-dimensional systems, thin barriers are needed to allow strong coupling between superconductors and semiconductors. However, it is still challenging to obtain a high-quality InSb two-dimensional electron gas in quantum wells close to the surface. Here we report on a molecular beam epitaxy grown heterostructure of InSb quantum wells with substrate-side Si-doping and ultra-thin InAlSb (5 nm, 25 nm, and 50 nm) barriers to the surface. We demonstrate that the carrier densities in these quantum wells are gate-tunable and electron mobilities up to 350,000 $\rm{cm^2(Vs)^{-1}}$ are extracted from magneto-transport measurements. Furthermore, from temperature-dependent magneto-resistance measurements, we extract an effective mass of 0.02 $m_0$ and find a Zeeman splitting compatible with the expected g-factor.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Interactions and magnetotransport through spin-valley coupled Landau levels in monolayer MoS$_{2}$

The strong spin-orbit coupling and the broken inversion symmetry in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) results in spin-valley coupled band structures. Such a band structure leads to novel applications in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics. Density functional theory calculations as well as optical experiments have focused on spin-valley coupling in the valence band. Here we present magnetotransport experiments on high-quality n-type monolayer molybdenum disulphide (MoS$_{2}$) samples, displaying highly resolved Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations at magnetic fields as low as $2~T$. We find the effective mass $0.7~m_{e}$, about twice as large as theoretically predicted and almost independent of magnetic field and carrier density. We further detect the occupation of the second spin-orbit split band at an energy of about $15~meV$, i.e. about a factor $5$ larger than predicted. In addition, we demonstrate an intricate Landau level spectrum arising from a complex interplay between a density-dependent Zeeman splitting and spin and valley-split Landau levels. These observations, enabled by the high electronic quality of our samples, testify to the importance of interaction effects in the conduction band of monolayer MoS$_{2}$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Edgeless and Purely Gate-Defined Nanostructures in InAs Quantum Wells

Nanostructures in InAs quantum wells have so far remained outside of the scope of traditional microfabrication techniques based on etching. This is due to parasitic parallel conduction arising from charge carrier accumulation at the physical edges of samples. Here we present a technique which enables the realization of quantum point contacts and quantum dots in two-dimensional electron gases of InAs purely by electrostatic gating. Multiple layers of top gates separated by dielectric layers are employed. Full quantum point contact pinch-off and measurements of Coulomb-blockade diamonds of quantum dots are demonstrated.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Gate-Tunable Quantum Dot in a High Quality Single Layer MoS$_{\mathrm{2}}$ Van der Waals Heterostructure

We have fabricated an encapsulated monolayer MoS$_{\mathrm{2}}$ device with metallic ohmic contacts through a pre-patterned hBN layer. In the bulk, we observe an electron mobility as high as 3000 cm$^{\mathrm{2}}$/Vs at a density of 7 $\times$ 10$^{\mathrm{12}}$ cm$^{\mathrm{-2}}$ at a temperature of 1.7 K. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations start at magnetic fields as low as 3.3 T. By realizing a single quantum dot gate structure on top of the hBN we are able to confine electrons in MoS$_{\mathrm{2}}$ and observe the Coulomb blockade effect. By tuning the middle gate voltage we reach a double dot regime where we observe the standard honeycomb pattern in the charge stability diagram.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Measurements of the spin-orbit interaction and Landé g factor in a pure-phase InAs nanowire double quantum dot in the Pauli spin-blockade regime

We demonstrate direct measurements of the spin-orbit interaction and Landé g factors in a semiconductor nanowire double quantum dot. The device is made from a single-crystal pure-phase InAs nanowire on top of an array of finger gates on a Si/SiO$_2$ substrate and the measurements are performed in the Pauli spin-blockade regime. It is found that the double quantum dot exhibits a large singlet-triplet energy splitting of $Δ_{ST}\sim 2.3$ meV, a strong spin-orbit interaction of $Δ_{SO}\sim 140$ $μ$eV, and a large and strongly level-dependent Landé g factor of $\sim 12.5$. These results imply that single-crystal pure-phase InAs nanowires are desired semiconductor nanostructures for applications in quantum information technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Energy issues for construction of 10 nm sized electrostatic traps in saline

In addition to optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers and dielectrophoresis technique, trapping and manipulating micro or nano particles with electrostatic tweezers attracted attention in recent years. Here we present a simulation study on the contributions of electrostatic energy, change of entropy, as well as van der Waals interaction in the trapping performance of a 10 nm sized, pentagon shaped nano trap for a charged nanoparticle in saline. The results show that the system has a moderate trapping well of moderate depth; van der Waals interaction enhances the trapping capability, and the entropy term induced in distribution contributes significantly in the trapping capability. This work provides some valuable clues to the development of practical submicron devices of electrostatic tweezers working in a solution with ions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗