Single-layer Regions Research Articles

Deteriorated Interlayer Coupling in Twisted Bilayer Cobaltites.

A wealth of remarkable behaviors is observed at the interfaces between magnetic oxides due to the coexistence of Coulomb repulsion and interatomic exchange interactions. While previous research has focused on bonded oxide heterointerfaces, studies on magnetism in van der Waals interfaces remain rare. In this study, we stacked two freestanding cobaltites with precisely controlled twist angles. Scanning transmission electron microscopy revealed clear and ordered moiré patterns, which exhibit an inverse relationship with the twist angle. We observed that the Curie temperature in the twisted region is lower than that in the single-layer region and varies systematically with the twist angle. This phenomenon may be related to the weakening of the orbital hybridization between oxygen ions and transition metal ions in the unbonded interfaces. Our findings suggest a potential avenue for modulating magnetic interactions in correlated systems through twist, providing opportunities for the discovery of unknown quantum states.

Solution of the Optimization Problem of Magnetotelluric Sounding in Quaternions by the Differential Evolution Method

The article discusses the application of quaternion Fourier transforms and quaternion algebra to transform Maxwell’s equations. This makes it possible to present the problem of magnetotelluric sensing (MTS) in a more convenient form for research. Studies of the inverse MTS problem for multi-layer regions are presented using the differential evolution method, which demonstrates high convergence. For single-layer regions, a new method for solving inverse problems based on minimizing the quadratic functional using conjugate optimization methods is considered. Numerical results obtained using special Python libraries are presented, with analysis and conclusions.

Holographic multiplexing in a photopolymerisable hybrid sol-gel

Holographic multiplexing techniques enhance functionality and information storage by leveraging the inherent selectivity of holograms. This is crucial for advancing holographic sensors, which excel in simultaneously detecting multiple parameters from a single input signal. This study explores the potential of the recent photopolymerisable hybrid sol-gel (PHSG) material for application in Space sensing systems through the investigation of its holographic angular multiplexing capabilities. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, we report the successful recording of up to five angularly multiplexed gratings with diffraction efficiencies (DE) ≥ 15% in 187 ± 18 µm PHSG layers. A 3 mW/cm2 laser beam was used to record gratings (0–20° angular separation) with a spatial frequency of 800 ± 20 lines/mm utilising different exposure times. The study revealed that each successive multiplexing in the single-layer region resulted in a decrease in the material's recording sensitivity. Holographic recording sensitivity and DE growth during the grating formation period depend on the number of gratings multiplexed in the layer. The seven-month-old, multiplexed gratings demonstrate consistent DE, stable angular selectivity and diffraction angle. This study positions the PHSG material as a promising candidate for developing reliable multiplexed devices.

Permanent Boron Doped Graphene with high Homogeneity using Phenylboronic Acid

Permanent Boron Doped Graphene with high Homogeneity using Phenylboronic Acid

Spatial Mapping of Thermal Boundary Conductance at Metal-Molybdenum Diselenide Interfaces.

Improving the thermal transport across interfaces is a necessary consideration for micro- and nanoelectronic devices and necessitates accurate measurement of the thermal boundary conductance (TBC) and understanding of transport mechanisms. Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been studied extensively for their electrical properties, including the metal-TMD electrical contact resistance, but the thermal properties of these interfaces are significantly less explored irrespective of their high importance in their electronic devices. We isolate individual islands of MoSe2 grown by chemical vapor deposition using photolithography and correlate the 2D variation of TBC with optical microscope images of the MoSe2 islands. We measure the 2D spatial variation of the TBC at metal-MoSe2-SiO2 interfaces using a modified time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) technique, which requires much less time than full TDTR scans. The thermoreflectance signal at a single probe delay time is compared with a correlation curve, which enables us to estimate the change in the signal with respect to the TBC at the metal-MoSe2-SiO2 interface as opposed to recording the decay of the thermoreflectance signal over delay times of several nanoseconds. The results show a higher TBC across the Ti-MoSe2-SiO2 interface compared to Al-MoSe2-SiO2. An image-clustering method is developed to differentiate the TBC for different numbers of MoSe2 layers, which reveals that the TBC in single-layer regions is higher than that in the bilayer. We perform traditional TDTR measurements over a range of delay times and verify that TBC is higher at the Ti-MoSe2-SiO2 interface compared to Al-MoSe2-SiO2, highlighting the importance of the choice of metal for heat dissipation at electrical contacts in TMD devices.

Thermal transport across graphene step junctions

Step junctions are often present in layered materials, i.e. where single-layer regions meet multilayer regions, yet their effect on thermal transport is not understood to date. Here, we measure heat flow across graphene junctions (GJs) from monolayer-to-bilayer graphene, as well as bilayer to four-layer graphene for the first time, in both heat flow directions. The thermal conductance of the monolayer-bilayer GJ ranges from ~0.5 to 9.1 × 108 W m−2 K−1 between 50 K to 300 K. Atomistic simulations of such a GJ device reveal that graphene layers are relatively decoupled, and the low thermal conductance of the device is determined by the resistance between the two distinct graphene layers. In these conditions the junction plays a negligible effect. To prove that the decoupling between layers controls thermal transport in the junction, the heat flow in both directions was measured, showing no evidence of thermal asymmetry or rectification, within experimental error bars. For large-area graphene applications, this signifies that small bilayer (or multilayer) islands have little or no contribution to overall thermal transport.

Enhanced oxidation power in photoelectrocatalysis based on a micrometer-localized positive potential in a terrace hetero p\u2013n junction

Generally, p–n junction-based solar energy conversion has the disadvantage of a loss in potential gain in comparison with the photon energy. In this study, we found a more positive potential for a lateral domain interface of p–n junction than for a conventional p–n junction. A terrace bilayer (TB) p–n junction of phthalocyanine (H2Pc) and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic-bis-benzimidazole (PTCBI) was studied using scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM), and its electronic properties were analyzed using the contact potential difference (VCPD) data. The analysis of VCPD in the single layer region and the bilayer region (BLR) indicated a vacuum level shift through the electron transfer from PTCBI into indium tin oxide (ITO), from H2Pc into ITO and from H2Pc into PTCBI. Furthermore, the comparison of these VCPD data indicated a micrometer-localized positive potential in the boundary region (BDR) of the terrace bilayer structure of p-type on n-type. The gain difference of the VCPD reached +0.1 V in comparison with the BLR. The phenomena can be explained as a lateral dipole at the p–n junction. Similar phenomena were observed in TB-H2Pc/C60/ITO and TB-H2Pc/PTCBI/Au. The gain was extracted as oxidation power in photoelectrochemistry; i.e., at −0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl a greater anodic current was observed for a patterned terrace bilayer electrode. Additionally, as a photocatalyst film (i.e., a H2Pc (dot)/PTCBI/PTFE membrane filter), the p–n dot terrace structure showed a higher quantum efficiency (5.1%) than that of the bilayer (3.2%) for the decomposition of acetic acid. The present design and method were utilized to obtain an efficient photocatalyst, especially through the mitigation of potential loss from the photon energy to redox powers without changing the molecular component.

Fabrication of Subnanometer-Precision Nanopores in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

We demonstrate the fabrication of individual nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with atomically precise control of the pore shape and size. Previous methods of pore production in other 2D materials typically create pores with irregular geometry and imprecise diameters. In contrast, other studies have shown that with careful control of electron irradiation, defects in h-BN grow with pristine zig-zag edges at quantized triangular sizes, but they have failed to demonstrate production and control of isolated defects. In this work, we combine these techniques to yield a method in which we can create individual size-quantized triangular nanopores through an h-BN sheet. The pores are created using the electron beam of a conventional transmission electron microscope; which can strip away multiple layers of h-BN exposing single-layer regions, introduce single vacancies, and preferentially grow vacancies only in the single-layer region. We further demonstrate how the geometry of these pores can be altered beyond triangular by changing beam conditions. Precisely size- and geometry-tuned nanopores could find application in molecular sensing, DNA sequencing, water desalination, and molecular separation.

Electric-field-induced penetration of edge states at the interface between monolayer and bilayer graphene

The edge states in the hybrid system of single-layer and double-layer graphene are studied in the tight-binding model theoretically. The edge states in one side of the interface between single-layer and double-layer graphene are shown to penetrate into the single-layer region when the perpendicular electric field is applied, while they are localized in the double-layer region without electric field. The edge states in another side of the interface are localized in the double-layer region independent of the electric field. This field-induced penetration of the edge states can be applied to switching devices. We also find a new type of the edge states at the boundary between single-layer and the double-layer graphene.

Excitation properties ofν=2/3bilayer quantum Hall phases investigated by magnetotransport methods

We report on novel excitation properties in the \ensuremath{\nu} $=$ 2/3 bilayer quantum Hall (QH) phases by carrying out magnetotransport measurements using a GaAs$/$AlGaAs double-quantum-well sample. We refer to the areas with different particular excitation properties in a single phase as phase internal areas (pi-areas). The differences of the excited states between the pi-areas in the high- and low-magnetic-field region of the same phase lead to different behavior of thermal activation energy \ensuremath{\Delta} under a tilted magnetic field. A new pi-area appears between the balanced point and the single-layer region when \ensuremath{\Delta}${}_{\mathrm{SAS}}$ is small. A simple theoretical model based on the composite-fermion picture is advanced for bilayer fractional QH systems to interpret the characteristics of these pi-areas. Finite-size exact-diagonalization calculations are also executed to verify the validity of the theoretical model.