Quantum Hall Spin Diode

Reconfigurable spin tunnel diodes by doping engineering VS2 monolayers

We propose a reconfigurable spin tunnel diode based on a small spin-gapped semiconductor (non-doped VS2 monolayer) and semi-metallic magnets (doped VS2 monolayer) separated by a thin insulating tunneling barrier (h-BN). By using first-principles calculations assisted by the nonequilibrium Green's function method, we have carried out a comprehensive study of spin-dependent current and spin transport properties while varying the bias. The device exhibited a magnetization-controlled diode-like behavior with forward-allowed current under antiparallel magnetizations and reverse-forbidden current under parallel magnetizations at the two electrodes. The threshold voltage is tunable by the hole doping density of VS2 monolayers. The doping effect on VS2 monolayers indicates that the magnetic moments, the Heisenberg exchange parameters and Curie temperatures can be monotonically reduced by a larger hole doping density. Our study on VS2 heterostructures has presented a simple and practical device strategy with very promising applications in spintronics.

Valley-Tunable Even-Denominator Fractional Quantum Hall State in the Lowest Landau Level of an Anisotropic System

Fractional quantum Hall states (FQHSs) at even-denominator Landau level filling factors (ν) are of prime interest as they are predicted to host exotic, topological states of matter. We report here the observation of a FQHS at ν=1/2 in a two-dimensional electron system of exceptionally high quality, confined to a wide AlAs quantum well, where the electrons can occupy multiple conduction-band valleys with an anisotropic effective mass. The anisotropy and multivalley degree of freedom offer an unprecedented tunability of the ν=1/2 FQHS as we can control both the valley occupancy via the application of in-plane strain, and the ratio between the strengths of the short- and long-range Coulomb interaction by tilting the sample in the magnetic field to change the electron charge distribution. Thanks to this tunability, we observe phase transitions from a compressible Fermi liquid to an incompressible FQHS and then to an insulating phase as a function of tilt angle. We find that this evolution and the energy gap of the ν=1/2 FQHS depend strongly on valley occupancy.

Recent advances in two-dimensional ferromagnetism: strain-, doping-, structural- and electric field-engineering toward spintronic applications

Since the first report on truly two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials in 2017, a wide variety of merging 2D magnetic materials with unusual physical characteristics have been discovered and thus provide an effective platform for exploring the associated novel 2D spintronic devices, which have been made significant progress in both theoretical and experimental studies. Herein, we make a comprehensive review on the recent scientific endeavors and advances on the various engineering strategies on 2D ferromagnets, such as strain-, doping-, structural- and electric field-engineering, toward practical spintronic applications, including spin tunneling junctions, spin field-effect transistors and spin logic gate, etc. In the last, we discuss on current challenges and future opportunities in this field, which may provide useful guidelines for scientists who are exploring the fundamental physical properties and practical spintronic devices of low-dimensional magnets.

All-optical nonreciprocity due to valley polarization pumping in transition metal dichalcogenides

Nonreciprocity and nonreciprocal optical devices play a vital role in modern photonic technologies by enforcing one-way propagation of light. Here, we demonstrate an all-optical approach to nonreciprocity based on valley-selective response in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). This approach overcomes the limitations of magnetic materials and it does not require an external magnetic field. We provide experimental evidence of photoinduced nonreciprocity in a monolayer WS2 pumped by circularly polarized (CP) light. Nonreciprocity stems from valley-selective exciton population, giving rise to nonlinear circular dichroism controlled by CP pump fields. Our experimental results reveal a significant effect even at room temperature, despite considerable intervalley-scattering, showing promising potential for practical applications in magnetic-free nonreciprocal platforms. As an example, here we propose a device scheme to realize an optical isolator based on a pass-through silicon nitride (SiN) ring resonator integrating the optically biased TMD monolayer.

Piezotronic Tunneling Junction Gated by Mechanical Stimuli

Tunneling junction is used in many devices such as high-frequency oscillators, nonvolatile memories, and magnetic field sensors. In these devices, modulation on the barrier width and/or height is usually realized by electric field or magnetic field. Here, a new piezotronic tunneling junction (PTJ) principle, in which the quantum tunneling is controlled/tuned by externally applied mechanical stimuli, is proposed. In these metal/insulator/piezoelectric semiconductor PTJs, such as Pt/Al₂ O₃ /p-GaN, the height and the width of the tunneling barriers can be mechanically modulated via the piezotronic effect. The tunneling current characteristics of PTJs exhibit critical behavior as a function of external mechanical stimuli, which results in high sensitivity (≈5.59 mV MPa^-1 ), giant switching (>10⁵ ), and fast response (≈4.38 ms). Moreover, the mechanical controlling of tunneling transport in PTJs with various thickness of Al₂ O₃ is systematically investigated. The high performance observed with these metal/insulator/piezoelectric semiconductor PTJs suggest their great potential in electromechanical technology. This study not only demonstrates dynamic mechanical controlling of quantum tunneling, but also paves a way for adaptive interaction between quantum tunneling and mechanical stimuli, with potential applications in the field of ultrasensitive press sensor, human-machine interface, and artificial intelligence.

Direct Observation of Composite Fermions and Their Fully-Spin-Polarized Fermi Sea near ν=5/2

The enigmatic even-denominator fractional quantum Hall state at Landau level filling factor ν=5/2 is arguably the most promising candidate for harboring Majorana quasiparticles with non-Abelian statistics and, thus, of potential use for topological quantum computing. The theoretical description of the ν=5/2 state is generally believed to involve a topological p-wave pairing of fully-spin-polarized composite fermions through their condensation into a non-Abelian Moore-Read Pfaffian state. There is, however, no direct and conclusive experimental evidence for the existence of composite fermions near ν=5/2 or for an underlying fully-spin-polarized Fermi sea. Here, we report the observation of composite fermions very near ν=5/2 through geometric resonance measurements and find that the measured Fermi wave vector provides direct demonstration of a Fermi sea with full spin polarization. This lends crucial credence to the model of 5/2 fractional quantum Hall effect as a topological p-wave paired state of composite fermions.

Landau Level Mixing and the Ground State of the ν=5/2 Quantum Hall Effect

Inter-Landau-level transitions break particle hole symmetry and will choose either the Pfaffian or the anti-Pfaffian state as the absolute ground state at 5/2 filling of the fractional quantum Hall effect. An approach based on truncating the Hilbert space has favored the anti-Pfaffian. A second approach based on an effective Hamiltonian produced the Pfaffian. In this Letter, perturbation theory is applied to finite sizes without bias to any specific pseudopotential component. This method also singles out the anti-Pfaffian. A critical piece of the effective Hamiltonian, which was absent in previous studies, reverts the ground state at 5/2 to the anti-Pfaffian.