Abstract: Magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)(2)] has a layered brucitelike structure in its bulk form and was recently isolated as a new member of two-dimensional monolayer materials. We investigated the electronic and optical properties of monolayer crystals of Mg(OH)(2) and WS2 and their possible heterobilayer structure by means of first-principles calculations. It was found that both monolayers of Mg(OH)(2) and WS2 are direct-gap semiconductors and these two monolayers form a typical van der Waals heterostructure with a weak interlayer interaction and a type-II band alignment with a staggered gap that spatially separates electrons and holes. We also showed that an out-of-plane electric field induces a transition from a staggered to a straddling-type heterojunction. Moreover, by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation on top of single-shot G(0)W(0) calculations, we show that the low-energy spectrum of the heterobilayer is dominated by the intralyer excitons of the WS2 monolayer. Because of the staggered interfacial gap and the field-tunable energy-band structure, the Mg(OH)(2)-WS2 heterobilayer can become an important candidate for various optoelectronic device applications in nanoscale.

Abstract: A model of the intermolecular potential in solid C-60, which is based on Born-Mayer repulsions, van der Waals attractions, and electrostatic multipoles, is presented. The potential is expanded in terms of multipolar rotator functions. The orientation-orientation interaction and the crystal field are calculated. The orientational phase transition to the Pa3 phase is studied with the methods of statistical mechanics. The discontinuity of the order parameter at the transition and the temperature evolution of the order parameter are calculated. The lattice contraction at the phase transition is evaluated. The influence of the lattice contraction on the crystal field and on the orientational order is studied.

Abstract: Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are considered as promising candidates for next generation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. To make use of these materials, for instance in field effect transistor applications, it is mandatory to know the detailed properties of contacts of such TMDs with metal electrodes. Here, we investigate the role of the contact structure on the electronic and transport properties of metal-MoSe2 interfaces. Two different contact types, namely face and edge contacts, are studied. We consider both low (Sc) and high (Au) work function metals in order to thoroughly elucidate the role of the metal work function and the type of metal. First principles plane wave calculations and transport calculations based on nonequilibrium Green's function formalism reveal that the contact type has a large impact on the electronic and transport properties of metal-MoSe2 interfaces. For the Sc electrode, the Schottky barrier heights are around 0.25 eV for face contact and bigger than 0.6 eV for edge contact. For the Au case, we calculate very similar barrier heights for both contact types with an average value of 0.5 eV. Furthermore, while the face contact is found to be highly advantageous as compared to the edge contact for the Sc electrode, the latter contact becomes a better choice for the Au electrode. Our findings provide guidelines for the fabrication of TMD-based devices.

Abstract: Ab initio calculations within the density functional theory formalism are performed to investigate the stability and electronic properties of fluorinated bilayer graphene (bilayer fluorographene). A comparison is made to previously investigated graphane, bilayer graphane, and fluorographene. Bilayer fluorographene is found to be a much more stable material than bilayer graphane. Its electronic band structure is similar to that of monolayer fluorographene, but its electronic band gap is significantly larger (about 1 eV). We also calculate the effective masses around the Gamma-point for fluorographene and bilayer fluorographene and find that they are isotropic, in contrast to earlier reports. Furthermore, it is found that bilayer fluorographene is almost as strong as graphene, as its 2D Young's modulus is approximately 300 N m(-1).

Abstract: We analyze theoretically and experimentally vortex configurations in mesoscopic superconducting squares. Our theoretical approach is based on the analytical solution of the London equation using Green's-function method. The potential-energy landscape found for each vortex configuration is then used in Langevin-type molecular-dynamics simulations to obtain stable vortex configurations. Metastable states and transitions between them and the ground state are analyzed. We present our results of the first direct visualization of vortex patterns in micrometer-sized Nb squares, using the Bitter decoration technique. We show that the filling rules for vortices in squares with increasing applied magnetic field can be formulated, although in a different manner than in disks, in terms of formation of vortex “shells”.

Abstract: We present two-dimensional Mg(OH)(2) sheets and their vertical heterojunctions with CVD-MoS2 for the first time as flexible 2D insulators with anomalous lattice vibration and chemical and physical properties. New hydrothermal crystal growth technique enabled isolation of environmentally stable monolayer Mg(OH)(2) sheets. Raman spectroscopy and vibrational calculations reveal that the lattice vibrations of Mg(OH)(2) have fundamentally different signature peaks and dimensionality effects compared to other 2D material systems known to date. Sub-wavelength electron energy-loss spectroscopy measurements and theoretical calculations show that Mg(OH)(2) is a 6 eV direct-gap insulator in 2D, and its optical band gap displays strong band renormalization effects from monolayer to bulk, marking the first experimental confirmation of confinement effects in 2D insulators. Interestingly, 2D-Mg(OH)(2) sheets possess rather strong surface polarization (charge) effects which is in contrast to electrically neutral h-BN materials. Using 2D-Mg(OH)(2) sheets together with CVD-MoS2 in the vertical stacking shows that a strong change transfer occurs from n-doped CVD-MoS2 sheets to Mg(OH)(2), naturally depleting the semiconductor, pushing towards intrinsic doping limit and enhancing overall optical performance of 2D semiconductors. Results not only establish unusual confinement effects in 2D-Mg(OH)(2), but also offer novel 2D-insulating material with unique physical, vibrational, and chemical properties for potential applications in flexible optoelectronics.

Abstract: In superconducting films under an applied dc current, we analyze experimentally and theoretically the influence of engineered pinning on the vortex velocity at which the flux-flow dissipation undergoes an abrupt transition from low to high resistance. We argue, based on a nonuniform distribution of vortex velocity in the sample, that in strongly disordered systems the mean critical vortex velocity for flux-flow instability (i) has a nonmonotonic dependence on magnetic field and (ii) decreases as the pinning strength is increased. These findings challenge the generally accepted microscopic model of Larkin and Ovchinnikov (1979 J. Low. Temp. Phys. 34 409) and all subsequent refinements of this model which ignore the presence of pinning centers.

Abstract: The critical current of a thin superconducting strip of width W much larger than the Ginzburg-Landau coherence length xi but much smaller than the Pearl length Lambda = 2 lambda(2)/d is maximized when the strip is straight with defect-free edges. When a perpendicular magnetic field is applied to a long straight strip, the critical current initially decreases linearly with H but then decreases more slowly with H when vortices or antivortices are forced into the strip. However, in a superconducting strip containing sharp 90 degrees or 180 degrees turns, the zero-field critical current at H = 0 is reduced because vortices or antivortices are preferentially nucleated at the inner corners of the turns, where current crowding occurs. Using both analytic London-model calculations and time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations, we predict that in such asymmetric strips the resulting critical current can be increased by applying a perpendicular magnetic field that induces a current-density contribution opposing the applied current density at the inner corners. This effect should apply to all turns that bend in the same direction.

Abstract: Water confined between two graphene layers with a separation of a few A forms a layered two-dimensional ice structure. Using large scale molecular dynamics simulations with the adoptable ReaxFF interatomic potential we found that flat monolayer ice with a rhombic-square structure nucleates between the graphene layers which is nonpolar and nonferroelectric. We provide different energetic considerations and H-bonding results that explain the interlayer and intralayer properties of two-dimensional ice. The controversial AA stacking found experimentally [Algara-Siller et al., Nature (London) 519, 443 (2015)] is consistent with our minimum-energy crystal structure of bilayer ice. Furthermore, we predict that an odd number of layers of ice has the same lattice structure as monolayer ice, while an even number of ice layers exhibits the square ice AA stacking of bilayer ice.

Abstract: A general framework to calculate the Zener current in an indirect semiconductor with an externally applied potential is provided. Assuming a parabolic valence and conduction band dispersion, the semiconductor is in equilibrium in the presence of the external field as long as the electron-phonon interaction is absent. The linear response to the electron-phonon interaction results in a non-equilibrium system. The Zener tunneling current is calculated from the number of electrons making the transition from valence to conduction band per unit time. A convenient expression based on the single particle spectral functions is provided, enabling the evaluation of the Zener tunneling current under any three-dimensional potential profile. For a one-dimensional potential profile an analytical expression is obtained for the current in a bulk semiconductor, a semiconductor under uniform field, and a semiconductor under a non-uniform field using the WKB (Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin) approximation. The obtained results agree with the Kane result in the low field limit. A numerical example for abrupt p-n diodes with different doping concentrations is given, from which it can be seen that the uniform field model is a better approximation than the WKB model, but a direct numerical treatment is required for low bias conditions.

Abstract: We consider a one-dimensional (1D) superlattice (SL) on graphene consisting of very high and very thin (δ-function) magnetic and potential barriers with zero average potential and zero magnetic field. We calculate the energy spectrum analytically, study it in different limiting cases, and determine the condition under which an electron beam incident on an SL is highly collimated along its direction. In the absence of the magnetic SL the collimation is very sensitive to the value of W/Ws and is optimal for W/Ws = 1, where W is the distance between the positive and negative barriers and L = W + Ws is the size of the unit cell. In the presence of only the magnetic SL the collimation decreases and the symmetry of the spectrum around ky is broken for W/W_s\neq 1 . In addition, a gap opens which depends on the strength of the magnetic field. We also investigate the effect of spatially separated potential and magnetic δ-function barriers and predict a better collimation in specific cases.