Abstract: Using the tight-binding approach, we study the influence of a perpendicular magnetic field on the energy levels of hexagonal, triangular, and circular bilayer graphene (BLG) quantum dots (QDs) with zigzag and armchair edges. We obtain the energy levels for AB (Bernal)-stacked BLG QDs in both the absence and the presence of a perpendicular electric field (i.e., biased BLG QDs). We find different regions in the spectrum of biased QDs with respect to the crossing point between the lowest-electron and -hole Landau levels of a biased BLG sheet. Those different regions correspond to electron states that are localized at the center, edge, or corner of the BLG QD. Quantum Hall corner states are found to be absent in circular BLG QDs. The spatial symmetry of the carrier density distribution is related to the symmetry of the confinement potential, the position of zigzag edges, and the presence or absence of interlayer inversion symmetry.

Abstract: The role of dielectric screening of electron-hole interaction in van der Waals heterostructures is theoretically investigated. A comparison between models available in the literature for describing these interactions is made and the limitations of these approaches are discussed. A simple numerical solution of Poisson's equation for a stack of dielectric slabs based on a transfer matrix method is developed, enabling the calculation of the electron-hole interaction potential at very low computational cost and with reasonable accuracy. Using different potential models, direct and indirect exciton binding energies in these systems are calculated within Wannier-Mott theory, and a comparison of theoretical results with recent experiments on excitons in two-dimensional materials is discussed.

Abstract: We extend the unsymmetrized self-consistent-field method (USF) for anharmonic crystals to layered non-Bravais crystals to investigate structural, dynamical and thermodynamic properties of a free-standing graphene monolayer. In this theory, the main anharmonicity of the crystal lattice has been included and the quantum corrections are taken into account in an h-expansion for the one-particle density matrix. The obtained result for the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of graphene shows a strong temperature dependence and agrees with experimental results by Bao et al. (Nat. Nanotechnol., 4 (2009) 562). The obtained value of TEC at room temperature (300 K) is -6.4 x 10(- 6) K- 1 and it becomes positive for T > T-alpha = 358K. We find that quantum effects are significant for T < 1000 K. The interatomic distance, effective amplitudes of the graphene lattice vibrations, adiabatic and isothermal bulk moduli, isobaric and isochoric heat capacities are also calculated and their temperature dependences are determined. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2014

Abstract: Nonequilibrium self-organized patterns formed by particles interacting through competing range interaction are driven over a substrate by an external force. We show that, with increasing driving force, the preexisted static patterns evolve into dynamic patterns either via disordered phase or depinned patterns or via the formation of nonequilibrium stripes. Strikingly, the stripes are formed either in the direction of the driving force or in the transverse direction, depending on the pinning strength. The revealed dynamical patterns are summarized in a dynamical phase diagram.

Abstract: The electronic structure of GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs and AlxGa1−xAs/GaAs core-shell nanowires grown in the [001] direction is studied. The k⋅p method with the 6×6 Kohn-Lüttinger Hamiltonian, taking into account the split-off band is used. The variation in the energy level dispersion, the spinor contribution to the ground state and the optical interband absorption are studied. For some range of parameters the top of the valence band exhibits a camelback structure which results in an extra peak in the optical absorption.

Abstract: Single-sided fluorination has been predicted to open an electronic band gap in graphene and to exhibit unique electronic and magnetic properties; however, this has not been substantiated by experimental reports. Our comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of this material on a SiC(0001) substrate shows that single-sided fluorographene exhibits two phases, a stable one with a band gap of similar to 6 eV and a metastable one, induced by UV irradiation, with a band gap of similar to 2.5 eV. The metastable structure, which reverts to the stable “ground-state” phase upon annealing under emission of blue light, in our view is induced by defect states, based on the observation of a nondispersive electronic state at the top of the valence band, not unlike that found in organic molecular layers. Our structural data show that the stable C2F ground state has a “boat” structure, in agreement with our X-ray magnetic circular dichroism data, which show the absence of an ordered magnetic phase. A high flux of UV or X-ray photons removes the fluorine atoms, demonstrating the possibility of lithographically patterning conducting regions into an otherwise semiconducting 2D material.

Abstract: The report on square ice sandwiched between two graphene layers by Algara-Siller et al. [Nature (London) 519, 443 (2015)] has generated a large interest in this system. By applying high lateral pressure on nanoconfined water, we found that monolayer ice is transformed to bilayer ice when the two graphene layers are separated by H = 6,7 angstrom. It was also found that three layers of a denser phase of ice with smaller lattice constant are formed if we start from bilayer ice and apply a lateral pressure of about 0.7 GPa with H = 8,9 angstrom. The lattice constant (2.5-2.6 angstrom) in both transitions is found to be smaller than those typical for the known phases of ice and water, i.e., 2.8 angstrom. We validate these results using ab initio calculations and find good agreement between ab initio O-O distance and those obtained from classical molecular dynamics simulations. The reversibility of the mentioned transitions is confirmed by decompressing the systems.

Abstract: A superconducting diode is an electronic device that conducts supercurrent and exhibits zero resistance primarily for one direction of applied current. Such a dissipationless diode is a desirable unit for constructing electronic circuits with ultralow power consumption. However, realizing a superconducting diode is fundamentally and technologically challenging, as it usually requires a material structure without a centre of inversion, which is scarce among superconducting materials. Here, we demonstrate a superconducting diode achieved in a conventional superconducting film patterned with a conformal array of nanoscale holes, which breaks the spatial inversion symmetry. We showcase the superconducting diode effect through switchable and reversible rectification signals, which can be three orders of magnitude larger than that from a flux-quantum diode. The introduction of conformal potential landscapes for creating a superconducting diode is thereby proven as a convenient, tunable, yet vastly advantageous tool for superconducting electronics. This could be readily applicable to any superconducting materials, including cuprates and iron-based superconductors that have higher transition temperatures and are desirable in device applications. A superconducting diode is dissipationless and desirable for electronic circuits with ultralow power consumption, yet it remains challenging to realize it. Here, the authors achieve a superconducting diode in a conventional superconducting film patterned with a conformal array of nanoscale holes.

Abstract: To date, several experimental groups reported measurements of the thickness dependence of T-c of atomically uniform single-crystalline Pb nanofilms. The reported amplitude of the T-c oscillations varies significantly from one experiment to another. Here we propose that the reason for this unresolved issue is an interplay of the quantum-size variations in the single-electron density of states with thickness-dependent oscillations in the phonon-mediated electron-electron coupling. Such oscillations in the coupling depend on the substrate material, the quality of the interface, the protection cover, and other details of the fabrication process, changing from one experiment to another. This explains why the available data do not exhibit one-voice consistency about the amplitude of the T-c oscillations. Our analyses are based on a numerical solution of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a superconducting slab.