In this talk, I will discuss recent progresses in uncovering novel materials properties at ultra-thin limit, with focus on monolayer superconductor FeSe and semiconductor MoSe 2 respectively.
The observation of a large superconducting-like energy gap which opens at temperatures up to 65 K in single unit cell (1UC) thick iron selenide films on SrTiO 3 (FeSe/STO) has generated tremendous interest. A challenge is to understand the cause of enhanced Cooper pairing strength in this system, and possibly increase superconducting Tc. In this talk, we show angle- resolved photoemission spectroscopy, mutual inductance, and other measurements on 1UC and multi-UC thick FeSe films grown on Nb-doped SrTiO 3 . Our data provide clear evidence for strong cross-interface electron-phonon coupling in single UC, raising the possibility that large pairing gap are caused by the strong coupling between the FeSe electrons and certain collective modes of SrTiO 3 . This suggests a pathway of “integrated functional components” approach to boost superconducting properties.
The intense interest of quantum systems in confined geometries is further amplified by the recent discovery of large enhancement in photo-luminescence quantum efficiency and a potential route to “valleytronics” in atomically thin layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) MX 2 (M = Mo, W; X = S, Se, Te), which are closely related to the indirect to direct band gap transition in the single layer limit. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on high quality thin film samples of MoSe 2 grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), we have made a direct observation of a distinct transition from indirect to direct band gap as the thickness of the sample is reduced to a monolayer. The experimental band structure indicates a stronger tendency of monolayer MoSe 2 towards direct band gap with larger gap size than theoretical prediction. Moreover, our finding of a significant spin- splitting of ~180meV at the valence band maximum (VBM) of a monolayer MoSe 2 film could greatly expand its possible application in spintronic devices.
If time permits, I will also discuss the superconductivity in CaC 6 and its implication on a possible pathway for superconducting graphene.
Refreshments after the seminar