Machine Learning to Instruct Single Crystal Growth by Flux Method

Growth of high-quality single crystals is of great significance for research of condensed matter physics. The exploration of suitable growing conditions for single crystals is expensive and time-consuming, especially for ternary compounds because of the lack of ternary phase diagram. Here we use machine learning(ML) trained on our experimental data to predict and instruct the growth. Four kinds of ML methods, including support vector machine(SVM), decision tree, random forest and gradient boosting decision tree, are adopted. The SVM method is relatively stable and works well, with an accuracy of 81% in predicting experimental results. By comparison,the accuracy of laboratory reaches 36%. The decision tree model is also used to reveal which features will take critical roles in growing processes.

Moirésuperlattice modulations in single-unit-cell FeTe films grown on NbSe_(2)single crystals

Interface can be a fertile ground for exotic quantum states,including topological superconductivity,Majorana mode,fractal quantum Hall effect,unconventional superconductivity,Mott insulator,etc.Here we grow single-unit-cell(1UC)FeTe film on NbSe_(2)single crystal by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE)and investigate the film in-situ with a home-made cryogenic scanning tunneling microscopy(STM)and non-contact atomic force microscopy(AFM)combined system.We find different stripe-like superlattice modulations on grown FeTe film with different misorientation angles with respect to NbSe_(2)substrate.We show that these stripe-like superlattice modulations can be understood as moirépattern forming between FeTe film and NbSe_(2)substrate.Our results indicate that the interface between Fe Te and NbSe2 is atomically sharp.By STM-AFM combined measurement,we suggest that the moirésuperlattice modulations have an electronic origin when the misorientation angle is relatively small(≤3°)and have structural relaxation when the misorientation angle is relatively large(≥10°).

Realization of low-energy type-Ⅱ Dirac fermions in(Ir_(1-x)Pt_x)Te_2 superconductors

Topological Dirac semimetals(DSMs) present a kind of topologically nontrivial quantum state of matter, which has massless Dirac fermions in the bulk and topologically protected states on certain surfaces. In superconducting DSMs, the effects of their nontrivial topology on superconducting pairing could realize topological superconductivity in the bulk or on the surface. As superconducting pairing takes place at the Fermi level E_F, to make the effects possible, the Dirac points should lie in the vicinity of E_F so that the topological electronic states can participate in the superconducting paring. Here,we show using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy that in a series of(Ir_(1-x)Pt_x)Te_2 compounds, the type-Ⅱ Dirac points reside around E_F in the superconducting region, in which the bulk superconductivity has a maximum T_c of ～ 3 K.The realization of the coexistence of bulk superconductivity and low-energy Dirac fermions in(Ir_(1-x)Pt_x)Te_2 paves the way for studying the effects of the nontrivial topology in DSMs on the superconducting state.

Large inverse and normal magnetocaloric effects in HoBi compound with nonhysteretic first-order phase transition

HoBi single crystal and polycrystalline compounds with Na Cl-type structure are successfully obtained,and their magnetic and magnetocaloric properties are studied in detail.With temperature increasing,Ho Bi compound undergoes two magnetic transitions at 3.7 K and 6 K,respectively.The transition temperature at 6 K is recognized as an antiferromagneticto-paramagnetic(AFM–PM)transition,which belongs to the first-order magnetic phase transition(FOMT).It is interesting that the Ho Bi compound with FOMT exhibits good thermal and magnetic reversibility.Furthermore,a large inverse and normal magnetocaloric effect(MCE)is found in Ho Bi single crystal in the H||[100]direction,and the positive?SMpeak reaches 13.1 J/kg·K under a low field change of 2 T and the negative?S_(M)peak arrives at-18 J/kg·K under a field change of5 T.These excellent properties are expected to be applied to some magnetic refrigerators with special designs and functions.

Evidence of Electron-Hole Imbalance in WTe2 from High-Resolution Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

WTe2 has attracted a great deal of attention because it exhibits extremely large and non-saturating magnetore- sistance. The underlying origin of such a giant magnetoresistance is still under debate. Utilizing laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with high energy and momentum resolutions, we reveal the complete electronic structure of WTe2. This makes it possible to determine accurately the electron and hole concentrations and their temperature dependence. We find that, with increasing the temperature, the overall electron concen- tration increases while the total hole concentration decreases. It indicates that the electron-hole compensation, if it exists, can only occur in a narrow temperature range,and in most of the temperature range there is an electron-hole imbalance. Our results are not consistent with the perfect electron-hole compensation picture that is commonly considered to be the cause of the unusual magnetoresistance in WTe2. We identify a fiat band near the Brillouin zone center that is close to the Fermi level and exhibits a pronounced temperature dependence. Such a fiat band can play an important role in dictating the transport properties of WTe2. Our results provide new insight on understanding the origin of the unusual magnetoresistance in WTe2.

Experimental evidence of anomalously large superconducting gap on topological surface state of b-Bi2Pd film

Connate topological superconductor(TSC) combines topological surface states with nodeless superconductivity in a single material, achieving effective p-wave pairing without interface complication. By combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and in-situ molecular beam epitaxy, we studied the momentum-resolved superconductivity in b-Bi2 Pd film. We found that the superconducting gap of topological surface state(DTSS$ 3.8 meV) is anomalously enhanced from its bulk value(Db$ 0.8 meV). The ratio of 2 DTSS/kBTc$ 16.3, is substantially larger than the BCS value. By measuring b-Bi2 Pd bulk single crystal as a comparison, we clearly observed the upward-shift of chemical potential in the film. In addition, a concomitant increasing of surface weight on the topological surface state was revealed by our first principle calculation, suggesting that the Dirac-fermion-mediated parity mixing may cause this anomalous superconducting enhancement. Our results establish b-Bi2 Pd film as a unique case of connate TSCs with a highly enhanced topological superconducting gap, which may stabilize Majorana zero modes at a higher temperature.