Surface evolution of thermoelectric material KCu_(4)Se_(3) explored by scanning tunneling microscopy

Novel two-dimensional thermoelectric materials have attracted significant attention in the field of thermoelectric due to their low lattice thermal conductivity.A comprehensive understanding of their microscopic structures is crucial for driving further the optimization of materials properties and developing novel functional materials.Here,by using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy,we report the atomic layer evolution and surface reconstruction on the cleaved thermoelectric material KCu_(4)Se_(3) for the first time.We clearly revealed each atomic layer,including the naturally cleaved K atomic layer,the intermediate Se^(2-)atomic layer,and the Se^(-)atomic layer that emerges in the thermodynamic-stable state.Departing from the maj ority of studies that predominantly concentrate on macroscopic measurements of the charge transport,our results reveal the coexistence of potassium disorder and complex reconstructed patterns of selenium,which potentially influences charge carrier and lattice dynamics.These results provide direct insight into the surface microstructures and evolution of KCu_(4)Se_(3),and shed useful light on designing functional materials with superior performance.

Strain-mediated magnetoelectric control of tunneling magnetoresistance in magnetic tunneling junction/ferroelectric hybrid structures

Because of the wide selectivity of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric(FE)components,electric-field(E-field)control of magnetism via strain mediation can be easily realized through composite multiferroic heterostructures.Here,an MgO-based magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ)is chosen rationally as the ferromagnetic constitution and a high-activity(001)-Pb(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))_(0.7)Ti_(0.3)O_(3)(PMN-0.3PT)single crystal is selected as the FE component to create a multiferroic MTJ/FE hybrid structure.The shape of tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR)versus in situ E-fields imprints the butterfly loop of the piezo-strain of the FE without magnetic-field bias.The E-field-controlled change in the TMR ratio is up to-0.27%without magnetic-field bias.Moreover,when a typical magnetic field(~±10 Oe)is applied along the minor axis of the MTJ,the butterfly loop is changed significantly by the E-fields relative to that without magnetic-field bias.This suggests that the E-field-controlled junction resistance is spin-dependent and correlated with magnetization switching in the free layer of the MTJ.In addition,based on such a multiferroic heterostructure,a strain-gauge factor up to approximately 40 is achieved,which decreases further with a sign change from positive to negative with increasing magnetic fields.This multiferroic hybrid structure is a promising avenue to control TMR through E-fields in low-power-consumption spintronic and straintronic devices at room temperature.

Realizing high thermoelectric performance via selective resonant doping in oxyselenide BiCuSeO

Tuning the charge carrier concentration is imperative to optimize the thermoelectric(TE)performance of a material.For BiCuSeO based oxyselenides,doping efforts have been limited to optimizing the carrier concentration.In the present work,dual-doping of In and Pb at Bi site is introduced for p-type BiCuSeO to realize the electric transport channels with intricate band characteristics to improve the power factor(PF).Herein,the impurity resonant state is realized via doping of resonant dopant In over Pb,where Pb comes forward to optimize the Fermi energy in the dual-doped BiCuSeO system to divulge the significance of complex electronic structure.The manifold roles of dual-doping are used to adjust the elevation of the PF due to the significant enhancement in electrical properties.Thus,the combined experimental and theoretical study shows that the In/Pb dual doping at Bi sites gently reduces bandgap,introduces resonant doping states with shifting down the Fermi level into valence band(VB)with a larger density of state,and thus causes to increase the carrier concentration and effective mass(m*),which are favorable to enhance the electronic transport significantly.As a result,both improved ZTmax=0.87(at 873 K)and high ZTave=0.5(at 300–873 K)are realized for InyBi(1−x)−yPbxCuSeO(where x=0.06 and y=0.04)system.The obtained results successfully demonstrate the effectiveness of the selective dual doping with resonant dopant inducing band manipulation and carrier engineering that can unlock new prospects to develop high TE materials.

Reversible optical control of the metal-insulator transition across the epitaxial heterointerface of a VO_(2)/Nb:TiO_(2) junction

Optical control of exotic properties in strongly correlated electron materials is very attractive owing to their potential applications in optical and electronic devices.Herein,we demonstrate a vertical heterojunction made of a correlated electron oxide thin film VO_(2) and a conductive 0.05 wt% Nb-doped TiO_(2) single crystal,whose metal-insulator transition(MIT)across the nanoscale heterointerface can be efficiently modulated by visible light irradiation.The magnitude of the MIT decreases from ~350 in the dark state to ~7 in the illuminated state,obeying a power law with respect to the light power density.The junction resistance is switched in a reversible and synchronous manner by turning light on and off.The optical tunability of it is also exponentially proportional to the light power density,and a 320-fold on/off ratio is achieved with an irradiance of 65.6 mW cm^(-2) below the MIT temperature.While the VO_(2) thin film is metallic above the MIT temperature,the optical tunability is remarkably weakened,with a one-fold change remaining under light illumination.These results are co-attributed to a net reduction(~15 meV)in the apparent barrier height and the photocarrier-injection-induced metallization of the VO_(2) heterointerface through a photovoltaic effect,which is induced by deep defect level transition upon the visible light irradiance at low temperature.Additionally,the optical tunability is minimal,resulting from the quite weak modulation of the already metallic band structure in the Schottky-type junction above the MIT temperature.This work enables a remotely optical scheme to manipulate the MIT,implying potential uncooled photodetection and photoswitch applications.