skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: High-throughput ab initio design of atomic interfaces using InterMatch
Abstract Forming a hetero-interface is a materials-design strategy that can access an astronomically large phase space. However, the immense phase space necessitates a high-throughput approach for an optimal interface design. Here we introduce a high-throughput computational framework, InterMatch, for efficiently predicting charge transfer, strain, and superlattice structure of an interface by leveraging the databases of individual bulk materials. Specifically, the algorithm reads in the lattice vectors, density of states, and the stiffness tensors for each material in their isolated form from the Materials Project. From these bulk properties, InterMatch estimates the interfacial properties. We benchmark InterMatch predictions for the charge transfer against experimental measurements and supercell density-functional theory calculations. We then use InterMatch to predict promising interface candidates for doping transition metal dichalcogenide MoSe2. Finally, we explain experimental observation of factor of 10 variation in the supercell periodicity within a few microns in graphene/α-RuCl3by exploring low energy superlattice structures as a function of twist angle using InterMatch. We anticipate our open-source InterMatch algorithm accelerating and guiding ever-growing interfacial design efforts. Moreover, the interface database resulting from the InterMatch searches presented in this paper can be readily accessed online.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1719875
PAR ID:
10547437
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Springer Nature
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Nature Communications
Volume:
14
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2041-1723
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1-7
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Charge transfer or redistribution at oxide heterointerfaces is a critical phenomenon, often leading to remarkable properties such as two-dimensional electron gas and interfacial ferromagnetism. Despite studies on LaNiO3/LaFeO3superlattices and heterostructures, the direction and magnitude of the charge transfer remain debated, with some suggesting no charge transfer due to the high stability of Fe3+(3d5). Here, we synthesized a series of epitaxial LaNiO3/LaFeO3superlattices and demonstrated partial (up to ~0.5 e/interface unit cell) charge transfer from Fe to Ni near the interface, supported by density functional theory simulations and spectroscopic evidence of changes in Ni and Fe oxidation states. The electron transfer from LaFeO3to LaNiO3and the subsequent rearrangement of the Fe 3d band create an unexpected metallic ground state within the LaFeO3layer, strongly influencing the in-plane transport properties across the superlattice. Moreover, we establish a direct correlation between interfacial charge transfer and in-plane electrical transport properties, providing insights for designing functional oxide heterostructures with emerging properties. 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract Computational methods are increasingly being incorporated into the exploitation of microstructure–property relationships for microstructure-sensitive design of materials. In the present work, we propose non-intrusive materials informatics methods for the high-throughput exploration and analysis of a synthetic microstructure space using a machine learning-reinforced multi-phase-field modeling scheme. We specifically study the interface energy space as one of the most uncertain inputs in phase-field modeling and its impact on the shape and contact angle of a growing phase during heterogeneous solidification of secondary phase between solid and liquid phases. We evaluate and discuss methods for the study of sensitivity and propagation of uncertainty in these input parameters as reflected on the shape of the Cu6Sn5intermetallic during growth over the Cu substrate inside the liquid Sn solder due to uncertain interface energies. The sensitivity results rankσSIIL, andσIL, respectively, as the most influential parameters on the shape of the intermetallic. Furthermore, we use variational autoencoder, a deep generative neural network method, and label spreading, a semi-supervised machine learning method for establishing correlations between inputs of outputs of the computational model. We clustered the microstructures into three categories (“wetting”, “dewetting”, and “invariant”) using the label spreading method and compared it with the trend observed in the Young-Laplace equation. On the other hand, a structure map in the interface energy space is developed that showsσSIandσSLalter the shape of the intermetallic synchronously where an increase in the latter and decrease in the former changes the shape from dewetting structures to wetting structures. The study shows that the machine learning-reinforced phase-field method is a convenient approach to analyze microstructure design space in the framework of the ICME. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract High-density phase change memory (PCM) storage is proposed for materials with multiple intermediate resistance states, which have been observed in 1T-TaS2due to charge density wave (CDW) phase transitions. However, the metastability responsible for this behavior makes the presence of multistate switching unpredictable in TaS2devices. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of nanothick verti-lateralH-TaS2/1T-TaS2heterostructures in which the number of endotaxial metallicH-TaS2monolayers dictates the number of resistance transitions in 1T-TaS2lamellae near room temperature. Further, we also observe optically active heterochirality in the CDW superlattice structure, which is modulated in concert with the resistivity steps, and we show how strain engineering can be used to nucleate these polytype conversions. This work positions the principle of endotaxial heterostructures as a promising conceptual framework for reliable, non-volatile, and multi-level switching of structure, chirality, and resistance. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract Tunability of interfacial effects between two-dimensional (2D) crystals is crucial not only for understanding the intrinsic properties of each system, but also for designing electronic devices based on ultra-thin heterostructures. A prerequisite of such heterostructure engineering is the availability of 2D crystals with different degrees of interfacial interactions. In this work, we report a controlled epitaxial growth of monolayer TaSe2with different structural phases, 1Hand 1 T, on a bilayer graphene (BLG) substrate using molecular beam epitaxy, and its impact on the electronic properties of the heterostructures using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. 1H-TaSe2exhibits significant charge transfer and band hybridization at the interface, whereas 1 T-TaSe2shows weak interactions with the substrate. The distinct interfacial interactions are attributed to the dual effects from the differences of the work functions as well as the relative interlayer distance between TaSe2films and BLG substrate. The method demonstrated here provides a viable route towards interface engineering in a variety of transition-metal dichalcogenides that can be applied to future nano-devices with designed electronic properties. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract A hallmark of many unconventional superconductors is the presence of many-body interactions that give rise to broken-symmetry states intertwined with superconductivity. Recent resonant soft X-ray scattering experiments report commensurate 3a0charge density wave order in infinite-layer nickelates, which has important implications regarding the universal interplay between charge order and superconductivity in both cuprates and nickelates. Here we present X-ray scattering and spectroscopy measurements on a series of NdNiO2+xsamples, which reveal that the signatures of charge density wave order are absent in fully reduced, single-phase NdNiO2. The 3a0superlattice peak instead originates from a partially reduced impurity phase where excess apical oxygens form ordered rows with three-unit-cell periodicity. The absence of any observable charge density wave order in NdNiO2highlights a crucial difference between the phase diagrams of cuprate and nickelate superconductors. 
    more » « less