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Abstract Compelling evidence suggests distinct correlated electron behavior may exist only in clean 2D materials such as 1T-TaS 2 . Unfortunately, experiment and theory suggest that extrinsic disorder in free standing 2D layers disrupts correlation-driven quantum behavior. Here we demonstrate a route to realizing fragile 2D quantum states through endotaxial polytype engineering of van der Waals materials. The true isolation of 2D charge density waves (CDWs) between metallic layers stabilizes commensurate long-range order and lifts the coupling between neighboring CDW layers to restore mirror symmetries via interlayer CDW twinning. The twinned-commensurate charge density wave (tC-CDW) reported herein has a single metal–insulator phase transition at ~350 K as measured structurally and electronically. Fast in-situ transmission electron microscopy and scanned nanobeam diffraction map the formation of tC-CDWs. This work introduces endotaxial polytype engineering of van der Waals materials to access latent 2D ground states distinct from conventional 2D fabrication. 

We used a combination of polarized Raman spectroscopy experiment and model magnetism–phonon coupling calculations to study the rich magneto-Raman effect in the two-dimensional (2D) magnet CrI 3 . We reveal a layered-magnetism–assisted phonon scattering mechanism below the magnetic onset temperature, whose Raman excitation breaks time-reversal symmetry, has an antisymmetric Raman tensor, and follows the magnetic phase transitions across critical magnetic fields, on top of the presence of the conventional phonon scattering with symmetric Raman tensors in N -layer CrI 3 . We resolve in data and by calculations that the first-order A g phonon of the monolayer splits into an N -fold multiplet in N -layer CrI 3 due to the interlayer coupling ( N ≥ 2 ) and that the phonons within the multiplet show distinct magnetic field dependence because of their different layered-magnetism–phonon coupling. We further find that such a layered-magnetism–phonon coupled Raman scattering mechanism extends beyond first-order to higher-order multiphonon scattering processes. Our results on the magneto-Raman effect of the first-order phonons in the multiplet and the higher-order multiphonons in N -layer CrI 3 demonstrate the rich and strong behavior of emergent magneto-optical effects in 2D magnets and underline the unique opportunities of spin–phonon physics in van der Waals layered magnets. 

Abstract Exciton dynamics can be strongly affected by lattice vibrations through electron-phonon coupling. This is rarely explored in two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors. Focusing on bilayer CrI₃, we first show the presence of strong electron-phonon coupling through temperature-dependent photoluminescence and absorption spectroscopy. We then report the observation of periodic broad modes up to the 8th order in Raman spectra, attributed to the polaronic character of excitons. We establish that this polaronic character is dominated by the coupling between the charge-transfer exciton at 1.96 eV and a longitudinal optical phonon at 120.6 cm⁻¹. We further show that the emergence of long-range magnetic order enhances the electron-phonon coupling strength by ~50% and that the transition from layered antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic order tunes the spectral intensity of the periodic broad modes, suggesting a strong coupling among the lattice, charge and spin in two-dimensional CrI₃. Our study opens opportunities for tailoring light-matter interactions in two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors. 

Abstract Perovskite photovoltaic ABX₃systems are being studied due to their high energy‐conversion efficiencies with current emphasis placed on pure inorganic systems. In this work, synchrotron single‐crystal diffraction measurements combined with second harmonic generation measurements reveal the absence of inversion symmetry below room temperature in CsPbBr₃. Local structural analysis by pair distribution function and X‐ray absorption fine structure methods are performed to ascertain the local ordering, atomic pair correlations, and phase evolution in a broad range of temperatures. The currently accepted space group assignments for CsPbBr₃are found to be incorrect in a manner that profoundly impacts physical properties. New assignments are obtained for the bulk structure: (above ≈410 K),P2₁/m(between ≈300 K and ≈410 K), and the polar groupPm(below ≈300 K), respectively. The newly observed structural distortions exist in the bulk structure consistent with the expectation of previous photoluminescence and Raman measurements. High‐pressure measurements reveal multiple low‐pressure phases, one of which exists as a metastable phase at ambient pressure. This work should help guide research in the perovskite photovoltaic community to better control the structure under operational conditions and further improve transport and optical properties.