Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 1504.00049

Splitting of the monolayer out-of-plane A'1 Raman mode in few-layer WS2

Abstract

We present Raman measurements of mono- and few-layer WS2. We study the monolayer A'1 mode around 420 cm(-1) and its evolution with the number of layers. We show that with increasing layer number there is an increasing number of possible vibrational patterns for the out-of-plane Raman mode: in N-layer WS2 there are N Gamma-point phonons evolving from the A'1 monolayer mode. For an excitation energy close to resonance with the excitonic transition energy we were able to observe all of these N components, irrespective of their Raman activity. Density functional theory calculations support the experimental findings and make it possible to attribute the modes to their respective symmetries. The findings described here are of general importance for all other phonon modes in WS2 and other layered transition metal dichalcogenide systems in the few layer regime.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Matthias Staiger, Roland Gillen, Nils Scheuschner, Oliver Ochedowski, Felix Kampmann, Marika Schleberger, Christian Thomsen, Janina Maultzsch. 2015-03-31. Splitting of the monolayer out-of-plane A'1 Raman mode in few-layer WS2. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.91.195419

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Inverse Purcell Suppression of Decoherence in Majorana Qubits via Environmental Engineering

We show that the electromagnetic or phononic environment of a topological quantum device can be engineered to actively suppress decoherence. For a Majorana qubit in a superconducting wire, the exponentially small splitting $ε\sim e^{-L/ξ}$ that provides topological protection also makes the qubit vulnerable to low-frequency noise. From a microscopic local interaction, we derive the effective low-energy coupling between the Majorana parity operator and a bosonic field; the coupling strength itself is proportional to $ε$, reflecting the qubit's non-local nature. The resulting pure-dephasing rate scales as $Γ_ϕ\propto ε^2 S(ε)$, with $S(ε)$ the environmental noise power at frequency $ε$. In the experimentally relevant high-temperature regime ($k_B T \gtrsim \hbarε$), this gives $Γ_ϕ\propto ερ(ε) T$, where $ρ(ε)$ is the environmental density of states. By engineering an environment with a suppressed low-frequency density of states, $ρ_{\text{eng}}(ω) = ρ_0 (ω/ω_c)^α$ for $ω< ω_c$ ($α> 0$), the dephasing rate drops to $Γ_ϕ^{\text{eng}} \propto ε^{α+1} \propto e^{-(α+1)L/ξ}$. Thus, longer wires yield exponentially better coherence---a direct synergy with topological protection. This "inverse Purcell" effect, which suppresses the density of states at the qubit frequency, provides a quantitative design principle for environmental engineering. Our work establishes spectral density shaping as a practical method for enhancing coherence in topological quantum devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Axionic tunneling from a topological Kondo insulator

Discoveries over the past two decades have revealed the remarkable ability of quantum materials to emulate relativistic properties of the vacuum, from Dirac cones in graphene to Dirac surface states of topological insulators. Yet one of the most elusive consequences of topology in quantum matter -- the axionic ${\bf E}\cdot{\bf B}$ contribution to the electromagnetic response, predicted to produce strong magnetoelectric effects -- remains experimentally challenging to detect. Here we report evidence for an axion-like magnetoelectric response obtained through scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) using a SmB$_6$ nanowire tip on an antiferromagnetic Fe$_{1+x}$Te sample. Our measurements reveal a striking voltage-induced magnetization: millivolt biases generate measurable tip magnetizations that reverse with the voltage. The magnitude, tunability, and reversibility of this signal are consistent with an axion-like ${\bf E} \cdot {\bf B}$ coupling, which naturally accounts for the voltage-odd magnetic component of the tip spectral function while strongly constraining a conventional static-magnetism interpretation. Moreover, millivolt-scale control of spin polarization in a tunnel junction provides a new route for probing axionic electrodynamics and opens avenues for future STM and spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Exciton-mediated optical control of liquid-solid friction

Interfacial friction in nanofluidic systems can arise from fluctuation-induced coupling between liquid charge fluctuations and the internal excitations of the confining solid. Here, we develop a microscopic theory of exciton-mediated solid-liquid friction based on the coupling between optically generated excitons and charge fluctuations in water. We distinguish between static excitons, localized by disorder or functionalization, and dynamic excitons, which interact with water through polarization fluctuations. In both cases, we derive analytical formulas for the excitonic friction, which is experimentally tunable and can significantly reduce the slip length and thereby the hydraulic permeability of nanochannels. Applying our framework to carbon nanotubes, we quantitatively reproduce the recent measurements of Kistwal et al., showing a reduction of nanotube diffusion under optical excitation, without fitting parameters. More broadly, our results establish excitons as a mechanism to optically control nanofluidic transport and suggest that excitonic photoluminescence could provide an optical probe of flow velocity inside nanochannels.

cond-mat.mes-hall