2018 New's Items

We combine transport, magnetization, and torque magnetometry measurements to investigate the electronic structure of ZrTe5, a system that is thought to be near a topological phase transition. At fields beyond the quantum limit, we observe a magnetization reversal from paramagnetic to diamagnetic response, which is characteristic of a Dirac semimetal. However, on increasing temperature across a corresponding transport anomaly, all signatures of...

The key factor in the use of lithium ion batteries is the formation of an electrically insulating solid layer that allows lithium ion transport but stops further electrolyte redox reactions on the electrode surface, therefore termed the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). We have studied the preceding stages to the SEI formation, specifically the reduction of diethyl carbonate (DEC) mixed with ethylene carbonate (EC) with dissolved 1.0 M LiPF6, a common binary electrolyte. We used a p-doped crystalline silicon (100)-hydrogen terminated wafer as the anode in...

Organic materials are promising candidates for advanced optoelectronics and are used in light-emitting diodes and photovoltaics. However, the underlying mechanisms allowing the formation of excited states responsible for device functionality, such as exciton generation and charge separation, are insufficiently understood. This is partly due to the wide range of existing crystalline polymorphs depending on sample preparation conditions. Here, we determine the linear optical response of thin-film single-crystal perylene samples of distinct polymorphs in transmission and reflection...

Metamaterials are architectures that interact with light in novel ways by virtue of symmetry manipulation, and have opened a window into studying unprecedented light-matter interactions. However, they are commonly fabricated via lithographic methods, are usually static structures, and are limited in how they can react to external stimuli. Here we show that by combining lithographic techniques with DNA-based self-assembly methods, we can construct responsive plasmonic metamaterials that exhibit the plasmonic analog of an effect known as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT),...