We realize soft topological mechanical metamaterials with pronounced polar elastic responses (i.e. softer on one edge than the other) both in the quasi-static and dynamic regimes. Numerical simulations and experimental results confirm the presence of directional dependence in metamaterial response at low and high strain rates, despite the use of lossy elastomer as the bulk media. The metamaterials

On-chip integration fundamentally changes the way information is processed. The exploding communication capacity requires high integration of optical devices in a limited footprint. These requirements have pushed the minimization of optical chips almost to their physical limits. One potential way to break this limitation is to increase the number of functionalities in a module, for which the most critical

We present a realistic phenomenological description of liquid transport through defective, layered membranes. We derive general expressions based on conventional models of laminar flow and extend the formalism to accommodate slip flow. We consider different types of defects including in-layer vacancies that provide an activation-free tortuous path through the membrane. Of the many factors that affect

Photon-number-resolving detectors (PNRDs) play pivotal roles in many quantum-photonic applications; and intrinsic and multiplexed PNRDs have been reported previously. However, for intrinsic PNRDs, the maximum resolvable photon number is limited to a few photons; for the multiplexed PNRDs, the fidelity generally decreases when the to-be-resolved photon number goes large. Here, to resolve more photons

We experimentally study timing jitter of single-photon detection by NbN superconducting strips with width w ranging from 190,nm to 3,μm. We find that timing jitter of both narrow (190,nm) and micron-wide strips is about 40,ps at currents where internal detection efficiency η saturates and it is close to our instrumental jitter. We also calculate intrinsic timing jitter in wide strips using modified

We investigate the mechanism of analogue-like switching of PtMn/[Co/Ni] multilayers induced by spin-orbit torques. X-ray photoemission microscopy performed during magnetization reversal driven by current pulses shows that sequential switching of reproducible domain patterns can be achieved. Switching proceeds by domain wall displacement starting from the edges of blocked ferromagnetic domains, which

Schottky barrier inhomogeneities are expected at the metal/transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) interface and this can impact device performance. However, it is difficult to account for the distribution of interface inhomogeneity as most techniques average over the spot-area of the analytical tool (e.g. few hundred micron squared for photoelectron-based techniques), or the entire device measured

We propose and demonstrate pump-probe spectroscopy of rubidium absorption which reveals the sub-Doppler hyperfine structure of the 5S1/2↔ 5P3/2 (D2) transitions. The counter propagating pump and probe lasers are independently tunable in frequency, with the probe operating at the single-photon-level. The two-dimensional spectrum measured as the laser frequencies are scanned shows fluorescence, Doppler-broadened

Ferroelectric memristors are intensively studied due to their potential implementation in data storage and processing devices. In this work we show that the memristive behavior of metal/ferroelectric oxide/metal devices relies on the competition of two effects: the modulation of metal/ferroelectric interface barriers by the switchable ferroelectric polarization and the electromigration of oxygen vacancies

Metasurfaces, the two-dimensional analog of metamaterials, have exhibited unprecedented optical and thermal properties including super-Planckian thermal radiation.~Asymmetrically patterning two-dimensional materials have been proposed recently to excite additional surface hyperbolic modes, which could enhance radiative energy transport.~In present study, we further look into the effect of symmetric

Enhancing the measurement signal from solid state quantum sensors such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is an important challenge for sensing and imaging of condensed matter systems. Here we design and fabricate diamond scanning probes with a truncated parabolic profile that optimizes the photonic signal from single, near-surface, embedded NV centers, forming a high-sensitivity probe

Superconductor/semiconductor-nanowire hybrid structures can serve as versatile building blocks to realize Majorana circuits or superconducting qubits based on quantized levels such as Andreev qubits. For all these applications it is essential that the superconductor-semiconductor interface is as clean as possible. Furthermore, the shape and dimensions of the superconducting electrodes needs to be precisely

Propagation and relaxation of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in superconductors are of key importance for functioning of numerous nanoscale devices, enabling operation of some of them, and limiting the performance of the others. The quasiparticles heated above lattice temperature may relax locally via phonon or photon emission channels, or diffuse over appreciable distances in a nanostructure altering

We report a weighing metrology experiment of a single silica microsphere optically trapped and immersed in air. Based on fluctuations about thermal equilibrium, three different mass measurements are investigated, each arising from one of two principle methods. The first method is based on spectral analysis and enables simultaneous extraction of various system parameters. Additionally, the spectral

Nonlinear absorption of femtosecond laser pulses provides a unique opportunity to confine energy deposition in any medium to a region that is below the focal diameter of a pulse. Illumination of a polymer film through a transparent high bandgap material such as glass, followed by nonlinear absorption of 800 nm light in polymers, allows us to further restrict absorption to a very thin layer along the

The electronic properties of van der Waals heterostructures composed of MoS2 and WS2 under a perpendicular electric field were studied in terms of field strength, electron doping concentration, and interlayer stacking arrangement based on the density functional theory. The calculation results showed that accumulated carrier distribution can be controlled by tuning the field direction, field strength

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin structures, offering great promise as information carriers for future spintronic devices. However, a series of challenges, such as unreliable skyrmion motion, pinning effects, and a weak read-out signal, prevent the development of skyrmionic applications. The recently demonstrated capability to engineer the local exchange-bias field (LEBF) in an exchange

The interactions of ferroelectric (FE) perovskite oxides (ABO3) with light are increasingly being studied for different applications such as photovoltaics and optoelectronics. Combination of different cations at the A- and B-site to form solid solutions allows tuning of the material’s properties, most importantly the band gap (Eg) that sets the wavelength range of light absorption. Classic FE perovskite

Detectors of propagating microwave photons have recently been realized using superconducting circuits. However a number-resolved photocounter is still missing. In this article, we demonstrate a single-shot counter for propagating microwave photons that can resolve up to 3 photons. It is based on a pumped Josephson Ring Modulator that can catch an arbitrary propagating mode by frequency conversion and

Practical implementations of quantum technologies require preparation of states with a high degree of purity—or, in thermodynamic terms, very low temperatures. Given finite resources, the Third Law of thermodynamics prohibits perfect cooling; nonetheless, attainable upper bounds for the asymptotic ground state population of a system repeatedly interacting with quantum thermal machines have recently

The extension of the spin coherence times is a crucial issue for quantum information and quantum sensing. In solid state systems, suppressing noises with various techniques have been demonstrated. On the other hand, an electrical control for suppression is important toward individual controls of on-chip quantum information devices. Here we show the electrical control for extension of the spin coherence

We use micro-focus Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy to study the effects of spin-orbit torque on thermal spin waves in almost angular-momentum compensated ferrimagnetic CoGd alloy films. The spin-orbit torque is produced by the electric current flowing in the Pt layer adjacent to CoGd. Both the ferromagnetic and the exchange modes are detected in our measurements. The intensity and the linewidth

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.14.039901

The shrinking of field-effect transistors (FETs) is in great demand for next-generation integrated circuits. However, traditional silicon FETs are reaching the scaling limits, and it is therefore urgent to explore more alternative paradigms. Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted great research enthusiasm owing to their abilities of suppressing short-channel effects. Herein, we evaluate the

Nitrogen vacancy centers (NVCs) in diamond are being explored for future quantum technologies, and in particular ensembles of NVC are the basis for sensitive magnetometers. We present a fiber-coupled NVC magnetometer with an unshielded sensitivity of (310±20)~pT/Hz in the frequency range of 10-150 Hz at room temperature. This takes advantage of low-strain 12C diamond, lenses for fiber-coupling and

Quantum optics and nano-photonics are the basis of future communications and computation technologies. Thus, there is an ever-increasing need for analysis and design tools that are suitable for large, complex and multi-element systems. However, full quantum analysis of systems requires writing the full quantum Hamiltonian, which is usually possible only in simple cases that are easy to analyze analytically