Broadband, efficient and fast conversion of light to electricity is crucial for sensing and clean energy. The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) is a second-order nonlinear optical effect that intrinsically converts light into electrical current. Here, we demonstrate a large mid-infrared BPVE in microscopic devices of the Weyl semimetal TaAs. This discovery results from combining recent developments in Weyl semimetals, focused-ion beam fabrication and theoretical works suggesting a connection between BPVE and topology. We also present a detailed symmetry analysis that allows us to separate the shift current response from photothermal effects. The magnitude and wavelength range of the assigned shift  [ Read More ]

The discovery of materials has often introduced new physical paradigms and enabled the development of novel devices. Two-dimensional magnetism, which is associated with strong intrinsic spin fluctuations, has long been the focus of fundamental questions in condensed matter physics regarding our understanding and control of new phases. Here we discuss magnetic van der Waals materials: two-dimensional atomic crystals that contain magnetic elements and thus exhibit intrinsic magnetic properties. These cleavable materials provide the ideal platform for exploring magnetism in the two-dimensional limit, where new physical phenomena are expected, and represent a substantial shift in our ability to control and investigate nanoscale  [ Read More ]

Heterostructures of topological insulators and ferromagnets offer new opportunities in spintronics and a route to novel anomalous Hall states. In one such structure, EuS/Bi2Se3, a dramatic enhancement of the Curie temperature was recently observed. We performed Raman spectroscopy on a similar set of thin films to investigate the magnetic and lattice excitations. Interfacial strain was monitored through its effects on the Bi2Se3 phonon modes while the magnetic system was probed through the EuS Raman mode. Despite its appearance in bare EuS, the heterostructures lack the corresponding EuS Raman signal. Through numerical calculations, we rule out the possibility of Fabry-Perot interference  [ Read More ]

A charge density wave (CDW) is one of the fundamental instabilities of the Fermi surface occurring in a wide range of quantum materials. In dimensions higher than one, where Fermi surface nesting can play only a limited role, the selection of the particular wavevector and geometry of an emerging CDW should in principle be susceptible to controllable manipulation. In this work, we implement a simple method for straining materials compatible with low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectros- copy (STM/S), and use it to strain-engineer CDWs in 2H-NbSe2. Our STM/S measurements, combined with theory, reveal how small strain-induced changes in the electronic band  [ Read More ]

News and Views: Electric switching of magnetism in 2D Combined electrostatic gating and magnetic fields switch a 2D atomic crystal from an antiferromagnetic to a ferromagnetic state.