Materials science articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    Signal modulation is a mechanism which embeds an information-carrying signal into a carrier wave to broadcast information and is essential for high-speed communication. Zhonget al. report a flexible, transparent all-graphene modulator circuit performing quaternary modulation schemes with only two transistors.

    • Seunghyun Lee
    • , Kyunghoon Lee
    •  & Zhaohui Zhong

  • Article |

    Molybdenum disulphide offers some tantalizing advantages over graphene as a material with which to fabricate field-effect transistors. Kimet al. present a comprehensive study of field-effect transistors made from multilayer samples of MoS2and find that they can achieve high carrier mobilities.

    • Sunkook Kim
    • , Aniruddha Konar
    •  & Kinam Kim

  • Article |

    Singlet fission converts single singlet excitons into pairs of triplet excitons, and it has been proposed to give additional photocurrent to solar cells. Ehrleret al. use lead selenide nanocrystals of varying sizes to measure the triplet energy in pentacene photovoltaic cells, and achieve efficiencies approaching 5%.

    • Bruno Ehrler
    • , Brian J. Walker
    •  & Neil C. Greenham

  • Article |

    Understanding ultrafast demagnetisation is key to manipulating magnetic structures on fast timescales, yet laser sources limit the attainable spatial resolution. Here, a soft X-ray high harmonic source enables a high temporal and spatial resolution study of domain demagnetisation in [Co/Pt]30multilayer films.

    • Boris Vodungbo
    • , Julien Gautier
    •  & Jan Lüning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Along with its electronic characteristics, the spin properties of graphene have recently received increasing attention in the context of spintronic applications. Using microwave radiation, Maniet al. identify resistively detected spin resonance in monolayer and trilayer graphene sheets and extract the value for the Landé g-factor.

    • Ramesh G. Mani
    • , John Hankinson
    •  & Walter A. de Heer

  • Article |

    Current-induced motion of magnetic nanostructures, such as skyrmions or domain walls, is envisioned as a promising scalable technology for information storage. Yuet al.demonstrate near-room-temperature motion of skyrmions with current densities orders of magnitude lower than previously reported in domain walls.

    • X.Z. Yu
    • , N. Kanazawa
    •  & Y. Tokura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantum spin ice is a magnetic state of matter which can play host to monopole excitations. Using polarized neutron scattering, Changet al. show that the quantum spin ice material ytterbium titanate undergoes a Higgs transition of emergent magnetic monopoles from a Coulomb liquid to a ferromagnetic phase.

    • Lieh-Jeng Chang
    • , Shigeki Onoda
    •  & Martin Richard Lees

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-uniform light beams can create patterns in azo-polymer films by inducing mass transport, yet the process is not well understood. Using optical vortex beams, Ambrosioet al. observe the formation of spiral patterns that are surprisingly sensitive to the optical phase, which they explain with a new model.

    • Antonio Ambrosio
    • , Lorenzo Marrucci
    •  & Pasqualino Maddalena

  • Article |

    Topologically protected states of matter are receiving widespread attention owing to their unusual electronic properties. Using numerical simulations, this study predicts that tin telluride is a physical realization of a new class of materials termed topological crystalline insulators.

    • Timothy H. Hsieh
    • , Hsin Lin
    •  & Liang Fu

  • Article |

    Nacre is an organic–inorganic composite biomaterial, which consists of an ordered multilayer structure of crystalline calcium carbonate platelets separated by porous organic layers. Finnemoreet al. present a route to artificial nacre which mimics the natural layer-by-layer biosynthesis.

    • Alexander Finnemore
    • , Pedro Cunha
    •  & Ullrich Steiner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Patchy colloids are colloidal particles with chemically or physically patterned surfaces that result in complex interactions arising between them. By means of numerical simulations, Romano and Sciortino show that suitably tailored patches can induce the crystallization of patchy colloids into specific crystal structures.

    • Flavio Romano
    •  & Francesco Sciortino

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The dynamics and structure of the glass transition in liquids is still debated. Using particle-level confocal microscopy, Leocmach and Tanaka investigate supercooled colloidal liquids and distinguish different scenarios for glassy slow dynamics, suggesting that local ordering may only play a minor role.

    • Mathieu Leocmach
    •  & Hajime Tanaka

  • Article |

    Vortex–charge duality is a model that has been proposed for describing the superconducting to insulator transition in disordered thin films. Mehtaet al. report experimental evidence for this duality in the two-dimensional electron gas that arises in LaAlO3/SrTiO3heterostructures.

    • M.M. Mehta
    • , D.A. Dikin
    •  & V. Chandrasekhar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The iron pnictides are a class of superconductors that have received widespread interest in recent years. By doping the prototypical material LaFeAsO with hydrogen, this study reveals the existence of a second superconducting dome at higher doping ranges, which arises due to orbital fluctuations.

    • Soshi Iimura
    • , Satoru Matsuishi
    •  & Hideo Hosono

  • Article |

    Chiral metamaterials present interesting ways to manipulate and distinguish between different circular polarizations of light. Zhanget al. realize chiral metamaterials that exhibit photoinduced switching between left- and right-handed circular polarization interactions at terahertz frequencies.

    • Shuang Zhang
    • , Jiangfeng Zhou
    •  & Xiang Zhang

  • Article |

    The ability to manipulate single charges is a key requisite for novel nanoelectronic devices. Allenet al. show how to electrostatically confine electrons in suspended bilayer graphene quantum dots by local control of the graphene band structure.

    • M. T. Allen
    • , J. Martin
    •  & A. Yacoby

  • Article |

    The SrTiO3/LaAlO3 system is widely studied because it forms a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface. This study investigates the effects of diluting the LaAlO3 layer with SrTiO3, and finds that the threshold thickness required for the onset of conductivity scales inversely with the fraction of LaAlO3, suggesting an intrinsic origin for the electron gas.

    • M.L. Reinle-Schmitt
    • , C. Cancellieri
    •  & P.R. Willmott

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Switches made up of single molecules form the basis for the concept of molecular electronics. Miyamachiet al.demonstrate that an iron-based spin crossover molecule can be switched between different spin states, provided it is decoupled from a metallic substrate by a thin insulating layer.

    • Toshio Miyamachi
    • , Manuel Gruber
    •  & Wulf Wulfhekel

  • Article |

    The interface within heterostructures consisting of LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 has been reported to give rise to magnetism, in addition to a two-dimensional electron gas. Kalisky et al. observe that magnetism can occur only above a critical thickness, and that it occurs in heterogeneous patches.

    • Beena Kalisky
    • , Julie A. Bert
    •  & Kathryn A. Moler

  • Article |

    Stretchable electronics based on conducting polymers offer new opportunities for designing flexible technologies. Parket al. build three-dimensional nanostructures from elastomers soaked with liquid metal to produce stretchable conductors with greatly improved strain properties over solid films.

    • Junyong Park
    • , Shuodao Wang
    •  & Seokwoo Jeon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanocrystal quantum dots can exhibit photoluminescence blinking, where the intensity of the emitted light fluctuates due to random charging and discharging. Gallandet al.study thick shell nanocrystals and find that the photoluminescence lifetime can also undergo blinking, without intensity changes.

    • Christophe Galland
    • , Yagnaseni Ghosh
    •  & Victor I. Klimov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnetometers based on organic magnetoresistance are limited by narrow sensitivity ranges, degradation and temperature fluctuations. Bakeret al. demonstrate a magnetic resonance-based organic thin film magnetometer, which overcomes these drawbacks by exploiting the metrological nature of magnetic resonance.

    • W.J. Baker
    • , K. Ambal
    •  & C. Boehme

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ultrasmall clusters of atoms form the building blocks of many nanoscale materials. Using a combination of aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and numerical simulations, this study uncovers the geometry of these clusters in three dimensions.

    • S. Bals
    • , S. Van Aert
    •  & G. Van Tendeloo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding hydrogen diffusion in metals is a challenge because of limited access to spatial evolution of the concentration profiles. Using time- and spatially resolved optical measurements, Palssonet al. determine the diffusion rate of hydrogen by directly monitoring its transit through a vanadium thin film.

    • Gunnar K. Pálsson
    • , Andreas Bliersbach
    •  & Björgvin Hjörvarsson

  • Article |

    Devices made up of nanowires offer promise for a range of electronic, photonic and energy applications. Liuet al. fabricate a miniature capacitor by employing a thin layer of Cu2O as a separator between layers of carbon and copper.

    • Zheng Liu
    • , Yongjie Zhan
    •  & Pulickel M. Ajayan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide molybdenum disulphide has recently attracted attention owing to its distinctive electronic properties. Cao and co-workers present numerical evidence suggesting that circularly polarized light can preferentially excite a single valley in the band structure of this system.

    • Ting Cao
    • , Gang Wang
    •  & Ji Feng

  • Article |

    Thed orbitals of transition metal compounds influence their crystallographic and physical properties. This study reports a unique structural transition in single crystals of the S=1/2 kagomé antiferromagnet, volborthite, whereby an unpaired electron 'switches' from one dorbital to another upon cooling.

    • Hiroyuki Yoshida
    • , Jun-ichi Yamaura
    •  & Zenji Hiroi

  • Article |

    Transistors based on ions, as opposed to electrons, offer the promise of bridging the gap between technological and biological systems. Tybrandtet al. present logic gates based on ion bipolar junction transistors that operate at concentrations compatible with biological systems.

    • Klas Tybrandt
    • , Robert Forchheimer
    •  & Magnus Berggren

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The coupling that occurs between the structural and the magnetic properties of magnetic materials leads to a host of magnetoresponsive effects that are useful for potential technological applications. Here, a strong magnetostructural coupling that persists over a wide temperature range is reported in MnNiGe:Fe alloys.

    • Enke Liu
    • , Wenhong Wang
    •  & Frank de Boer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The motion of domain walls in magnetic materials characterized by a perpendicular axis of magnetization is a promising means of controlling information in future memory and logic devices. Schellekenset al. show the velocity of domain walls in such systems can be controlled by using an applied electric field.

    • A.J. Schellekens
    • , A. van den Brink
    •  & B. Koopmans

  • Article |

    The electromotive force is a well established phenomenon that is induced by a varying magnetic field. Here, Tanabeet al. report a compelling experimental confirmation of its spin-induced analogue, the spinmotive force.

    • K. Tanabe
    • , D. Chiba
    •  & T. Ono

  • Article |

    The formation mechanisms of fullerenes remain unclear. This study shows that fullerenes self-assemble through a closed network growth mechanism in which atomic carbon and C2are incorporated into the growing closed cages.

    • Paul W. Dunk
    • , Nathan K. Kaiser
    •  & Harold W. Kroto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Resonant magnetic excitations are common in unconventional superconductors, but the mechanism for their formation is elusive. Using inelastic neutron scattering, this study finds similar excitations in the non-superconducting heavy-fermion metal CeB6, suggesting common behaviour between the two ground states.

    • G. Friemel
    • , Yuan Li
    •  & D.S. Inosov

  • Article |

    Light propagating in a medium can undergo polarization rotation, an effect that depends on light intensity and chiral properties. Renet al. report polarization rotation in a plasmonic metamaterial with million-fold stronger nonlinearity than that found in natural crystals.

    • Mengxin Ren
    • , Eric Plum
    •  & Nikolay I. Zheludev

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The compositional makeup of skeletons and teeth in invertebrates and vertebrates is generally different. This study examines the material composition and properties of freshwater crayfish mandibles and finds, in an unusual case of convergent evolution, that they are composed of an apatite layer that is similar to mammalian enamel.

    • Shmuel Bentov
    • , Paul Zaslansky
    •  & Barbara Aichmayer

  • Article |

    Strain engineering has been proposed as a promising strategy for manipulating the electronic properties of graphene. This scanning tunnelling microscopy study demonstrates the feasibility of controlling strain patterns in graphene down to the nanoscale.

    • Jiong Lu
    • , A.H. Castro Neto
    •  & Kian Ping Loh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electronic and optoelectronic devices based on gallium nitride suffer from self-heating arising as a result of their operation. This study presents and demonstrates a strategy for managing this problem that relies on graphene quilts which dissipate the heat away.

    • Zhong Yan
    • , Guanxiong Liu
    •  & Alexander A. Balandin

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