APE

                                        
Advanced Photoelectric Effect experiments

The APE concept is based on a state-of-the-art surface science laboratory as a support facility for advanced spectroscopies at two distinct beamlines using polarized synchrotron radiation in the ultraviolet and soft X-ray range from the Elettra storage ring. APE is a facility for spectroscopic investigation of solid surfaces and nanostructured matter for which the sample preparation and survey represent crucial and integral part of the experiment. For this reason a number of spectroscopic techniques (ARPES (with new VG Scienta DA30 analyzer and in spin-resolved mode), XAS, XMCD/LD, XPS, Mott magnetometry) is coupled with sophisticated off-line preparation/growth and characterization tools (atomically resolved STM, LEED-Auger, magneto-optical Kerr effect).

Research highlights / Publications

Maximal Rashba-like spin splitting via kinetic-energy-coupled inversion-symmetry breaking

 Engineering and enhancing the breaking of inversion symmetry in solids is a key goal in condensed-matter physics and materials science because it can be used to stabilize states that are of fundamental interest and also have potential practical applications.
  V. Sunko et al., Nature 549, 492–496 (2017)
 

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Signature of type-II Weyl semimetal phase in MoTe2

 Topological Weyl semimetal (TWS), a new state of quantum matter, has sparked enormous research interest recently. Possessing unique Weyl fermions in the bulk and Fermi arcs on the surface, TWSs offer a rare platform for realizing many exotic physical phenomena.
  J. Jiang et al., Nature Communications 8, 13973 (2017)

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Evidence for a Strong Topological Insulator Phase in ZrTe5

 The complex electronic properties of ZrTe5 have recently stimulated in-depth investigations that assigned this material to either a topological insulator or a 3D Dirac semimetal phase. Here we report a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of both electronic and structural properties of ZrTe5, revealing that the bulk material is a strong topological insulator.
  G. Manzoni et al.,  PRL 117, 237601 (2016)
 

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Manipulating the Topological Interface by Molecular Adsorbates: Adsorption of Co-Phthalocyanine on Bi2Se3

 Topological insulators are a promising class of materials for applications in the field of spintronics. New perspectives in this field can arise from interfacing metal–organic molecules with the topological insulator spin-momentum locked surface states, which can be perturbed enhancing or suppressing spintronics-relevant properties such as spin coherence. 
  M. Caputo et al., Nano Lett., 2016, 16 (6), 3409–3414 (2016), DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02635

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Layer Dependent Quantum Cooperation of Electron and Hole States in the Anomalous Semimetal WTe2

We report angle- and spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of WTe2 single crystals, through which we disentangle the role of W and Te atoms in the formation of the band structure and identify the interplay of charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom. 

P. Das et al.,   Nature Communication 7, 10847 (2016)

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Multiple Coexisting Dirac Surface States in Three-Dimensional Topological Insulator PbBi6Te10

 By means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements, we unveil the electronic band structure of three-dimensional PbBi6Te10 topological insulator. 
 
  M. Papagno et al.,   ACS Nano, Vol. 10 - 3, pp. 3518-3524 (2016), doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5b07750

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New strategy for the growth of complex heterostructures based on different 2D materials

 Tungsten disulfide (WS2) monolayers have been synthesized under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions on quasi-free-standing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and gold deposited on Ni(111). We find that the synthesis temperature control can be used to tune the WS2 structure.
 
  M. Cattelan et al.,   Chem. Mater. (2015),  doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b01170  

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Giant Rashba-Type Spin Splitting in Ferroelectric GeTe(111)

The Rashba effect as an electrically tunable spin-splitting is anticipated to be the key for semiconductor-based spintronics. It has been pursued in semiconductor heterostructures, where advanced experiments found tunable spin signals at low temperature.
 
 M. Liebmann et al.,   Advanced Materials (2015), doi: 10.1002/adma.201503459  

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Magnetically Hard Fe3Se4 Embedded in Bi2Se3 Topological Insulator Thin Films Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

We investigated the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of Bi2Se3 epilayers containing Fe grown on GaAs(111) by molecular beam epitaxy. 

HMdN Vasconcelos et al.,    ACS NANO (2015), doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5b06430   

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Reversible Photoswitching of a Spin-Crossover Molecular Complex in the Solid State at Room Temperature

Spin-crossover metal complexes are highly promising magnetic molecular switches for prospective molecule-based devices. The spin-crossover molecular photoswitches developed so far operate either at very low temperatures or in the liquid phase, which hinders practical applications.

B. Rösner et al.,   Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 54 - 44, pp. 12976-12980 (2015), doi: 10.1002/anie.201504192

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Proposal Submission

We invite users and collabrators to discuss their proposals with the beamline local contacts well in advance before the submission deadline. This is crucial for a careful assesment of the experiment feasibility and may lead to improvements in the proposed experimental plan. 

Call for proposals

The deadline for proposal submission for beamtime allocation from January 1st to June 30th, 2017 will be September 15th, 2016.