Research – da Silva Neto Lab

Our research is made possible by the support of the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation.

— The da Silva Neto Lab focuses on experiments that investigate the electronic properties of quantum materials. Our interests encompass materials that develop electronic quantum phases of matter, such as nematic order, superconductivity, magnetism, charge order and interesting topological phases. Understanding the basic physical mechanisms behind these phases may provide new avenues for next-generation quantum computation and energy efficient materials. To study the basic quantum mechanics of these materials my group uses a suite of techniques. First, at Yale, we will employ low-temperature (sub 1K) and high magnetic field (11T) scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/S) to visualize the quantum wave functions of electrons at the atomic scale. Second, to complement the STM/S real-space studies at Yale, we will measure the electronic states in reciprocal space at synchrotron facilities around the globe, primarily using resonant soft x-ray scattering (RXS) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments. Current projects include the study of superconductivity in Fe-based high-temperature superconductors and Kagome lattices, studies of van der Waals magnets, and the development of novel ARPES-based techniques for the measurement of electron-electron correlations .For an overview regarding the experimental techniques we use, see this talk (after the introduction in Portuguese the talk is given in English):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHuDRm9YCE

The following videos from Quantum Made Simple provide brief explanations for some concepts that are central to our research:

ARPES: Photoemission and Metals, Pump-Probe Techniques

STM/S: Tunneling Effect, Scanning Tunneling Microscope

RXS: Crystallography and Reciprocal Space

Condensed Matter Concepts: Metals and Insulators, Graphene and Dirac Cones

Schematic of an STM. A sharp metallic tip (red) is brought in close proximity (~1-5 Angstroms) to the material to be studied. Quantum tunneling of the electrons through the vacuum barrier, in tandem with a precise scanning motion of the tip above the surface, allows the electronic states to be visualized.

Helium Recovery System

Scanning Tunneling Microscope

Microscopy

Charge order in the hole-doped cuprate high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x visualized in real space (front) using a scanning tunneling microscope, or in reciprocal space (back) using resonant X-ray scattering (green arrows). From E. H. da Silva Neto, et al. Science 343, 393 (2014).

Quasiparticle Interference (QPI) measured at the UC Davis STM/S Lab.

For more details see the following review articles:

STM/S: A. Yazdani, E. H. da Silva Neto, and P. Aynajian – Spectroscopic imaging of strongly correlated electronic states. Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics 7, 11-33 (2016).

RXS: J. Fink, E. Schierle, E. Weschke and J. Geck – Resonant elastic soft x-ray scattering. Reports on Progress in Physics, Volume 76, Number 5 (2013).

ARPES: Andrea Damascelli, Zahid Hussain, and Zhi-Xun Shen – Angle-resolved photoemission studies of the cuprate superconductors. Review of Modern Physics 75, 473 (2003)

ARPES: Jonathan A. Sobota, Yu He, and Zhi-Xun Shen – Angle-resolved photoemission studies of quantum materials. Review of Modern Physics 93, 025006 (2021).