We present a study of "nodal semimetal" phases, in which non-degenerate conduction and valence bands touch at points (the "Weyl semimetal") or lines (the "line node semimetal") in threedimensional momentum space. We discuss a general approach to such states by perturbation of the critical point between a normal insulator (NI) and a topological insulator (TI), breaking either time reversal (TR) or inversion symmetry. We give an explicit model realization of both types of states in a NI-TI superlattice structure with broken TR symmetry. Both the Weyl and the line-node semimetals are characterized by topologically-protected surface states, although in the line-node case some additional symmetries must be imposed to retain this topological protection. The edge states have the form of "Fermi arcs" in the case of the Weyl semimetal: these are chiral gapless edge states, which exist in a finite region in momentum space, determined by the momentum-space separation of the bulk Weyl nodes. The chiral character of the edge states leads to a finite Hall conductivity. In contrast, the edge states of the line-node semimetal are "flat bands": these states are approximately dispersionless in a subset of the two-dimensional edge Brillouin zone, given by the projection of the line node onto the plane of the edge. We discuss unusual transport properties of the nodal semimetals, and in particular point out quantum critical-like scaling of the DC and optical conductivity of the Weyl semimetal, and similarities to the conductivity of graphene in the line node case.

It is well-known that helical surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator (TI) do not respond to a static in-plane magnetic field. Formally this occurs because the in-plane magnetic field appears as a vector potential in the Dirac Hamiltonian of the surface states and can thus be removed by a gauge transformation of the surface electron wavefunctions. Here we show that when the top and bottom surfaces of a thin film of TI are hybridized and the Fermi level is in the hybridization gap, a nonzero diamagnetic response appears. Moreover, a quantum phase transition occurs at a finite critical value of the parallel field from an insulator with a diamagnetic response to a semimetal with a vanishing response to the parallel field.

Silver nanobelts are demonstrated here to undergo inter-particle joining at relatively low temperatures of less than 180 °C. For surface-coated networks of nanobelts this joining reduced the network sheet resistance by 95%. The joining mechanism appears to be non-diffusional oriented attachment, caused by the thermal reactivation of the halted oriented attachment mechanism that occurred originally at room temperature during the rapid nanobelt synthesis. This self-assembly mechanism was explored by in situ electrical and calorimetric experiments, and supported by electron microscopy. Unlike pentagonal silver nanowires, silver nanobelts do not rely on diffusional instability to achieve workably low joining temperatures. The oriented attachment displayed by nanobelts represents a new approach to achieving valuable reductions in network resistance, disentangled from the instability and diffusion-driven failure by nanoparticle degradation displayed by competing silver nanoparticles.

Real time resistance monitoring technology is used to study the silver sintering process.Signals of joint resistance show events such as resistance increase to >10 GΩ, abrupt resistance drop from >10 GΩ to <1 kΩ, and gradual resistance drop to <1 mΩ. Based on cross-sectioning of samples at various stages of sintering and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), we propose a correlation between resistance signal and solvent evaporation, capping agent degradation, and silver sintering. We identified distinct clusters of sintered silver of samples removed from the oven when the resistance drops to ~2.94 Ω.

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Environmental chambers are commonly used for reliability testing of microelectronics and other products and materials. These chambers are large, expensive, and limit electrical connectivity to devices under test. In this paper, we present a collection of ten small, low-cost environmental chambers, with humidity control based on mixtures of water and glycerol placed inside the chambers. We demonstrate relative humidities from 44% to 90%, at temperatures from 30 to 85 °C, enabling industry-standard testing at 85% humidity and 85 °C. The division of samples between ten separate chambers allows different conditions to be applied to each sample, in order to quickly characterize the effects of the environment on device reliability, enabling extrapolation to estimate lifetimes in working conditions.