Temperature-Dependent Three-Dimensional Anisotropy of the Magnetoresistance in WTe_{2}

Anisotropic magnetoresistance and electronic features of the candidate topological compound praseodymium monobismuthide

PrBi, a sister member of the rare-earth monopnictide family, is an excellent candidate for studying extreme magnetoresistance and nontrivial topological electronic states. In this study, we perform angular magnetoresistance measurements as well as bulk and surface band structure calculations on this compound. PrBi's magnetoresistance is revealed to be significantly angle-dependent and shows a fourfold symmetry as always observed in the nonmagnetic isostructural counterparts, including LaSb, LaBi, and LuBi. Its angular magnetoresistance can be reproduced well using the semiclassical two-band model. The deduced parameters suggest that PrBi hosts an elongated electron pocket with a mobility anisotropy of ∼3.13 and is slightly uncompensated in its carrier concentration. Our bulk and surface band structure calculations confirm the anisotropic electronic features. Moreover, we reveal that a nodal-line-shaped surface state appears at the X̄ point, and is associated with the quadratic dispersion along the -X̄ direction, and the linear type-I Dirac dispersion along the X̄-M̄ direction. Owing to the type-I Dirac dispersion feature, PrBi could serve as a promising material platform for studying many unexpected physical properties, such as the highly anisotropic transport and valley polarization of electrons.

Phase transitions and suppression of magnetoresistance in WTe2-xSexsystem

X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and electrical resistivity measurements on polycrystalline WTe2-xSe_x(0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.8) reveal aT_d-1T'structural phase transition and suppression of magnetoresistance atx = 0.2. These phenomena are consistent with the pressure phase diagram of WTe₂. However, chemical pressure due to substitution of smaller Se ion cannot generate pressure required for the phase transition. Strain induced by sample inhomogeneity is believed to be a trigger to the behaviors. In agreement with previous predictions and reports, a mixed phase of1T'and 2Hstructures was also detected in Se-rich samples. Coincidentally atx = 0.2, electrical resistivity analysis suggests a phase transition from a metallic phase to a nonmetallic phase that is possibly a topological-insulating phase.

Positive Magnetoresistance and Chiral Anomaly in Exfoliated Type-II Weyl Semimetal Td-WTe2

Layered van der Waals semimetallic Td-WTe2, exhibiting intriguing properties which include non-saturating extreme positive magnetoresistance (MR) and tunable chiral anomaly, has emerged as a model topological type-II Weyl semimetal system. Here, ∼45 nm thick mechanically exfoliated flakes of Td-WTe2 are studied via atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, low-T/high-μ0H magnetotransport measurements and optical reflectivity. The contribution of anisotropy of the Fermi liquid state to the origin of the large positive transverse MR⊥ and the signature of chiral anomaly of the type-II Weyl Fermions are reported. The samples are found to be stable in air and no oxidation or degradation of the electronic properties is observed. A transverse MR⊥∼1200 % and an average carrier mobility of 5000 cm2V-1s-1 at T=5K for an applied perpendicular field μ0H⊥=7T are established. The system follows a Fermi liquid model for T≤50K and the anisotropy of the Fermi surface is concluded to be at the origin of the observed positive MR. Optical reflectivity measurements confirm the anisotropy of the electronic behaviour. The relative orientation of the crystal axes and of the applied electric and magnetic fields is proven to determine the observed chiral anomaly in the in-plane magnetotransport. The observed chiral anomaly in the WTe2 flakes is found to persist up to T=120K, a temperature at least four times higher than the ones reported to date.

Pure Spin Currents Driven by Colossal Spin-Orbit Coupling on Two-Dimensional Surface Conducting SrTiO3

Spin accumulation is generated by passing a charge current through a ferromagnetic layer and sensed by other ferromagnetic layers downstream. Pure spin currents can also be generated in which spin currents flow and are detected as a nonlocal resistance in which the charge current is diverted away from the voltage measurement point. Here, we report nonlocal spin-transport on two-dimensional surface-conducting SrTiO₃ (STO) without a ferromagnetic spin-injector via the spin Hall effect (and inverse spin Hall effect). By applying magnetic fields to the Hall bars at different angles to the nonlocal spin-diffusion, we demonstrate an anisotropic spin-signal that is consistent with a Hanle precession of a pure spin current. We extract key transport parameters for surface-conducting STO, including: a spin Hall angle of γ ≈ (0.25 ± 0.05), a spin lifetime of τ ∼ 49 ps, and a spin diffusion length of λ_s ≈ (1.23 ± 0.7) μm at 2 K.

Layered van der Waals Topological Metals of TaTMTe4 (TM = Ir, Rh, Ru) Family

Layered van der Waals materials of the family TaTMTe₄ (TM = Ir, Rh, Ru) are showing interesting electronic properties. We report the growth and characterization of TaIrTe₄, TaRhTe₄, TaIr_1-xRh_xTe₄ (x = 0.06, 0.14, 0.78, 0.92), Ta_1+xRu_1-xTe₄ single crystals. X-ray powder diffraction confirms that TaRhTe₄ is isostructural to TaIrTe₄. All these compounds are metallic with diamagnetic behavior. Below T ≈ 4 K we observed signatures of the superconductivity in the TaIr_1-xRh_xTe₄ compounds for x = 0.92. All samples show weak quadratic-in-field magnetoresistance (MR). However, for TaIr_1-xRh_xTe₄ with x ≈ 0.78, the MR has a linear term dominating in low fields that indicates the presence of Dirac cones in the vicinity of the Fermi energy. For TaRhTe₄ series the MR is almost isotropic. Electronic structure calculations for TaIrTe₄ and TaRhTe₄ reveal appearance of the Rh band close to the Fermi level.

Large linear magnetoresistance caused by disorder in WTe2-δthin film

Weyl semimetal WTe2has attracted considerable attention owing to its extremely large, unsaturated and quadratic magnetoresistance. Here, we study the magnetotransport properties of WTe2-δthin film, which shows an unsaturated and linear magnetoresistance of up to ∼1650%. A more complex and accurate method, known as the maximum entropy mobility spectrum, is used to analyze the mobility and density of carriers. The results show that linear magnetoresistance can be explained by the classical disorder model because the slope of linear magnetoresistance and the crossover field are proportional to the mobility and inverse mobility, respectively. Furthermore, the validity of the maximum entropy mobility spectrum is validated by the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Moreover, at low temperature, we determined that the unsaturated and near-quadratic magnetoresistance in the WTe1.93thin film can be explained by charge compensation. Note that the electron-hole compensation is broken in the WTe1.42thin film, which indicates that the carrier scattering induced by the disorder may suppress the charge compensation in the WTe2sample with defects/dopants. To summarize, the discovery of disorder-induced linear magnetoresistance allows us to explain different magnetoresistance behaviors of WTe2.

Planar Hall effect induced by anisotropic orbital magnetoresistance in type-II Dirac semimetal PdTe2

We measure planar Hall effect (PHE) and longitudinal anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) with a magnetic field rotating in the a-b plane in the type-II Dirac semimetal PdTe₂. The measured PHE and AMR curves can be fitted by the theoretical equations; however, a detailed analysis of the extracted data demonstrates that the parameter related to PHE and AMR has no relationship with the chiral anomaly due to the absence of negative longitudinal magnetoresistance (MR) when the electric and magnetic fields are parallel to each other. Meanwhile, we prove that the origin of PHE in PdTe₂ is the anisotropic orbital MR. Our work suggests that negative longitudinal MR is necessary to identify chiral anomaly, and we cannot in general use PHE as a signal for the presence of the chiral anomaly in Dirac/Weyl semimetals.

A room-temperature ferroelectric semimetal

Coexistence of reversible polar distortions and metallicity leading to a ferroelectric metal, first suggested by Anderson and Blount in 1965, has so far remained elusive. Electrically switchable intrinsic electric polarization, together with the direct observation of ferroelectric domains, has not yet been realized in a bulk crystalline metal, although incomplete screening by mobile conduction charges should, in principle, be possible. Here, we provide evidence that native metallicity and ferroelectricity coexist in bulk crystalline van der Waals WTe₂ by means of electrical transport, nanoscale piezoresponse measurements, and first-principles calculations. We show that, despite being a Weyl semimetal, WTe₂ has switchable spontaneous polarization and a natural ferroelectric domain structure at room temperature. This new class of materials has tantalizing potential for functional nanoelectronics applications.

Direct Evidence for Charge Compensation-Induced Large Magnetoresistance in Thin WTe2

Since the discovery of extremely large nonsaturating magnetoresistance (MR) in WTe₂, much effort has been devoted to understanding the underlying mechanism, which is still under debate. Here, we explicitly identify the dominant physical origin of the large nonsaturating MR through in situ tuning of the magneto-transport properties in thin WTe₂ film. With an electrostatic doping approach, we observed a nonmonotonic gate dependence of the MR. The MR reaches a maximum (10600%) in thin WTe₂ film at certain gate voltage where electron and hole concentrations are balanced, indicating that the charge compensation is the dominant mechanism of the observed large MR. Besides, we show that the temperature-dependent magnetoresistance exhibits similar tendency with the carrier mobility when the charge compensation is retained, revealing that distinct scattering mechanisms may be at play for the temperature dependence of magneto-transport properties. Our work would be helpful for understanding mechanism of the large MR in other nonmagnetic materials and offers an avenue for achieving large MR in the nonmagnetic materials with electron-hole pockets.

Thermopower and Unconventional Nernst Effect in the Predicted Type-II Weyl Semimetal WTe2

WTe₂ is one of a series of recently discovered high mobility semimetals, some of whose properties are characteristic of topological Dirac or Weyl metals. One of its most interesting properties is the unsaturated giant magnetoresistance that it exhibits at low temperatures. An important question is the degree to which this property can be ascribed to a conventional semimetallic model in which a highly compensated, high mobility metal exhibits large magnetoresistance. Here, we show that the longitudinal thermopower (Seebeck effect) of semimetallic WTe₂ exfoliated flakes exhibits periodic sign changes about zero with increasing magnetic field that indicates distinct electron and hole Landau levels and nearly fully compensated electron and hole carrier densities. However, inconsistent with a conventional semimetallic picture, we find a rapid enhancement of the Nernst effect at low temperatures that is nonlinear in magnetic field, which is consistent with Weyl points in proximity to the Fermi energy. Hence, we demonstrate the role played by the Weyl character of WTe₂ in its transport properties.

Pressure-induced phase transitions and superconductivity in a black phosphorus single crystal

We report a thorough study of the transport properties of the normal and superconducting states of black phosphorus (BP) under magnetic field and high pressure with a large-volume apparatus that provides hydrostatic pressure to induce transitions from the layered A17 phase to the layered A7 phase and to the cubic phase of BP. Quantum oscillations can be observed at P ≥ 1 GPa in both resistivity and Hall voltage, and their evolutions with pressure in the A17 phase imply a continuous enlargement of Fermi surface. A significantly large magnetoresistance (MR) at low temperatures is observed in the A7 phase that becomes superconducting below a superconducting transition temperature Tc ∼ 6-13 K. Tc increases continuously with pressure on crossing the A7 to the cubic phase boundary. The strong MR effect can be fit by a modified Kohler's rule. A correlation between Tc and fitting parameters suggests that phonon-mediated interactions play dominant roles in driving the Cooper pairing, which is further supported by our density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The change of effective carrier mobility in the A17 phase under pressure derived from the MR effect is consistent with that obtained from the temperature dependence of the quantum oscillations. In situ single-crystal diffraction under high pressure indicates a total structural reconstruction instead of simple stretching of the A17 phase layers in the A17-to-A7-phase transition. This finding helps us to interpret transport properties on crossing the phase transition under high pressure.

Three-Dimensional Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in the Dirac Node-Line Material ZrSiSe

The family of materials defined as ZrSiX (X = S, Se, Te) has been established as Dirac node-line semimetals, and subsequent study is urgent to exploit the promising applications of unusual magnetoresistance (MR) properties. Herein, we systematically investigated the anisotropic MR in the newly-discovered Dirac node-line material ZrSiSe. By applying a magnetic field of 3 T by a vector field, three-dimensional (3D) MR shows the strong anisotropy. The MR ratio of maximum and minimum directions reaches 7 at 3 T and keeps increasing at the higher magnetic field. The anisotropic MR forms a butterfly-shaped curve, indicating the quasi-2D electronic structures. This is further confirmed by the angular dependent Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. The first-principles calculations establish the quasi-2D tubular-shaped Fermi surface near the X point in the Brillouin zone. Our finding sheds light on the 3D mapping of MR and the potential applications in magnetic sensors based on ZrSiSe.

Angular-dependent magnetoresistance study in Ca0.73La0.27FeAs2: a 'parent' compound of 112-type iron pnictide superconductors

We report a study of angular-dependent magnetoresistance (AMR) with the magnetic field rotated in the plane perpendicular to the current on a Ca_0.73La_0.27FeAs₂ single crystal, which is regarded as a 'parent' compound of 112-type iron pnictide superconductors. A pronounced AMR with twofold symmetry is observed, signifying the highly anisotropic Fermi surface. By further analyzing the AMR data, we find that the Fermi surface above the structural/antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition (T _s/T _N) is quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D), as revealed by the 2D scaling behavior of the AMR, Δρ/ρ(0) (H, θ)  =  Δρ/ρ(0) (µ ₀ Hcosθ), θ being the magnetic field angle with respect to the c axis. While such 2D scaling becomes invalid at temperatures below T _s/T _N, the three-dimensional (3D) scaling approach by inclusion of the anisotropy of the Fermi surface is efficient, indicating that the appearance of the 3D Fermi surface contributes to anisotropic electronic transport. Compared with other experimental observations, we suspect that the additional 3D hole pocket (generated by the Ca d orbital and As1 p _z orbital) around the Γ point in CaFeAs₂ will disappear in the heavily electron doped regime, and moreover, the Fermi surface should be reconstructed across the structural/AFM transition. Besides, a quasi-linear in-plane magnetoresistance with H//ab is observed at low temperatures and its possible origins are also discussed. Our results provide more information to further understand the electronic structure of 112-type IBSs.

Magnetoresistance and robust resistivity plateau in MoAs2

We have grown the MoAs2 single crystal which crystallizes in a monoclinic structure with C2/m space group. Transport measurements show that MoAs2 displays a metallic behavior at zero field and undergoes a metal-to-semiconductor crossover at low temperatures when the applied magnetic field is over 5 T. A robust resistivity plateau appears below 18 K and persists for the field up to 9 T. A large positive magnetoresistance (MR), reaching about 2600% at 2 K and 9 T, is observed when the field is perpendicular to the current. The MR becomes negative below 40 K when the field is rotated to be parallel to the current. The Hall resistivity shows the non-linear field-dependence below 70 K. The analysis using two-band model indicates a compensated electron-hole carrier density at low temperatures. A combination of the breakdown of Kohler's rule, the abnormal drop and the cross point in Hall data implies that a possible Lifshitz transition has occurred between 30 K and 60 K, likely driving the compensated electron-hole density, the large MR as well as the metal-semiconductor transition in MoAs2. Our results indicate that the family of centrosymmetric transition-metal dipnictides has rich transport behavior which can in general exhibit variable metallic and topological features.

Fermi surface topology and magnetotransport in semimetallic LuSb

Several rare-earth monopnictides were shown to exhibit extreme magnetoresistance and field-induced low-temperature plateau of electrical resistivity. These features are also hallmarks of topological semimetals, thus the family is intensively explored with respect to magneto-transport properties and possible hosting Dirac fermion states. We report a comprehensive investigation of Fermi surface and electrical transport properties of LuSb, another representative of this family. At low temperatures, the magnetoresistance of LuSb was found to exceed 3000% without saturation in fields up to 9 T. Analysis of the Hall effect and the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations revealed that the Fermi surface of this compound consists of several pockets originating from fairly compensated multi-band electronic structure, in full accordance with our first-principles calculations. Observed magnetotransport properties of LuSb can be attributed to the topology of three-dimensional Fermi surface and a compensation of electron and hole contributions.

Pressure-Induced Phase Transition in Weyl Semimetallic WTe2

Tungsten ditelluride (WTe₂ ) is a semimetal with orthorhombic T_d phase that possesses some unique properties such as Weyl semimetal states, pressure-induced superconductivity, and giant magnetoresistance. Here, the high-pressure properties of WTe₂ single crystals are investigated by Raman microspectroscopy and ab initio calculations. WTe₂ shows strong plane-parallel/plane-vertical vibrational anisotropy, stemming from its intrinsic Raman tensor. Under pressure, the Raman peaks at ≈120 cm^-1 exhibit redshift, indicating structural instability of the orthorhombic T_d phase. WTe₂ undergoes a phase transition to a monoclinic T' phase at 8 GPa, where the Weyl states vanish in the new T' phase due to the presence of inversion symmetry. Such T_d to T' phase transition provides a feasible method to achieve Weyl state switching in a single material without doping. The new T' phase also coincides with the appearance of superconductivity reported in the literature.

Three-Dimensional Electronic Structure of the Type-II Weyl Semimetal WTe_{2}

By combining bulk sensitive soft-x-ray angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations we explored the bulk electron states of WTe_{2}, a candidate type-II Weyl semimetal featuring a large nonsaturating magnetoresistance. Despite the layered geometry suggesting a two-dimensional electronic structure, we directly observe a three-dimensional electronic dispersion. We report a band dispersion in the reciprocal direction perpendicular to the layers, implying that electrons can also travel coherently when crossing from one layer to the other. The measured Fermi surface is characterized by two well-separated electron and hole pockets at either side of the Γ point, differently from previous more surface sensitive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments that additionally found a pronounced quasiparticle weight at the zone center. Moreover, we observe a significant sensitivity of the bulk electronic structure of WTe_{2} around the Fermi level to electronic correlations and renormalizations due to self-energy effects, previously neglected in first-principles descriptions.

Anomalous magnetotransport behaviours in PtSe2 microflakes

Platinum diselenide (PtSe₂) is a newly discovered 2D transition metal dichalcogenide, and is further theoretically identified as a candidate of type-II Dirac semimetals. The electrical transport study of PtSe₂ microflakes may provide great potential not only in fundamental physics, but also for future electronic applications. We report the anomalous magnetotransport properties of PtSe₂ microflakes. The anisotropic magnetoresistance of PtSe₂ microflakes can be normalized by introducing a 3D scaling factor [Formula: see text], where θ is the magnetic field angle with respect to the c axis of the crystal and γ is the mass anisotropic constant of electrons. Additionally, the non-monotonic temperature-dependent magnetoresistance of PtSe₂ microflakes is observed both in the perpendicular and in-plane magnetic field orientations. This anomalous magnetotransport behaviour may be ascribed to the novel features of type-II Dirac fermions; however, the exact physical mechanism deserves further investigation.

Angle-dependent magnetoresistance and quantum oscillations in high-mobility semimetal LuPtBi

The recent discovery of ultrahigh mobility and large positive magnetoresistance in the topologically non-trivial half-Heusler semimetal LuPtBi provides a unique playground for studying exotic physics and significant perspective for device applications. As an fcc-structured electron-hole-compensated semimetal, LuPtBi theoretically exhibits six symmetrically arranged anisotropic electron Fermi pockets and two nearly-spherical hole pockets, offering the opportunity to explore the physics of Fermi surfaces with simple angle-related magnetotransport properties. In this work, through angle-dependent transverse magnetoresistance measurements, in combination with high-field SdH quantum oscillations, we aimed to map out a Fermi surface with six anisotropic pockets in the high-temperature and low-field regime, and furthermore, identify a possible magnetic field driven Fermi surface change at lower temperatures. Reasons account for the Fermi surface change in LuPtBi are discussed in terms of the field-induced electron evacuation due to Landau quantization.

Magnetoresistance and Hall resistivity of semimetal WTe2 ultrathin flakes

This article reports the characterization of WTe₂ thin flake magnetoresistance and Hall resistivity. We found it does not exhibit magnetoresistance saturation when subject to high fields, in a manner similar to their bulk characteristics. The linearity of Hall resistivity in our devices confirms the compensation of electrons and holes. By relating experimental results to a classic two-band model, the lower magnetoresistance values in our samples is demonstrated to be caused by decreased carrier mobility. The dependence of mobility on temperature indicates the main role of optical phonon scattering at high temperatures. Our results provide more detailed information on carrier behavior and scattering mechanisms in WTe₂ thin films.

Giant magnetoresistance, three-dimensional Fermi surface and origin of resistivity plateau in YSb semimetal

Very strong magnetoresistance and a resistivity plateau impeding low temperature divergence due to insulating bulk are hallmarks of topological insulators and are also present in topological semimetals where the plateau is induced by magnetic field, when time-reversal symmetry (protecting surface states in topological insulators) is broken. Similar features were observed in a simple rock-salt-structure LaSb, leading to a suggestion of the possible non-trivial topology of 2D states in this compound. We show that its sister compound YSb is also characterized by giant magnetoresistance exceeding one thousand percent and low-temperature plateau of resistivity. We thus performed in-depth analysis of YSb Fermi surface by band calculations, magnetoresistance, and Shubnikov–de Haas effect measurements, which reveals only three-dimensional Fermi sheets. Kohler scaling applied to magnetoresistance data accounts very well for its low-temperature upturn behavior. The field-angle-dependent magnetoresistance demonstrates a 3D-scaling yielding effective mass anisotropy perfectly agreeing with electronic structure and quantum oscillations analysis, thus providing further support for 3D-Fermi surface scenario of magnetotransport, without necessity of invoking topologically non-trivial 2D states. We discuss data implying that analogous field-induced properties of LaSb can also be well understood in the framework of 3D multiband model.

Butterfly magnetoresistance, quasi-2D Dirac Fermi surface and topological phase transition in ZrSiS

Magnetoresistance (MR), the change of a material's electrical resistance in response to an applied magnetic field, is a technologically important property that has been the topic of intense study for more than a quarter century. We report the observation of an unusual "butterfly"-shaped titanic angular magnetoresistance (AMR) in the nonmagnetic Dirac material, ZrSiS, which we find to be the most conducting sulfide known, with a 2-K resistivity as low as 48(4) nΩ⋅cm. The MR in ZrSiS is large and positive, reaching nearly 1.8 × 10⁵ percent at 9 T and 2 K at a 45° angle between the applied current (I || a) and the applied field (90° is H || c). Approaching 90°, a "dip" is seen in the AMR, which, by analyzing Shubnikov de Haas oscillations at different angles, we find to coincide with a very sharp topological phase transition unlike any seen in other known Dirac/Weyl materials. We find that ZrSiS has a combination of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D Dirac pockets comprising its Fermi surface and that the combination of high-mobility carriers and multiple pockets in ZrSiS allows for large property changes to occur as a function of angle between applied fields. This makes it a promising platform to study the physics stemming from the coexistence of 2D and 3D Dirac electrons as well as opens the door to creating devices focused on switching between different parts of the Fermi surface and different topological states.

Direct Observation of a Long-Range Field Effect from Gate Tuning of Nonlocal Conductivity

We report the direct observation of a long-range field effect in WTe_{2} devices, leading to large gate-induced changes of transport through crystals much thicker than the electrostatic screening length. The phenomenon-which manifests itself very differently from the conventional field effect-originates from the nonlocal nature of transport in the devices that are thinner than the carrier mean free path. We reproduce theoretically the gate dependence of the measured classical and quantum magnetotransport, and show that the phenomenon is caused by the gate tuning of the bulk carrier mobility by changing the scattering at the surface. Our results demonstrate experimentally the possibility to gate tune the electronic properties deep in the interior of conducting materials, avoiding limitations imposed by electrostatic screening.

High Current Density and Low Thermal Conductivity of Atomically Thin Semimetallic WTe2

Two-dimensional (2D) semimetals beyond graphene have been relatively unexplored in the atomically thin limit. Here, we introduce a facile growth mechanism for semimetallic WTe2 crystals and then fabricate few-layer test structures while carefully avoiding degradation from exposure to air. Low-field electrical measurements of 80 nm to 2 μm long devices allow us to separate intrinsic and contact resistance, revealing metallic response in the thinnest encapsulated and stable WTe2 devices studied to date (3-20 layers thick). High-field electrical measurements and electrothermal modeling demonstrate that ultrathin WTe2 can carry remarkably high current density (approaching 50 MA/cm(2), higher than most common interconnect metals) despite a very low thermal conductivity (of the order ∼3 Wm(-1) K(-1)). These results suggest several pathways for air-stable technological viability of this layered semimetal.

Coherent optical phonon oscillation and possible electronic softening in WTe2 crystals

A rapidly-growing interest in WTe2 has been triggered by the giant magnetoresistance effect discovered in this unique system. While many efforts have been made towards uncovering the electron- and spin-relevant mechanisms, the role of lattice vibration remains poorly understood. Here, we study the coherent vibrational dynamics in WTe2 crystals by using ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. The oscillation signal in time domain in WTe2 has been ascribed as due to the coherent dynamics of the lowest energy A1 optical phonons with polarization- and wavelength-dependent measurements. With increasing temperature, the phonon energy decreases due to anharmonic decay of the optical phonons into acoustic phonons. Moreover, a significant drop (15%) of the phonon energy with increasing pump power is observed which is possibly caused by the lattice anharmonicity induced by electronic excitation and phonon-phonon interaction.

Temperature-field phase diagram of extreme magnetoresistance

The recent discovery of extreme magnetoresistance (XMR) in LaSb introduced lanthanum monopnictides as a new platform to study this effect in the absence of broken inversion symmetry or protected linear band crossing. In this work, we report XMR in LaBi. Through a comparative study of magnetotransport effects in LaBi and LaSb, we construct a temperature-field phase diagram with triangular shape that illustrates how a magnetic field tunes the electronic behavior in these materials. We show that the triangular phase diagram can be generalized to other topological semimetals with different crystal structures and different chemical compositions. By comparing our experimental results to band structure calculations, we suggest that XMR in LaBi and LaSb originates from a combination of compensated electron-hole pockets and a particular orbital texture on the electron pocket. Such orbital texture is likely to be a generic feature of various topological semimetals, giving rise to their small residual resistivity at zero field and subject to strong scattering induced by a magnetic field.

Large and Anisotropic Linear Magnetoresistance in Single Crystals of Black Phosphorus Arising From Mobility Fluctuations

Black Phosphorus (BP) is presently attracting immense research interest on the global level due to its high mobility and suitable band gap for potential application in optoelectronics and flexible devices. It was theoretically predicted that BP has a large direction-dependent electrical and magnetotransport anisotropy. Investigations on magnetotransport of BP may therefore provide a new platform for studying the nature of electron transport in layered materials. However, to the best of our knowledge, magnetotransport studies, especially the anisotropic magnetoresistance (MR) effect in layered BP, are rarely reported. Here, we report a large linear MR up to 510% at a magnetic field of 7 Tesla in single crystals of BP. Analysis of the temperature and angle dependence of MR revealed that the large linear MR in our sample originates from mobility fluctuations. Furthermore, we reveal that the large linear MR of layered BP in fact follows a three-dimensional behavior rather than a two-dimensional one. Our results have implications to both the fundamental understanding and magnetoresistive device applications of BP.

Layer-dependent quantum cooperation of electron and hole states in the anomalous semimetal WTe2

The behaviour of electrons and holes in a crystal lattice is a fundamental quantum phenomenon, accounting for a rich variety of material properties. Boosted by the remarkable electronic and physical properties of two-dimensional materials such as graphene and topological insulators, transition metal dichalcogenides have recently received renewed attention. In this context, the anomalous bulk properties of semimetallic WTe₂ have attracted considerable interest. Here 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. Supported by first-principles calculations and high-resolution surface topography, we reveal the existence of a layer-dependent behaviour. The balance of electron and hole states is found only when considering at least three Te–W–Te layers, showing that the behaviour of WTe₂ is not strictly two dimensional.

Tungsten ditelluride is a semi-metallic two-dimensional material that has exhibited large magnetoresistance. Here, the authors use angle- and spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the band structure of this transition metal dichalcogenide and identify layer-dependent electronic behaviour.

Signature of Strong Spin-Orbital Coupling in the Large Nonsaturating Magnetoresistance Material WTe2

We report the detailed electronic structure of WTe2 by high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We resolved a rather complicated Fermi surface of WTe2. Specifically, there are in total nine Fermi pockets, including one hole pocket at the Brillouin zone center Γ, and two hole pockets and two electron pockets on each side of Γ along the Γ-X direction. Remarkably, we have observed circular dichroism in our photoemission spectra, which suggests that the orbital angular momentum exhibits a rich texture at various sections of the Fermi surface. This is further confirmed by our density-functional-theory calculations, where the spin texture is qualitatively reproduced as the conjugate consequence of spin-orbital coupling. Since the spin texture would forbid backscatterings that are directly involved in the resistivity, our data suggest that the spin-orbit coupling and the related spin and orbital angular momentum textures may play an important role in the anomalously large magnetoresistance of WTe2. Furthermore, the large differences among spin textures calculated for magnetic fields along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions also provide a natural explanation of the large field-direction dependence on the magnetoresistance.

Temperature-Induced Lifshitz Transition in WTe2

We use ultrahigh resolution, tunable, vacuum ultraviolet laser-based, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), temperature- and field-dependent resistivity, and thermoelectric power (TEP) measurements to study the electronic properties of WTe2, a compound that manifests exceptionally large, temperature-dependent magnetoresistance. The Fermi surface consists of two pairs of electron and two pairs of hole pockets along the X-Γ-X direction. Using detailed ARPES temperature scans, we find a rare example of a temperature-induced Lifshitz transition at T≃160  K, associated with the complete disappearance of the hole pockets. Our electronic structure calculations show a clear and substantial shift of the chemical potential μ(T) due to the semimetal nature of this material driven by modest changes in temperature. This change of Fermi surface topology is also corroborated by the temperature dependence of the TEP that shows a change of slope at T≈175  K and a breakdown of Kohler's rule in the 70-140 K range. Our results and the mechanisms driving the Lifshitz transition and transport anomalies are relevant to other systems, such as pnictides, 3D Dirac semimetals, and Weyl semimetals.