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Register a new userObservation of a topological 3D Dirac semimetal phase in high-mobility Cd3As2
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Experimental identification of three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetals in solid state systems is critical for realizing exotic topological phenomena and quantum transport such as the Weyl phases, high temperature linear quantum magnetoresistance and topological magnetic phases. Using high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we performed systematic electronic structure studies on well-known compound Cd3As2. For the first time, we observe a highly linear bulk Dirac cone located at the Brillouin zone center projected onto the (001) surface which is consistent with a 3D Dirac semimetal phase in Cd3As2. Remarkably, an unusually high Dirac Fermion velocity up to 10.2 textrm{AA}{cdot}$eV (1.5 times 10^{6} ms^-1) is seen in samples where the mobility far exceeds 40,000 cm^2/V.s suggesting that Cd3As2 can be a promising candidate as a hypercone analog of graphene in many device-applications which can also incorporate topological quantum phenomena in a large gap setting. Our experimental identification of this novel topological 3D Dirac semimetal phase, distinct from a 3D topological insulator phase discovered previously, paves the way for exploring higher dimensional relativistic physics in bulk transport and for realizing novel Fermionic matter such as a Fermi arc nodal metal.
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Cadmium arsenide (Cd3As2) - a time-honored and widely explored material in solid-state physics - has recently attracted considerable attention. This was triggered by a theoretical prediction concerning the presence of 3D symmetry-protected massless Dirac electrons, which could turn Cd3As2 into a 3D analogue of graphene. Subsequent extended experimental studies have provided us with compelling experimental evidence of conical bands in this system, and revealed a number of interesting properties and phenomena. At the same time, some of the material properties remain the subject of vast discussions despite recent intensive experimental and theoretical efforts, which may hinder the progress in understanding and applications of this appealing material. In this review, we focus on the basic material parameters and properties of Cd3As2, in particular those which are directly related to the conical features in the electronic band structure of this material. The outcome of experimental investigations, performed on Cd3As2 using various spectroscopic and transport techniques within the past sixty years, is compared with theoretical studies. These theoretical works gave us not only simplified effective models, but more recently, also the electronic band structure calculated numerically using ab initio methods.
Three dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetals are 3D analogue of graphene, which display Dirac points with linear dispersion in k-space, stabilized by crystal symmetry. Cd3As2 and Na3Bi were predicted to be 3D Dirac semimetals and were subsequently demonstrated by photoemission experiments. As unveiled by transport measurements, several exotic phases, such as Weyl semimetals, topological insulators, and topological superconductors, can be deduced by breaking time reversal or inversion symmetry. Here, we reported a facile and scalable chemical vapor deposition method to fabricate high-quality Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 microbelts, they have shown ultrahigh mobility up to 1.15*10^5 cm^2/V s and pronounced Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Such extraordinary features are attributed to the suppression of electron backscattering. This research opens a new avenue for the scalable fabrication of Cd3As2 materials towards exciting electronic applications of 3D Dirac semimetals.
The three-dimensional topological semimetals represent a new quantum state of matter. Distinct from the surface state in the topological insulators that exhibits linear dispersion in two-dimensional momentum plane, the three-dimensional semimetals host bulk band dispersions linearly along all directions, forming discrete Dirac cones in three-dimensional momentum space. In addition to the gapless points (Weyl/Dirac nodes) in the bulk, the three-dimensional Weyl/Dirac semimetals are also characterized by topologically protected surface state with Fermi arcs on their specific surface. The Weyl/Dirac semimetals have attracted much attention recently they provide a venue not only to explore unique quantum phenomena but also to show potential applications. While Cd3As2 is proposed to be a viable candidate of a Dirac semimetal, more experimental evidence and theoretical investigation are necessary to pin down its nature. In particular, the topological surface state, the hallmark of the three-dimensional semimetal, has not been observed in Cd3As2. Here we report the electronic structure of Cd3As2 investigated by angle-resolved photoemission measurements on the (112) crystal surface and detailed band structure calculations. The measured Fermi surface and band structure show a good agreement with the band structure calculations with two bulk Dirac-like bands approaching the Fermi level and forming Dirac points near the Brillouin zone center. Moreover, the topological surface state with a linear dispersion approaching the Fermi level is identified for the first time. These results provide strong experimental evidence on the nature of topologically non-trivial three-dimensional Dirac cones in Cd3As2.
Dirac and Weyl semimetals display a host of novel properties. In Cd$_3$As$_2$, the Dirac nodes lead to a protection mechanism that strongly suppresses backscattering in zero magnetic field, resulting in ultrahigh mobility ($sim$ 10$^7$ cm$^2$ V$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$). In applied magnetic field, an anomalous Nernst effect is predicted to arise from the Berry curvature associated with the Weyl nodes. We report observation of a large anomalous Nernst effect in Cd$_3$As$_2$. Both the anomalous Nernst signal and transport relaxation time $tau_{tr}$ begin to increase rapidly at $sim$ 50 K. This suggests a close relation between the protection mechanism and the anomalous Nernst effect. In a field, the quantum oscillations of bulk states display a beating effect, suggesting that the Dirac nodes split into Weyl states, allowing the Berry curvature to be observed as an anomalous Nernst effect.
We report experimental observation of the Planar Hall effect (PHE) in a type-II Dirac semimetal PtTe$_2$. This unusual Hall effect is not expected in nonmagnetc materials such as PtTe$_2$, and has been observed previously mostly in magnetic semiconductors or metals. Remarkably, the PHE in PtTe$_2$ can be observed up to temperatures near room temperature which indicates the robustness of the effect. This is in contrast to the chiral anomaly induced negative longitudnal magnetoresistance (LMR), which can be observed only in the low temperature regime and is sensitive to extrinsic effects, such as current jetting and chemical inhomogeneities in crystals of high mobility. Planar Hall effect on the other hand is a purely intrinsic effect generated by the Berry curvature in Weyl semimetals. Additionally, the PHE is observed for PtTe$_2$ even though the Dirac node is $approx 0.8$~eV away from the Fermi level. Thus our results strongly indicate that PHE can be used as a crucial transport diagnostic for topological character even for band structures with Dirac nodes slightly away from the Fermi energy.
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