We report high-resolution angle resolved photoemission measurements on single crystals of Pt2HgSe3 grown by high-pressure synthesis. Our data reveal a gapped Dirac nodal line whose (001)-projection separates the surface Brillouin zone in topological and trivial areas. In the non-trivial $k$-space range we find surface states with multiple saddle-points in the dispersion resulting in two van Hove singularities in the surface density of states. Based on density functional theory calculations, we identify these surface states as signatures of a topological crystalline state which coexists with a weak topological phase.
Recently monolayer jacutingaite (Pt2HgSe3), a naturally occurring exfoliable mineral, discovered in Brazil in 2008, has been theoretically predicted as a candidate quantum spin Hall system with a 0.5 eV band gap, while the bulk form is one of only a few known dual-topological insulators which may host different surface states protected by symmetries. In this work, we systematically investigate both structure and electronic evolution of bulk Pt2HgSe3 under high pressure up to 96 GPa. The nontrivial topology persists up to the structural phase transition observed in the high-pressure regime. Interestingly, we found that this phase transition is accompanied by the appearance of superconductivity at around 55 GPa and the critical transition temperature Tc increases with applied pressure. Our results demonstrate that Pt2HgSe3 with nontrivial topology of electronic states displays new ground states upon compression and raises potentials in application to the next-generation spintronic devices.
The Weyl semimetal NbP was found to exhibit topological Fermi arcs and exotic magneto-transport properties. Here, we report on magnetic quantum-oscillation measurements on NbP and construct the 3D Fermi surface with the help of band-structure calculations. We reveal a pair of spin-orbit-split electron pockets at the Fermi energy and a similar pair of hole pockets, all of which are strongly anisotropic. The Fermi surface well explains the linear magnetoresistance observed in high magnetic fields by the quantum-limit scenario. The Weyl points that are located in the $k_z approx pi/c$ plane are found to exist 5 meV above the Fermi energy. Therefore, we predict that the chiral anomaly effect can be realized in NbP by electron doping to drive the Fermi energy to the Weyl points.
We report on the pressure evolution of the Fermi surface topology of the Weyl semimetal NbP, probed by Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the magnetoresistance combined with ab-initio calculations of the band-structure. Although we observe a drastic effect on the amplitudes of the quantum oscillations, the frequencies only exhibit a weak pressure dependence up to 2.8 GPa. The pressure-induce variations in the oscillation frequencies are consistent with our band-structure calculations. Furthermore, we can relate the changes in the amplitudes to small modifications in the shape of the Fermi surface. Our findings evidenced the stability of the electronic band structure of NbP and demonstrate the power of combining quantum-oscillation studies and band-structure calculations to investigate pressure effects on the Fermi-surface topology in Weyl semimetals.
Recently, intriguing physical properties have been unraveled in anisotropic layered semiconductors with the in-plane anisotropy often originates directly from the low crystallographic symmetry. However, little has been known about the systems where the size effect dominates the anisotropy of electronic band structures. Here, applying both experiment and theory, we show that the anisotropic energy bands of monoclinic gallium telluride (GaTe) are determined by a strong bulk-surface interaction rather than geometric factors. Bulk electronic states are found to be the major contribution to the highest valence band, whose anisotropy is yet immune to surface doping by potassium atoms. Further analysis indicates the weakened bulk-surface interaction gives rise to an inverse anisotropy of hole effective masses and the strong interlayer coupling induces a direct-indirect-direct band gap transition at transfer from mono- to few-layer GaTe. Our results thus pave the way to future applications of anisotropic layered semiconductors in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.
We use temperature- and field-dependent resistivity measurements [Shubnikov--de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillations] and ultrahigh resolution, tunable, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to study the three-dimensionality (3D) of the bulk electronic structure in WTe2, a type-II Weyl semimetal. The bulk Fermi surface (FS) consists of two pairs of electron pockets and two pairs of hole pockets along the X-Gamma-X direction as detected by using an incident photon energy of 6.7 eV, which is consistent with the previously reported data. However, if using an incident photon energy of 6.36 eV, another pair of tiny electron pockets is detected on both sides of the Gamma point, which is in agreement with the small quantum oscillation frequency peak observed in the magnetoresistance. Therefore, the bulk, 3D FS consists of three pairs of electron pockets and two pairs of hole pockets in total. With the ability of fine tuning the incident photon energy, we demonstrate the strong three-dimensionality of the bulk electronic structure in WTe2. The combination of resistivity and ARPES measurements reveal the complete, and consistent, picture of the bulk electronic structure of this material.