Temperature-Dependent Three-Dimensional Anisotropy of the Magnetoresistance in ${\mathrm{WTe}}_2$

Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.046602· OSTI ID:1391980

Thoutam, L. R.; Wang, Y. L.; Xiao, Z. L.; Das, S.; Luican-Mayer, A.; Divan, R.; Crabtree, G. W.; Kwok, W. K.

Extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) was recently discovered in WTe2, triggering extensive research on this material regarding the XMR origin. Since WTe2 is a layered compound with metal layers sandwiched between adjacent insulating chalcogenide layers, this material has been considered to be electronically two-dimensional (2D). Here we report two new findings on WTe2: (1) WTe2 is electronically 3D with a mass anisotropy as low as 2, as revealed by the 3D scaling behavior of the resistance R(H20) = R(e0H) with e0=(cos 20+y-2 sin2 0)1/2, 0 being the magnetic field angle with respect to c-axis of the crystal and (r) being the mass anisotropy; (2) the mass anisotropy (r) varies with temperature and follows the magnetoresistance behavior of the Fermi liquid state when the temperature is lowered. Our results not only provide a general scaling approach for the anisotropic magnetoresistance but also are crucial for correctly understanding the electronic properties of WTe2, including the origin of the remarkable ‘turn-on’ behavior in the resistance versus temperature curve, which has been widely observed in many materials and assumed to be a metal-insulator transition.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1391980
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 115, Issue 4; ISSN 0031-9007
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English