Visualization of bulk and edge photocurrent flow in anisotropic Weyl semimetals

Wang, Yu-Xuan; Zhang, Xin-Yue; Li, Chunhua; Yao, Xiaohan; Duan, Ruihuan; Graham, Thomas K. M.; Liu, Zheng; Tafti, Fazel; Broido, David; Ran, Ying; Zhou, Brian B.

doi:10.1038/s41567-022-01898-0

Visualization of bulk and edge photocurrent flow in anisotropic Weyl semimetals

Journal Article · Sun Jan 22 23:00:00 EST 2023 · Nature Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01898-0· OSTI ID:1922182

^[1]; ^[2]; Li, Chunhua ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[2]; Broido, David ^[2]; Ran, Ying ^[2]; ^[2]

Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States); Boston College
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
Nanyang Technological Univ. (Singapore)

Materials that rectify light into current in their bulk are desired for optoelectronic applications. In Weyl semimetals that break inversion symmetry, bulk photocurrents may arise due to nonlinear optical processes that are enhanced near the Weyl nodes. However, the photoresponse of these materials is commonly studied by scanning photocurrent microscopy, which convolves the effects of photocurrent generation and collection. Here we directly image the photocurrent flow inside the type-II Weyl semimetals WTe₂ and TaIrTe₄ using high-sensitivity quantum magnetometry with nitrogen-vacancy centre spins. We elucidate a mechanism for bulk photocurrent generation, which we call the anisotropic photothermoelectric effect, where unequal thermopowers along different crystal axes drive intricate circulations of photocurrent around the photoexcitation. Using overlapping scanning photocurrent microscopy and magnetic imaging at the interior and edges of the sample, we visualize how the anisotropic photothermoelectric effect stimulates the long-range photocurrent collected in our WTe₂ and TaIrTe₄ devices through the Shockley–Ramo mechanism. Furthermore, our results highlight a widely relevant source of current flow and will inspire photodetectors that utilize bulk materials with thermoelectric anisotropy.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021071

OSTI ID:: 1922182

Journal Information:: Nature Physics, Journal Name: Nature Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 19; ISSN 1745-2473

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group (NPG)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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