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Title: Detecting topological phase transitions in cadmium arsenide films via the transverse magnetoresistance

Abstract

Topological protection against localization causes electrical transport phenomena in disordered topological materials to differ from those in topologically trivial systems. For example, a transition between a regime of weak localization to one of weak antilocalization can occur in systems such as topological insulators and topological semimetals when an external potential is applied across the system. Here, we report on the transverse magnetoresistance of thin films of cadmium arsenide, a topological non-trivial material, as we tune the electronic states and the Fermi level. We show that the appearance of weak localization and weak antilocalization sensitively reflects the relative contributions of multiple transport channels involving both gapless (massless) and gapped (massive) Dirac fermion states present in these films. Furthermore, the data is consistent with expectations of the different topological states of these films. Weak (anti-) localization phenomena can therefore serve as a probe of the types of Dirac fermions present in topological semimetals.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Waterloo, ON (Canada)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1827696
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1827774
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 119; Journal Issue: 17; Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Thin films; Semimetals; Topological phases; Transition metals; Topological insulator; Epitaxy; Arsenide; Dirac fermions; Surface states

Citation Formats

Shoron, Omor F., Kealhofer, David A., Goyal, Manik, Schumann, Timo, Burkov, Anton A., and Stemmer, Susanne. Detecting topological phase transitions in cadmium arsenide films via the transverse magnetoresistance. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. doi:10.1063/5.0066252.
Shoron, Omor F., Kealhofer, David A., Goyal, Manik, Schumann, Timo, Burkov, Anton A., & Stemmer, Susanne. Detecting topological phase transitions in cadmium arsenide films via the transverse magnetoresistance. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0066252
Shoron, Omor F., Kealhofer, David A., Goyal, Manik, Schumann, Timo, Burkov, Anton A., and Stemmer, Susanne. Wed . "Detecting topological phase transitions in cadmium arsenide films via the transverse magnetoresistance". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0066252. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1827696.
@article{osti_1827696,
title = {Detecting topological phase transitions in cadmium arsenide films via the transverse magnetoresistance},
author = {Shoron, Omor F. and Kealhofer, David A. and Goyal, Manik and Schumann, Timo and Burkov, Anton A. and Stemmer, Susanne},
abstractNote = {Topological protection against localization causes electrical transport phenomena in disordered topological materials to differ from those in topologically trivial systems. For example, a transition between a regime of weak localization to one of weak antilocalization can occur in systems such as topological insulators and topological semimetals when an external potential is applied across the system. Here, we report on the transverse magnetoresistance of thin films of cadmium arsenide, a topological non-trivial material, as we tune the electronic states and the Fermi level. We show that the appearance of weak localization and weak antilocalization sensitively reflects the relative contributions of multiple transport channels involving both gapless (massless) and gapped (massive) Dirac fermion states present in these films. Furthermore, the data is consistent with expectations of the different topological states of these films. Weak (anti-) localization phenomena can therefore serve as a probe of the types of Dirac fermions present in topological semimetals.},
doi = {10.1063/5.0066252},
journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
number = 17,
volume = 119,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Wed Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}

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