Signature of pressure-induced topological phase transition in ZrTe5
Journal article, 2024
The layered van der Waals material ZrTe5 is known as a candidate topological insulator (TI), however its topological phase and the relation with other properties such as an apparent Dirac semimetallic state is still a subject of debate. We employ a semiclassical multicarrier transport (MCT) model to analyze the magnetotransport of ZrTe5 nanodevices at hydrostatic pressures up to 2 GPa. The temperature dependence of the MCT results between 10 and 300 K is assessed in the context of thermal activation, and we obtain the positions of conduction and valence band edges in the vicinity of the chemical potential. We find evidence of the closing and re-opening of the band gap with increasing pressure, which is consistent with a phase transition from weak to strong TI. This matches expectations from ab initio band structure calculations, as well as previous observations that CVT-grown ZrTe5 is a weak TI in ambient conditions.
Author
Zoltan Kovacs-Krausz
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Dániel Nagy
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
Albin Márffy
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Bogdan Karpiak
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Zoltán Tajkov
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Slovak Academy of Sciences
László Oroszlány
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
János Koltai
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
Péter Nemes-Incze
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Saroj Prasad Dash
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Péter Makk
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Szabolcs Csonka
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Endre Tóvári
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
npj Quantum Materials
23974648 (eISSN)
Vol. 9 1 76Subject Categories
Inorganic Chemistry
Materials Chemistry
Condensed Matter Physics
DOI
10.1038/s41535-024-00679-7
PubMed
39376244