Extreme magnetoresistance and SdH oscillation in compensated semimetals of NbSb2single crystals
RIS ID
126748
Abstract
Topological semimetals represent one of the most interesting classes of materials that continue to attract worldwide interest. Here, we report magnetotransport properties of MPn 2 -type (M = Nb, Ta; Pn = P, As, Sb) NbSb 2 single-crystal semimetals with a centrosymmetric C12/m1 space group, paramagnetic ground state, and non-saturation parabolic-like magnetoresistance. The NbSb 2 crystals show metallic conductivity down to 2 K and undergo a metal-to-insulator-like transition under a magnetic field B (B ≥ 4 T) and exhibit a resistivity plateau in the low-temperature region (T ≤ 10 K), where the value of resistivity strongly depends on the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field. Upon sweeping the magnetic field from 0 to 14.5 T in the transverse configuration at T = 1.5 K, the NbSb 2 crystal shows a large positive magnetoresistance (4.2 x 10 3 % at B = 14.5 T) with Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation. Hall measurements reveal that both the carrier compensation between electrons and holes and the high mobility and large mean free path of carriers contribute to the large magnetoresistance. Fast Fourier transform analyses of angle-resolved SdH oscillation indicate that the Fermi surface of the NbSb 2 crystal is quasi-two-dimensional with three-dimensional components. These findings, together with the theoretically calculated electronic band structure obtained within the framework of density functional theory, suggest that NbSb 2 is a good candidate compensated semimetal for further theoretical and experimental investigation of this family of materials.
Publication Details
Guo, L., Liu, Y., Gao, G., Huang, Y., Gao, H., Chen, L., Zhao, W., Ren, W., Li, S., Li, X., Dong, S. & Zheng, R. (2018). Extreme magnetoresistance and SdH oscillation in compensated semimetals of NbSb2single crystals. Journal of Applied Physics, 123 (15), 155103-1-155103-7.