Half-Heusler alloy topological semimetal YPtBi is a promising candidate for an efficient spin source material having both large spin Hall angle $θ$$_{SH}$ and high thermal stability. However, high-quality YPtBi thin films with low bulk carrier density are usually grown at 600$°$C, which exceeds the limitation of 400$°$C for back end of line (BEOL) process. Here, we investigate the crystallinity and spin Hall effect of YPtBi thin films grown at lower growth temperature down to 300$°$C. Although $θ$$_{SH}$ degraded with lowering the growth temperature to 300$°$C due to degradation of the crystallinity, it was recovered by reducing the sputtering Ar gas pressure. We achieved a giant $θ$$_{SH}$ up to 8.2 and demonstrated efficient spin-orbit torque magnetization switching by ultralow current density of ~10$^5$ A/cm$^2$ in YPtBi grown at 300$°$C with the Ar gas pressure of 1 Pa. Our results provide the recipe to achieve giant $θ$$_{SH}$ in YPtBi grown at lower growth temperature suitable for BEOL process.
The prediction of non-trivial topological electronic states hosted by half-Heusler compounds makes them prime candidates for discovering new physics and devices as they harbor a variety of electronic ground states including superconductivity, magnetism, and heavy fermion behavior. Here we report normal state electronic properties of a superconducting half-Heusler compound YPtBi using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). Our data reveal the presence of a Dirac state at the zone center of the Brillouin zone at 500 meV below the chemical potential. We observe the presence of multipl…
The search for topological superconductivity has motivated investigations into materials that combine topological and superconducting properties. The half-Heusler compound YPtBi appears to be such a material, however experiments have thus far been limited to bulk single crystals, drastically limiting the scope of available experiments. This has made it impossible to investigate the potential topological nature of the superconductivity in this material. Experiments to access details about the superconducting state require sophisticated lithographic structures, typically based on thin films. Her…
Topological materials, such as topological insulators (TIs), have great potential for ultralow power spintronic devices, thanks to their giant spin Hall effect. However, the giant spin Hall angle ($θ_{SH}$ > 1) is limited to a few chalcogenide TIs with toxic elements and low melting points, making them challenging for device integration during the silicon Back-End-of-Line (BEOL) process. Here, we show that by using a half-Heusler alloy topological semi-metal (HHA-TSM), YPtBi, it is possible to achieve both a giant $θ_{SH}$ up to 1.6 and a high thermal budget up to 600$°$C. We demonstrate magne…
209Bi nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed to probe potential spin-orbit effects on orbital diamagnetism in YPtBi and YPdBi crystals. The observed opposite sign and temperature dependent magnitude of 209Bi NMR shifts of both crystals reveal experimental signatures of enhanced orbital diamagnetism induced by spin-orbit interactions. This investigation indicates that NMR isotropic shifts might be beneficial in search of interesting spin-electronic phases among a vast number of topological nontrivial half-Heusler semimetals.
In this work, we construct a generalized Kane model with a new coupling term between itinerant electron spins and local magnetic moments of anti-ferromagnetic ordering in order to describe the low energy effective physics in a large family of anti-ferromagnetic half-Heusler materials. Topological properties of this generalized Kane model is studied and a large variety of topological phases, including Dirac semimetal phase, Weyl semimetal phase, nodal line semimetal phase, type-B triple point semimetal phase, topological mirror (or glide) insulating phase and anti-ferromagnetic topological insu…
It has recently been demonstrated that various topological states, including Dirac, Weyl, nodal-line, and triple-point semimetal phases, can emerge in antiferromagnetic (AFM) half-Heusler compounds. However, how to determine the AFM structure and to distinguish different topological phases from transport behaviors remains unknown. We show that, due to the presence of combined time-reversal and fractional translation symmetry, the recently proposed second-order nonlinear Hall effect can be used to characterize different topological phases with various AFM configurations. Guided by the symmetry …
Based on first-principles study, we report the finding of a new topological semimetal LiBaBi in half-Heusler phase. The remarkable feature of this nonmagnetic, inversion-symmetry-breaking material is that it consists of only simple $s$- and $p$-block elements. Interestingly, the material is ordinary insulator in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and becomes nodal-surface topological semimetal showing drumhead states when SOC is included. This is in stark contrast to other nodal-line and nodal-surface semimetals, where the extended nodal structure is destroyed once SOC is included. Impor…
Topological materials ranging from topological insulators to Weyl and Dirac semimetals form one of the most exciting current fields in condensed-matter research. Many half-Heusler compounds, RPtBi (R= rare earth) have been theoretically predicted to be topological semimetals. Among various topological attributes envisaged in RPtBi, topological surface states, chiral anomaly and planar Hall effect have been observed experimentally. Here, we report on an unusual intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the antiferromagnetic Heusler Weyl semimetal compounds GdPtBi and NdPtBi that is observed over…
Topological materials often exhibit remarkably linear, non-saturating magnetoresistance (LMR), which is both of scientific and technological importance. However, the role of topologically non-trivial states in the emergence of such a behaviour has eluded clear demonstration in experiments. Here, by reducing the coupling between the topological surface states (TSS) and the bulk carriers we controllably tune the LMR behavior in Pt1-xAuxLuSb into distinct plateaus in Hall resistance, which we show arise from a quantum Hall phase. This allowed us to reveal how smearing of the Landau levels, which …
We address the electron transport characteristics in bulk half-Heusler alloys with their compositions tuned to the borderline between topologically nontrivial semi-metallic and trivial semiconducting phases. The precise first-principles calculations based on the coherent potential approximation (CPA) reveal that all the studied systems exhibit sets of dispersionless impurity-like resonant levels, with one of them being located right at the Dirac point. By means of the Kubo formalism we reveal that the residual conductivity of these alloys is strongly suppressed by impurity scattering, whereas …
Three-dimensional topological semimetals host a range of interesting quantum phenomena related to band crossing that give rise to Dirac or Weyl fermions, and can be potentially engineered into novel quantum devices. Harvesting the full potential of these materials will depend on our ability to position the Fermi level near the symmetry-protected band crossings so that their exotic spin and charge transport properties become prominent in the devices. Recent experiments on bulk and thin films of topological half-Heuslers show that the Fermi level is far from the symmetry-protected crossings, lea…
Half-Heusler compounds have attracted significant attention because of their topologically non-trivial electronic structure, which leads to unusual electron transport properties. We thoroughly investigated the magnetotransport properties of high-quality single crystals of two half-Heusler phases, TbPtBi and HoPtBi, in pursuit of the characteristic features of topologically non-trivial electronic states. Both studied compounds are characterized by the giant values of transverse magnetoresistance with no sign of saturation in magnetic field up to 14 T. HoPtBi demonstrates the Shubnikov-de Haas e…
A review of theoretical and experimental studies of the electronic structure, electronic and magnetic properties of various systems of Heusler alloys in the states of a half-metallic ferromagnet, a spin gapless semiconductor, and a topological semimetal is presented. These substances have unusual, highly sensitive to external influences, magnetic and electronic characteristics, which is associated with the presence of energy gaps and exotic excitations in them. The features of the behavior and evolution of the electronic structure and properties in each of these states, as well as during the t…
Materials with high carrier mobility showing large magnetoresistance (MR) have recently received much attention because of potential applications in future high-performance magneto-electric devices. Here, we report on the discovery of an electron-hole-compensated half-Heusler semimetal LuPtBi that exhibits an extremely high electron mobility of up to 79000 cm2/Vs with a non-saturating positive MR as large as 3200% at 2 K. Remarkably, the mobility at 300 K is found to exceed 10500 cm2/Vs, which is among the highest values reported in three-dimensional bulk materials thus far. The clean Shubniko…
Tuning of anomalous magnetotransport properties in half-Heusler topological semimetal GdPtBi
Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院低温结构研究所）；Laboratoire des Solides Irradiés, École Polytechnique（巴黎综合理工学院辐照固体实验室）；Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院核物理研究所）
Topological semimetals (TSMs) including Weyl semimetals and nodal-line semimetals are expected to open the next frontier of condensed matter and materials science. Although the first inversion breaking Weyl semimetal was recently discovered in TaAs, its magnetic counterparts, i.e., the time-reversal breaking Weyl and nodal line semimetals, remain elusive. They are predicted to exhibit exotic properties distinct from the inversion breaking TSMs including TaAs. In this paper, we identify the magnetic topological semimetal state in the ferromagnetic half-metal compounds Co$_2$TiX (X=Si, Ge, or Sn…
We predict a magnetic Weyl semimetal in the inverse Heusler Ti2MnAl, a compensated ferrimagnet with a vanishing net magnetic moment and a Curie temperature of over 650 K. Despite the vanishing net magnetic moment, we calculate a large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) of about 300 S/cm. It derives from the Berry curvature distribution of the Weyl points, which are only 14 meV away from the Fermi level and isolated from trivial bands. Different from antiferromagnets Mn3X (X= Ge, Sn, Ga, Ir, Rh, and Pt), where the AHE originates from the non-collinear magnetic structure, the AHE in Ti2MnAl s…
We observed the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order in the single-crystalline ternary pnictide HoPdBi, a plausible topological semimetal. The compound orders antiferromagnetically at $T_N =$1.9 K and exhibits superconductivity below $T_c =$0.7 K, which was confirmed by magnetic, electrical transport and specific heat measurements. The specific heat shows anomalies corresponding to antiferromagnetic ordering transition and crystalline field effect, but not to superconducting transition. Single-crystal neutron diffraction indicates that the antiferromagnetic structure is…
Observation of Weyl and Dirac Fermions in condensed matter systems is one of the most important discoveries. Among the very few available tools to characterize Weyl semimetals through electrical transport, negative magnetoresistance is most commonly used. Considering shortcomings of this method, new tools to characterize chiral anomaly in Weyl semimetals are desirable. We employ planar Hall effect as an effective technique in half Heusler Weyl semimetal GdPtBi to study chiral anomaly. This compound exhibits a large value of 1.5 mohm cm planar Hall resistivity at 2 K and in 9 T. Our analysis re…
Study of magnetotransport properties of ScPtBi revealed simultaneously: a negative contribution to the longitudinal magnetoresistance, the planar Hall effect, and distinct angular narrowing of the longitudinal magnetoresistance { three hallmarks of chiral magnetic anomaly (pumping of axial charge between Weyl nodes), a distinct property of topological semimetals. Electronic structure calculations show that structural defects, such as antisites and vacancies, bring substantial density of states at the Fermi level of ScPtBi, indicating that it is a semimetal, not a zero-gap semiconductor, as pre…
We report on a theoretical and experimental study of CuMn-V antiferromagnets. Previous works showed low-temperature antiferomagnetism and semimetal electronic structure of the semi-Heusler CuMnSb. In this paper we present theoretical predictions of high-temperature antiferromagnetism in the stable orthorhombic phases of CuMnAs and CuMnP. The electronic structure of CuMnAs is at the transition from a semimetal to a semiconductor and we predict that CuMnP is a semiconductor. We show that the transition to a semiconductor-like band structure upon introducing the lighter group-V elements is presen…
High-quality nonmagnetic half-Heusler ScPtBi single crystals were synthesized by a Bi self-flux method. This compound was revealed to be a hole-dominated semimetal with a large low-field magnetoresistance up to 240% at 2K in a magnetic field of 1T. Magneto-transport measurements demonstrated that the large low-field magnetoresistance effect resulted from the coexistence of field-induced metal-semiconductor transition and weak-antilocalization effect. Moreover, Hall measurements indicated that ScPtBi single crystal showed a high mobility over a wide temperature region even up to room temperatur…
Pt-induced semimetallic transport and enhanced thermoelectric response in the half-Heusler alloy YNi_{0.5}Pt_{0.5}Bi
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi（印度德里理工学院）；Harbin Institute of Technology（哈尔滨工业大学）；Chalmers University of Technology（查尔姆斯理工大学）；Damanhour University（达曼胡尔大学）；Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe（马克斯·普朗克固体化学物理研究所）；Tohoku University（东北大学）
Using first-principles electronic structure calculations, we show that ferromagnetic Heusler compounds Co$_2$MnX (X= Si, Ge, Sn) present non-trivial topological characteristics and belong to the category of Weyl semimetals. These materials exhibit two topologically interesting band crossings near the Fermi level. These band crossings have complex 3D geometries in the Brillouin zone and are characterized by non-trivial topology as Hopf links and chain-like nodal lines, that are protected by the perpendicular mirror planes. The spin-orbit interaction split these nodal lines into several zero-dim…
Weyl semimetals are characterized by the presence of massless band dispersion in momentum space. When a Weyl semimetal meets magnetism, large anomalous transport properties emerge as a consequence of its topological nature. Here, using $in-situ$ spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy combined with $ab\ initio$ calculations, we visualize the spin-polarized Weyl cone and flat-band surface states of ferromagnetic Co$_2$MnGa films with full remanent magnetization. We demonstrate that the anomalous Hall and Nernst conductivities systematically grow when the magnetization-induced massiv…
Weyl semimetals are playing a major role in condensed matter physics due to exotic topological properties, and their coexistence with ferromagnetism may lead to enhanced spin-related phenomena. Here, the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) in the ferromagnetic Weyl-semimetal Heusler alloy Co$_2$MnGa was investigated at room temperature by means of electrical spin injection in lateral spin valve structures. Spin transport properties such as spin polarization and spin diffusion length in this material were precisely extracted in order to estimate the spin Hall angle $θ_{\textrm{SH}}$, which was foun…
Magnetic lanthanide half-Heuslers ($R$PtBi; $R$ being the lanthanide) represent an attractive subgroup of the Heusler family and have been identified as ideal candidates for time reversal symmetry breaking topological Weyl semimetals. In this paper, we present the detailed analysis of the magnetotransport properties of frustrated antiferromagnet TbPtBi. This material shows large, non-saturating magnetoresistance (MR) with unusual magnetic field dependence. The MR of TbPtBi is significantly anisotropic with respect to the magnetic field, applied along different crystallographic directions and i…
We employ {\it ab-initio} fully-relativistic electronic structure calculations to study the stability of the Weyl points in the momentum space within the class of the half-metallic ferromagnetic full Heusler materials, by focusing on Co$_2$TiAl as a well-established prototype compound. Here we show that both the number of the Weyl points together with their $k$-space coordinates can be controlled by the orientation of the magnetization. This alternative degree of freedom, which is absent in other topological materials (e.g. in Weyl semimetals), introduces novel functionalities, specific for th…
We report a combined theoretical and experimental study of a new topological semimetal CrFeVGa with an emphasis on the role of atomic disorder on the magnetoelectronic properties and its applications.CrFeVGa belongs to the quaternary Heusler alloy family and crystallizes in the cubic structure. Synchrotron XRD measurement confirms B2 disorder, which plays a crucial role in dictating the electronic and magnetic properties of the system.
Pure spin currents carry information in quantum spintronics and could play an essential role in the next generation low-energy-consumption electronics. Here we theoretically predict that the magnetic field can induce a quantum spin current without a concomitant charge current in metals without time reversal symmetry $\mathcal{T}$ and inversion symmetry $\mathcal{P}$ but respect the combined $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry. It is governed by the magnetic moment of the Bloch states on the Fermi surface, and can be regarded as a spinful generalization of the gyrotropic magnetic effect in $\mathcal{P}$-br…
The magnetotransport properties in antiferromagnetic half-Heusler single crystals of TbPtBi, a magnetic-field-induced topological semimetal with simple band structure, are investigated. We found that a nonmonotonic magnetic field dependence of the anomalous Hall resistivity in a high magnetic field (B>7T), which come from the change of band structure induced by the Zeeman-like splitting when applying the external magnetic field. The experiment results show that credible anomalous Hall resistivity and conductivity reach up to 0.6798mΩcm and 125Ω-1cm-1, respectively. A large AHA up to 33% is obt…
Heuslers are a prominent family of multi-functional materials that includes semiconductors, half metals, topological semimetals, and magnetic superconductors. Owing to their same crystalline structure, yet quite different electronic properties and flexibility in chemical composition, Heusler-based heterostructures can be designed to show intriguing properties at the interface. Using electronic structure calculations, we show that two dimensional electron or hole gases (2DEG or 2DHG) form at the interface of half-Heusler (HH) semiconductors without any chemical doping. We use CoTiSb/NiTiSn as a…
The review considers various groups of Heusler compounds, which can have the properties of a semiconductor, a half-metallic ferromagnet, a spin gapless semiconductor, a topological semimetal, and a noncollinear antiferromagnet. In these Heusler compounds, "conventional" from the point of view of the crystal structure, unusual kinetic and magnetic properties can be observed, which are caused by the features of their electronic structure (e.g., presence of an energy gap for one spin projection) and magnetic state (e.g., strong ferromagnetism, compensated ferrimagnetism, etc.). Their magnetic and…
Using the density functional theoretical calculations, we report a new set of topological semimetals X$_{2}$YZ (X = \{Cu, Rh, Pd, Ag, Au, Hg\}, Y = \{Li, Na, Sc, Zn, Y, Zr, Hf, La, Pr, Pm, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Tm\} and Z =\{Mg, Al, Zn, Ga, Y, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Ta, Sm\}), which show the existence of multiple topological triple point fermions along four independent $C_{3}$ axes. These fermionic quasiparticles have no analogues elementary particle in the standard model. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy is simulated to obtain the exotic topological surface states and the characteristic Fermi…
Magnetotransport investigation of a half-Heusler antiferromagnet DyPdBi revealed hallmark features of Weyl semimetal: huge negative longitudinal magnetoresistance and planar Hall effect. Both effects have recently been linked to chiral magnetic anomaly - axial charge pumping between Weyl nodes. Magnetoresistance (MR) of single crystals of DyPdBi is very pronounced. In magnetic field longitudinal to electrical current direction it reaches -80% and its relative difference with respect to that measured in transverse field (expressed as anisotropic magnetoresistance) is extremely strong: -60% at 1…
Topological insulators are new kind of Dirac materials that possess bulk insulating and surface conducting behavior. They are basically known for their unique electronic properties at the surface. Here we present the magneto-transport properties of our high quality single crystalline Y(Lu)PtBi Heusler topological insulators, which belong to a group of noncentrosymmetric superconductor with Tc = 0:8 K. Both the compounds show semi-metallic behavior with low charge carrier of 6 x1018 cm^-3 for YPtBi and 8 x1019 cm^-3 for LuPtBi at 2 K. Magneto-conductivity measurements in the tilted field indica…
RPdBi (R = Er, Ho, Gd, Dy, Y, Nd) compounds were studied by means of x-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, magnetoresistivity, thermoelectric power and Hall effect measurements, performed in the temperature range 1.5-300 K and in magnetic fields up to 12 T. These ternaries, except diamagnetic YPdBi, exhibit localized magnetism of $R^{3+}$ ions, and order antiferromagnetically at low temperatures ($T_{N}$ = 2-13 K). The transport measurements revealed behavior characteristic of semimetals or narrow-band semiconductors. Both, electrons and holes contribute to the co…
Topological insulators and topological semimetals are both new classes of quantum materials, which are characterized by surface states induced by the topology of the bulk band structure. Topological Dirac or Weyl semimetals show linear dispersion round nodes, termed the Dirac or Weyl points, as the three-dimensional analogue of graphene. We review the basic concepts and compare these topological states of matter from the materials perspective with a special focus on Weyl semimetals. The TaAs family is the ideal materials class to introduce the signatures of Weyl points in a pedagogical way, fr…
In metallic ferromagnets, the Berry curvature of underlying quasiparticles can cause an electric voltage perpendicular to both magnetization and an applied temperature gradient, a phenomenon called the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). Here, we report the observation of a giant ANE in the full-Heusler ferromagnet Co$_2$MnGa, reaching $S_{yx}\sim -6$ $μ$V/K at room $T$, one order of magnitude larger than the maximum value reported for a magnetic conductor. With increasing temperature, the transverse thermoelectric conductivity or Peltier coefficient $α_{yx}$ shows a crossover between $T$-linear an…
By using ab initio electronic structure calculations here we report the three new full Heusler alloys which are possessing very good thermoelectric behavior and expected to be synthesized in the laboratories. These are Fe2 ScP, Fe2 ScAs and Fe2 ScSb compound. First two compounds are indirect band gap semiconductors and the last one shows semimetallic ground state. The value of band gap of Fe2 ScP and Fe2 ScAs is 0.3 and 0.09 eV, respectively. These compounds show the presence of flat conduction bands along Γ - X-direction suggesting for the large electron like effective mass and promising for …
Multi-component electronic systems can appear in solid state systems with active orbital band structures. They exhibit richer structures of topological superconductivity beyond the conventional scenarios of spin singlet and triplet pairings in spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ systems. Examples include the half-Heusler compounds RPtBi series (R for a rare earth element), whose electronic structures are described by the effective Luttinger-Kohn model with spin-$\frac{3}{2}$ fermions exhibiting strong spin-orbit coupling and band conversion. Recent experiments provide evidence to unconventional superconductivi…
We predict a large anomalous Nernst effect in the inverse Heusler compensated ferrimagnets Ti$_2$Mn$X$ ($X$=Al,Ga,In) with vanishing net magnetic moments. Though the net magnetic moment is zero, the Weyl points in these systems lead to a large anomalous Nernst conductivity (ANC) due to the lack of a magnetic sublattice that inverses the sign of the Berry curvature. In comparison to the noncollinear antiferromagnets Mn$_3$Sn and Mn$_3$Ge, the high ANC stems almost entirely from the Weyl points in this class of compounds, and thus, it is topologically protected. This work shows for the first tim…
Room temperature intrinsic anomalous Hall effect in disordered half-metallic ferromagnetic quaternary Heusler alloy CoRuFeSi
National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh（安得拉邦国立技术学院）；Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad（海德拉巴印度理工学院）；Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院低温结构研究所）；Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur（坎普尔印度理工学院）；UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Kolkata Centre（UGC-DAE科学研究中心加尔各答中心）
Weyl fermions have recently been observed in several time-reversal-invariant semimetals and photonics materials with broken inversion symmetry. These systems are expected to have exotic transport properties such as the chiral anomaly. However, most discovered Weyl materials possess a substantial number of Weyl nodes close to the Fermi level that give rise to complicated transport properties. Here we predict, for the first time, a new family of Weyl systems defined by broken time-reversal symmetry, namely, Co-based magnetic Heusler materials XCo2Z (X = IVB or VB; Z = IVA or IIIA). To search for…
Spin semimetals are a recently discovered new class of spintronic materials, which exhibit a band gap in one spin channel while a semimetallic feature in the other and thus allows for tunable spin transport. Here, we present experimental verification of spin semimetallic behavior in FeRhCrSi, a quaternary Heusler alloy with saturation moment 2 $μ_B$ and Curie temperature $>$ 400 K. It crystallises in the L2$_1$ structure with 50$\%$ antisite disorder between Fe and Rh. Below 300 K, it shows a weakly temperature dependent electrical resistivity with negative temperature coefficient, indicating …
Magnetic topological semimetals (TSMs) are topological quantum materials with broken time-reversal symmetry (TRS) and isolated nodal points or lines near the Fermi level. Their topological properties would typically reveal from the bulk-edge correspondence principle as nontrivial surface states such as Fermi arcs or drumhead states, etc. Depending on the degeneracies and distribution of the nodes in the crystal momentum space, TSMs are usually classified into Weyl semimetals (WSMs), Dirac semimetals (DSMs), nodal-line semimetals (NLSMs), triple-point semimetals (TPSMs), etc. In this review art…
Transverse and Longitudinal Magnetothermopower Promoted by Ambipolar Effect in Half-Heusler Topological Materials
Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院低温结构研究所）；International Research Centre MagTop, Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院物理研究所国际磁顶研究中心）；Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院核物理研究所）
