Extremely large magnetoresistance and ultrahigh mobility in the topological Weyl semimetal candidate NbP


Extremely large magnetoresistance and ultrahigh mobility in the topological Weyl semimetal candidate NbP

Shekhar, C.; Nayak, A. K.; Sun, Y.; Schmidt, M.; Nicklas, M.; Leermakers, I.; Zeitler, U.; Skourski, Y.; Wosnitza, J.; Liu, Z.; Chen, Y.; Schnelle, W.; Borrmann, H.; Grin, Y.; Felser, C.; Yan, B.

Recent experiments have revealed spectacular transport properties in semimetals, such as the large, non-saturating magnetoresistance exhibited by WTe2. Topological semimetals with massless relativistic electrons have also been predicted as three-dimensional analogues of graphene. These systems are known as Weyl semimetals, and are predicted to have a range of exotic transport properties and surface states, distinct from those of topological insulators. Here we examine the magneto-transport properties of NbP, a material the band structure of which has been predicted to combine the hallmarks of a Weyl semimetal with those of a normal semimetal. We observe an extremely large magnetoresistance of 850,000% at 1.85 K (250% at room temperature) in a magnetic field of up to 9 T, without any signs of saturation, and an ultrahigh carrier mobility of 5x106 cm2 V-1 s-1 that is accompanied by strong Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) oscillations. NbP therefore presents a unique example of a material combining topological and conventional electronic phases, with intriguing physical properties resulting from their interplay.

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Publ.-Id: 22233