Science Daily January 31, 2024
Although fine-tuning of topologically protected states in quantum materials holds great promise for novel electronic devices, there are limited methods that allow for the controlled and efficient modulation of the crystal lattice while simultaneously monitoring the changes in the electronic structure within a single sample. A team of researchers in the US (UC Irvine, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Tennessee) applied significant and controllable strain to high-quality HfTe5 samples and performed electrical transport measurements to reveal the topological phase transition from a weak topological insulator phase to a strong topological insulator phase. After applying high strain to HfTe5 and converting it into a strong topological insulator, they found that the resistivity of the sample increased by 190,500% and the electronic transport was dominated by the topological surface states at cryogenic temperatures. According to the researchers their results demonstrate the suitability of HfTe5 as a material for engineering topological properties, with the potential to generalize this approach to study topological phase transitions in van der Waals materials and heterostructures… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Magnetoresistance in HfTe5 under different strains. Credit: Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 332 (2024)Â