Non-stoichiometry and Defects in the Weyl Semimetals TaAs, TaP, NbP, and NbAs

Abstract

We report a structural study of the Weyl semimetals TaAs, TaP, NbP, and NbAs, utilizing diffraction techniques (single crystal x-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy) and imaging techniques (transmission electron microscopy/scanning transmission electron microscopy). We observe defects of various degrees, leading to non-stoichiometric single crystals of all four semimetals. While TaP displays a large pnictide deficiency with composition TaP${}_{0.83(3)}$, and stacking faults accompanied by anti-site disorder and site vacancies, TaAs displays transition metal deficiency with composition Ta${}_{0.92(2)}$As and a high density of stacking faults. NbP also displays pnictide deficiency, yielding composition NbP${}_{0.95(2)}$, and lastly, NbAs display very little deviation from a 1:1 composition, NbAs${}_{1.00(3)}$, and is therefore recommended to serve as the model compound for these semimetals.

8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

References in corpus (9)

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• Non-saturating large magnetoresistance in semimetals
• Chiral Landau levels in Weyl semimetal NbAs with multiple topological carriers
• Magneto-optics of a Weyl semimetal beyond the conical band approximation: the case study of TaP
• Crystal growth, microstructure and physical properties of SrMnSb${}_2$
• Comprehensive Anisotropic Linear Optical Properties of Weyl Semimetals, TaAs and NbAs
• Orbital effect and weak localization physics in the longitudinal magnetoresistance of the Weyl semimetals NbP, NbAs, TaP and TaAs
• Planar Hall-effect, Anomalous planar Hall-effect, and Magnetic Field-Induced Phase Transitions in TaAs
• Transport signatures of surface states in a Weyl semimetal: evidence of field driven Fermi arc interferometry
• Anomalous Transport Signatures in Weyl Semimetals with Point Defects
• Severe violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in quantum oscillations of NbP
• Nodal vacancy bound states and resonances in three-dimensional Weyl semimetals
• Towards diluted magnetism in TaAs
• Experimental nuclear quadrupole resonance and computational study of the structurally refined topological semimetal TaSb${}_2$
• Surface and bulk superconductivity at ambient pressure in the Weyl semimetal TaP