MoTe2 : An uncompensated semimetal with extremely large magnetoresistance

Abstract

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (WTe${}_2$ and MoTe${}_2$) have drawn much attention, recently, because of the nonsaturating extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) observed in these compounds in addition to the predictions of likely type-II Weyl semimetals. Contrary to the topological insulators or Dirac semimetals where XMR is linearly dependent on the field, in WTe${}_2$ and MoTe${}_2$ the XMR is nonlinearly dependent on the field, suggesting an entirely different mechanism. Electron-hole compensation has been proposed as a mechanism of this nonsaturating XMR in WTe${}_2$, while it is yet to be clear in the case of MoTe${}_2$ which has an identical crystal structure of WTe${}_2$ at low temperatures. In this paper, we report low-energy electronic structure and Fermi surface topology of MoTe${}_2$ using angle-resolved photoemission spectrometry (ARPES) technique and first-principle calculations, and compare them with that of WTe${}_2$ to understand the mechanism of XMR. Our measurements demonstrate that MoTe${}_2$ is an uncompensated semimetal, contrary to WTe${}_2$ in which compensated electron-hole pockets have been identified, ruling out the applicability of charge compensation theory for the nonsaturating XMR in MoTe${}_2$. In this context, we also discuss the applicability of the existing other conjectures on the XMR of these compounds.

9 pages, 6 figs

References in corpus (6)

• Quantum ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials
• Titanic Magnetoresistance in WTe2
• Electronic structure basis for the titanic magnetoresistance in WTe${}_2$
• Anisotropic giant magnetoresistance in NbSb2
• Distinct Electronic Structure for the Extreme Magnetoresistance in YSb
• Hall-effect within the colossal magnetoresistive semi-metallic state of MoTe2

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Experimental Progress on Layered Topological Semimetals
• Topology of Triple-Point Metals
• Observation of Dirac surface states in the hexagonal PtBi2, a possible origin of the linear magnetoresistance
• Charge density wave instabilities of type-II Weyl semimetals in a strong magnetic field
• Temperature independent band structure of WTe2 as observed from ARPES