A de Hass-van Alphen study of the Type-II Dirac semimetal candidates $A$Te${}_2$ ($A=$ Pt, Pd)

Abstract

We report on a magneto-transport and quantum oscillations study on high quality single crystals of the transition metal di-tellurides PtTe${}_2$ and PdTe${}_2$. The de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillations in the magnetization measurements on PtTe${}_2$ reveal a complicated, anisotropic band structure characterized by low effective masses and high mobilities for the carriers. Extracted transport parameters for PtTe${}_2$ reveal a strong anisotropy which could be related to the tilted nature of Dirac cone. Using a Landau level fan diagram analysis we find at least one Fermi surface orbit with a Berry phase of $\ddot{I}€$ consistent with Dirac electrons for both PtTe${}_2$ and PdTe${}_2$. The light effective mass and high mobility are also consistent with Dirac electrons in PtTe${}_2$. Our results suggest that similar to PdTe${}_2$, PtTe${}_2$ might also be a three dimensional Dirac semimetal.

7 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables