Effects of external pressure on the narrow gap semiconductor Ce${}_3$Cd${}_2$As${}_6$

Abstract

Here we report the magnetic and electronic properties of recently discovered Ce${}_3$Cd${}_2$As${}_6$. At ambient pressure, Ce${}_3$Cd${}_2$As${}_6$ presents a semiconducting behavior with an activation gap of 74(1)~meV. At 136~K, a sudden increase of the electrical resistivity and a peak in specific heat are consistent with a charge density wave transition. At low temperatures, antiferromagnetic order of the Ce${}^{3+}$ ions occurs below $T_{\mathrm{N}}=4.0$~K with a magnetic hard axis along the $c$-axis and a ${\Gamma }_6=|\pm 1/2⟩$ doublet ground state. The application of external pressure strongly suppresses the charge density wave order, which is completely suppressed above 0.8(1)~GPa, and induces a metallic ground state. No evidence for superconductivity is detected above 2~K. Conversely, the antiferromagnetic state is favored by pressure, reaching a transition temperature of 5.3~K at 3.8(1)~GPa. Notably, the resistivity anomaly characterizing the antiferromagnetic order changes with increasing pressure, indicating that two different magnetic phases might be present in Ce${}_3$Cd${}_2$As${}_6$ under pressure. This change in ordering appears to be associated to the crossing of the $T_{\mathrm{CDW}}$ and $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ lines.

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Cited by in corpus (1)

• Antiferromagnetism of CeCd${}_{0.67}$As${}_2$ existing deep inside the narrow gap semiconducting state