Evidence for Two-Dimensional Weyl Fermions in Air-Stable Monolayer PtTe<sub>1.75</sub>.

Cai, Zhihao; Cao, Haijun; Sheng, Haohao; Hu, Xuegao; Sun, Zhenyu; Zhao, Qiaoxiao; Gao, Jisong; Ideta, Shin-Ichiro et al. · Nano Lett · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The Weyl semimetals represent a distinct category of topological materials wherein the low-energy excitations appear as the long-sought Weyl Fermions. Exotic transport and optical properties are expected because of the chiral anomaly and linear energy-momentum dispersion. While three-dimensional Weyl semimetals have been successfully realized, the quest for their two-dimensional (2D) counterparts is ongoing. Here, we report the realization of 2D Weyl Fermions in monolayer PtTe<sub>1.75</sub>, which has strong spin-orbit coupling and lacks inversion symmetry, by combined angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, second harmonic generation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and first-principles calculations. The giant Rashba splitting and band inversion lead to the emergence of three pairs of critical Weyl cones. Moreover, monolayer PtTe<sub>1.75</sub> exhibits excellent chemical stability in ambient conditions, which is critical for future device applications. The discovery of 2D Weyl Fermions in monolayer PtTe<sub>1.75</sub> opens up new possibilities for designing and fabricating novel spintronic devices.