Strong modulation of carrier effective mass in WTe2 via coherent lattice manipulation

The layered transition-metal dichalcogenide WTe 2 is characterized by distinctive transport and topological properties. These properties are largely determined by electronic states close to the Fermi level, specifically to electron and hole pockets in the Fermi sea. In principle, these states can be...

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Published in:NPJ 2D materials and applications 2022-10, Vol.6 (1), p.1-9, Article 71
Main Authors: Soranzio, Davide, Savoini, Matteo, Beaud, Paul, Cilento, Federico, Boie, Larissa, Dössegger, Janine, Ovuka, Vladimir, Houver, Sarah, Sander, Mathias, Zerdane, Serhane, Abreu, Elsa, Deng, Yunpei, Mankowsky, Roman, Lemke, Henrik T., Parmigiani, Fulvio, Peressi, Maria, Johnson, Steven L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/301/1005/1007
639/301/119
639/766/119/995
639/925/357/1018
Chemistry and Materials Science
Crystal structure
Density functional theory
Electron states
Electronic properties
Electronic structure
Equilibrium
Femtosecond pulses
Infrared reflection
Lasers
Lattice vibration
Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Surfaces and Interfaces
Thin Films
Transition metal compounds
Transport properties
Vibration mode
X-rays
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Summary:The layered transition-metal dichalcogenide WTe 2 is characterized by distinctive transport and topological properties. These properties are largely determined by electronic states close to the Fermi level, specifically to electron and hole pockets in the Fermi sea. In principle, these states can be manipulated by changes to the crystal structure. The precise impact of particular structural changes on the electronic properties is a strong function of the specific nature of the atomic displacements. Here, we report on time-resolved X-ray diffraction and infrared reflectivity measurements of the coherent structural dynamics in WTe 2 induced by femtosecond laser pulses excitation (central wavelength 800 nm), with emphasis on a quantitative description of both in-plane and out-of-plane vibrational modes. We estimate the magnitude of these motions, and calculate via density functional theory their effect on the electronic structure. Based on these results, we predict that phonons periodically modulate the effective mass of carriers in the electron and hole pockets up to 20%. This work opens up new opportunities for modulating the peculiar transport properties of WTe 2 on short time scales.
ISSN:2397-7132
2397-7132
DOI:10.1038/s41699-022-00347-z