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Experimental Realization of a Three-Dimensional Dirac Semimetal

Sergey Borisenko, Quinn Gibson, Danil Evtushinsky, Volodymyr Zabolotnyy, Bernd Büchner, and Robert J. Cava
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 027603 – Published 8 July 2014
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Abstract

We report the direct observation of the three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal phase in cadmium arsenide (Cd3As2) by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We identify two momentum regions where electronic states that strongly disperse in all directions form narrow conelike structures, and thus prove the existence of the long sought 3D Dirac points. This electronic structure naturally explains why Cd3As2 has one of the highest known bulk electron mobilities. This realization of a 3D Dirac semimetal in Cd3As2 not only opens a direct path to a wide spectrum of applications, but also offers a robust platform for engineering topologically nontrivial phases including Weyl semimetals and quantum spin Hall systems.

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  • Received 3 February 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.027603

© 2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Sergey Borisenko1, Quinn Gibson2, Danil Evtushinsky1, Volodymyr Zabolotnyy1,*, Bernd Büchner1,3, and Robert J. Cava2

  • 1Institute for Solid State Research, IFW Dresden, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden, Germany
  • 2Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
  • 3Institut fur Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01171 Dresden, Germany

  • *Present address: Physikalisches Institut, EP IV, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.

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Issue

Vol. 113, Iss. 2 — 11 July 2014

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