Evidence of Topological Nodal-Line Fermions in ZrSiSe and ZrSiTe

A Dirac nodal-line semimetal phase, which represents a new quantum state of topological materials, has been experimentally realized only in a few systems, including PbTaSe2, PtSn4, and ZrSiS. In this Letter, we report evidence of nodal-line fermions in ZrSiSe and ZrSiTe probed in de Haas–van Alphen quantum oscillations. Although ZrSiSe and ZrSiTe share a similar layered structure with ZrSiS, our studies show the Fermi surface (FS) enclosing a Dirac nodal line has a 2D character in ZrSiTe, in contrast with 3D-like FS in ZrSiSe and ZrSiS. Another important property revealed in our experiment is that the nodal-line fermion density in this family of materials (∼1020 cm−3) is much higher than the Dirac fermion density of other topological materials with discrete nodes. In addition, we have demonstrated ZrSiSe and ZrSiTe single crystals can be thinned down to 2D atomic thin layers through microexfoliation, which offers the first platform to explore exotic properties of topological nodal-line fermions in low dimensions.Received 29 April 2016DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.016602© 2016 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasShubnikov-de Haas effectTopological materialsde Haas-van Alphen effectPhysical Systems2-dimensional systemsDirac semimetalNode-line semimetalsTechniquesQuantum oscillation techniquesCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics