Double Dirac Point Semimetal in Two-Dimensional Material: Ta2Se3

TL;DR

This paper reports a new stable 2D Dirac material, Ta2Se3 monolayer, exhibiting double Dirac points, layer-dependent electronic properties, and potential for nanoscale device applications, based on first-principles calculations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 2D double Dirac semimetal, Ta2Se3 monolayer, with unique layer-dependent electronic properties and a metal-insulator transition.

Findings

Supports two Dirac points near the Fermi level

Layer-dependent Dirac feature and metal-insulator transition

Potential for nanoscale device applications

Abstract

Here, we report by first-principles calculations one new stable 2D Dirac material, Ta2Se3 monolayer. For this system, stable layered bulk phase exists, and exfoliation should be possible. Ta2Se3 monolayer is demonstrated to support two Dirac points close to the Fermi level, achieving the exotic 2D double Dirac semimetal. And like 2D single Dirac and 2D node-line semimetals, spin-orbit coupling could introduce an insulating state in this new class of 2D Dirac semimetals. Moreover, the Dirac feature in this system is layer-dependent and a metal-to-insulator transition is identified in Ta2Se3 when reducing the layer-thickness from bilayer to monolayer. These findings are of fundamental interests and of great importance for nanoscale device applications.