Strain driven emergence of topological non-triviality in YPdBi thin films

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that applying strain to YPdBi thin films induces topologically non-trivial surface states and superconductivity, offering a pathway to engineer advanced spintronic devices.

Contribution

It provides experimental and theoretical evidence that strain can transform trivial half-Heusler compounds into topological materials with superconducting properties.

Findings

Strain induces topological surface states in YPdBi thin films.

Superconductivity emerges in strained YPdBi films.

Strain engineering enables topological state control in thin films.

Abstract

Half-Heusler compounds exhibit a remarkable variety of emergent properties such as heavy-fermion behaviour, unconventional superconductivity and magnetism. Several of these compounds have been predicted to host topologically non-trivial electronic structures. Remarkably, recent theoretical studies have indicated the possibility to induce non-trivial topological surface states in an otherwise trivial half-Heusler system by strain engineering. Here, using magneto-transport measurements and first principles DFT-based simulations, we demonstrate topological surface states on strained [110] oriented thin films of YPdBi grown on (100) MgO. These topological surface states arise in an otherwise trivial semi-metal purely driven by strain. Furthermore, we observe the onset of superconductivity in these strained films highlighting the possibility of engineering a topological superconducting state. Our results demonstrate the critical role played by strain in engineering novel topological states in thin film systems for developing next-generation spintronic devices.