Investigating the Electrical Transport Properties and Electronic Structure of Zr2CuSb3

TL;DR

This study synthesizes and characterizes Zr2CuSb3 single crystals, revealing metallic electronic behavior and complex band structures, advancing understanding of potential topological flat bands in checkerboard lattice materials.

Contribution

It provides the first synthesis and detailed electronic structure analysis of Zr2CuSb3, a candidate for hosting topological flat bands in the checkerboard lattice.

Findings

Metallic behavior with electron-dominated carriers

Multiple electron pockets observed in ARPES

Significant kz broadening due to structural features

Abstract

The checkerboard lattice has been proposed to host topological flat bands as a result of destructive interference among its various electronic hopping terms. However, it has proven challenging to realize experimentally due to the difficulty of isolating this structure from any significant out-of-plane bonding while maintaining structural integrity. Here, single crystals of Zr2CuSb3, a potential candidate for the checkerboard lattice, were synthesized using the solution (self-flux) method, and their structure was confirmed via X-ray diffraction. Electrical transport measurements indicate metallic behavior with electron-dominated carriers. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals multiple electron pockets and significant kz broadening due to its large c-axis and low dispersion features in k z. Density functional theory calculations further disentangle the contributions from each high-symmetry plane, providing a comprehensive characterization of electronic behavior.