Quasi-One-Dimensional Electronic Nature of Ta4SiTe4 Underlying the Giant Thermoelectric Performance

TL;DR

This study reveals the quasi-one-dimensional electronic structure of Ta4SiTe4, explaining its exceptional thermoelectric performance through combined spectroscopic and transport measurements.

Contribution

It provides the first direct experimental evidence of the electronic anisotropy in Ta4SiTe4 using micro-ARPES and transport data, linking electronic dimensionality to thermoelectric efficiency.

Findings

Anisotropic band dispersions along and perpendicular to the c axis.

Resistivity perpendicular to the c axis is five times larger than along it at 200 K.

Direct evidence of quasi-one-dimensional electronic character.

Abstract

Ta4SiTe4 is a one-dimensional van der Waals material that exhibits an exceptionally large thermoelectric power factor below room temperature. However, since this material has been available only in the form of acicular microcrystals, experimental exploration of the electronic properties responsible for its giant thermoelectric performance has long been challenging. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the one-dimensional electronic nature of Ta4SiTe4 by combining micro-spot angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and transport measurements on focused-ion-beam-processed samples. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements reveal anisotropic band dispersions along and perpendicular to the crystallographic c axis. Consistently, transport measurements demonstrate that the resistivity perpendicular to the c axis is approximately five times larger than that along the c axis at 200 K. These results provide direct experimental evidence for the quasi-one-dimensional electronic character of Ta4SiTe4, which underlies its giant thermoelectric response reported previously, and offer fundamental insights into the role of electronic dimensionality in enhancing thermoelectric performance.