Robust magnetoresistance in TaAs2 under pressure up to about 37 GPa

Hongyuan Wang, Cuiying Pei, Hao Su, Zhenhai Yu, Mingtao Li, Wei Xia, Xiaolei Liu, Qifeng Liang, Jinggeng Zhao, Chunyin Zhou, Na Yu, Xia Wang (+4 others)
2019 Applied Physics Letters  
The extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) in nonmagnetic semimetals has inspired growing interest owing to both intriguing physics and potential applications. We report results of synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and electrical transport measurements on TaAs2 under pressure up to ~ 37 GPa, which revealed an anisotropic compression of the unit cell, formation of unusual As-As bonds above 9.5 GPa, and enhancement of metallicity. Interestingly, the MR of TaAs2 under pressure changed gently,
more » ... hich at 1.7 GPa is 96.6% and at 36.6 GPa is still 36.7%. The almost robust MR under pressure could be related to the nearly stable electronic structure unveiled by the ab initio calculations. The discovery would expand the potential use of XMR even under high pressure.
doi:10.1063/1.5115008 fatcat:lm2cofoy2fdabbm2qurw3awhbu