Probing the Spatial Homogeneity of Exfoliated HfTe5 Films.
ACS Nano
; 18(28): 18327-18333, 2024 Jul 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38958041
ABSTRACT
In van der Waals materials, external strain is an effective tool to manipulate and control electronic responses by changing the electronic bands upon lattice deformation. In particular, the band gap of the layered transition metal pentatelluride HfTe5 is sufficiently small to be inverted by subtle changes of the lattice parameters resulting in a strain-tunable topological phase transition. In that case, knowledge about the spatial homogeneity of electronic properties becomes crucial, especially for the microfabricated thin film circuits used in typical transport measurements. Here, we reveal the homogeneity of exfoliated HfTe5 thin films by spatially resolved Raman microscopy. Comparing the Raman spectra under applied external strain to unstrained bulk references, we pinpoint local variations of Raman signatures to inhomogeneous strain profiles in the sample. Importantly, our results demonstrate that microfabricated contacts can act as sources of significant inhomogeneities. To mitigate the impact of unintentional strain and its corresponding modifications of the electronic structure, careful Raman microscopy constitutes a valuable tool for quantifying the homogeneity of HfTe5 films and circuits fabricated thereof.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
ACS Nano
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha
País de publicação:
Estados Unidos