Room-temperature third-order nonlinear Hall effect in Weyl semimetal TaIrTe4

Natl Sci Rev. 2022 Feb 14;9(12):nwac020. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwac020. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Abstract

The second-order nonlinear Hall effect observed in the time-reversal symmetric system has not only shown abundant physical content, but also exhibited potential application prospects. Recently, a third-order nonlinear Hall effect has been observed in MoTe2 and WTe2. However, few-layer MoTe2 and WTe2 are usually unstable in air and the observed third-order nonlinear Hall effect can be measured only at low temperature, which hinders further investigation as well as potential application. Thus, exploring new air-stable material systems with a sizable third-order nonlinear Hall effect at room temperature is an urgent task. Here, in type-II Weyl semimetal TaIrTe4, we observed a pronounced third-order nonlinear Hall effect, which can exist at room temperature and remain stable for months. The third-order nonlinear Hall effect is connected to the Berry-connection polarizability tensor instead of the Berry curvature. The possible mechanism of the observation of the third-order nonlinear Hall effect in TaIrTe4 at room temperature has been discussed. Our findings will open an avenue towards exploring room-temperature nonlinear devices in new quantum materials.

Keywords: Berry connection polarizability tensor; room temperature; third-order nonlinear Hall effect; topological material.