Thickness-dependent quantum oscillations in Cd3As2 thin films

Abstract

Cd3As2 is a new kind of three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal with extraordinary carrier mobility, which can be viewed as ‘3D graphene’. Theory predicts that Cd3As2 can be driven into a quantum spin Hall insulator with a sizeable band gap by reducing dimensionality. In this letter, we report the systematic growth of undoped Cd3As2 thin films with the thickness of 50 ∼ 900 nm by molecular beam epitaxy. The magneto-transport study on these single-crystalline films shows a high mobility in the range of 3.8 ∼ 9.1 × 103 cm2 · V−1 · s−1 and a relative low electron concentration of 1 ∼ 8 × 1017 cm−3. Significantly, a thickness-induced semimetal-to-semiconductor transition was observed. In contrast with what is expected in the bulk counterpart, the 50 nm-thick Cd3As2 film exhibits semiconducting characteristics, witnessing an emerged bandgap opening when the dimensionality is reduced. Finally, the analyses on the temperature- and angular-dependence of magneto-resistance and Shubnikov-de Hass oscillations reveal a non-trivial to trivial Berry’s phase transition that is in connection with the reduced dimensionality. Our results demonstrate that the Cd3As2 thin films with unique electronic structure and high mobility hold promise for Dirac semimetal device applications.