Field-Induced Metal-Insulator Transition in β-EuP3

• 来源期刊: 中国物理快报（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（10）
• 所属期刊栏目: CONDENSED MATTER: ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL, MAGNETIC, AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES
• 页码范围: 87-91
• 页数: 5页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1088/0256-307X/37/10/107501

摘要

Metal-insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most conspicuous phenomena in correlated electron systems.However such a transition has rarely been induced by an external magnetic field as the field scale is normally too small compared with the charge gap.We present the observation of a magnetic-field-driven MIT in a magnetic semiconductor β-EuP3.Concomitantly,we find a colossal magnetoresistance in an extreme way:the resistance drops billionfold at 2 K in a magnetic field less than 3 T.We ascribe this striking MIT as a field-driven transition from an antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic insulator to a spin-polarized topological semimetal,in which the spin configuration of Eu2+ cations and spin-orbital coupling play a crucial role.As a phosphorene-bearing compound whose electrical properties can be controlled by the application of field,β-EuP3 may serve as a tantalizing material in the basic research and even future electronics.