Anisotropic giant magnetoresistance in NbSb2

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Solid-State Physics

Background:

• Large magnetoresistance (MR) effects in novel materials are crucial for scientific understanding and technological applications.
• Investigating the magnetic field response of transport properties is key to discovering new electronic functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the magnetoresistance and transport properties of NbSb2 single crystals under magnetic fields.
• To understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for the observed large magnetoresistance and field-induced transitions.

Main Methods:

• Experimental measurement of transverse magnetoresistance in NbSb2 single crystals at varying temperatures and magnetic fields (up to 32 T).
• Analysis of Hall resistivity and Seebeck coefficient under magnetic fields.
• Investigation of electronic structure and its relation to transport properties.

Main Results:

• Observed exceptionally large transverse magnetoresistance ratios (up to 4.3 × 10^6% at 0.4 K and 32 T) without saturation.
• Reported a field-induced metal-semiconductor-like transition in NbSb2 single crystals.
• Identified the coexistence of high-mobility holes and low-mobility electrons, evidenced by sign reversals in Hall resistivity and Seebeck coefficient.

Conclusions:

• The large magnetoresistance in NbSb2 is attributed to magnetic field-induced changes in the Fermi surface, linked to Dirac-like points and orbital MR.
• The observed phenomena highlight NbSb2 as a promising material for applications leveraging extreme magnetoresistance and field-tunable electronic states.