Superconductivity in Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe2

Area of Science:

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

Background:

• Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are researched for their unique properties.
• Semiconducting TMDs like MoS2 are well-studied, but semimetallic TMDs like WTe2 show novel phenomena.
• MoTe2 is theoretically predicted to be a Weyl semimetal and quantum spin Hall insulator.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the physical properties of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2).
• Explore the superconductivity of bulk MoTe2.
• Examine the effect of external pressure on MoTe2's superconductivity.

Main Methods:

• Experimental synthesis and characterization of bulk MoTe2.
• Superconductivity measurements under varying external pressures.
• Analysis of the superconductivity phase diagram.

Main Results:

• Bulk MoTe2 exhibits superconductivity with a base transition temperature of 0.10 K.
• Applying external pressure significantly increases the transition temperature, reaching 8.2 K at 11.7 GPa.
• A dome-shaped superconductivity phase diagram was observed for MoTe2.

Conclusions:

• MoTe2 is a superconductor whose transition temperature is tunable with pressure.
• The findings highlight the interplay between superconductivity and topological properties in MoTe2.
• This research contributes to understanding semimetallic TMDs and their potential applications.