Are half-Heusler PdYBi & PtYBi T.I. ?
In a paper published in PHYSICAL REVIEW MATERIALS, we investigate a new family of topological materials, the half-Heuslers PdYBi and PtYBi, which have potential applications in low-energy spintronics devices. We report on the epitaxial growth and characterization of thin films of these compounds, using various techniques such as electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and thermospin transport measurements. We find evidence of linear states around the Γ point of the Brillouin zone, indicating the presence of a topological insulator phase. We also compare their spin Seebeck coefficient for both PdYBi and PtYBi with the widely used platinum finding a larger value, which sugggests a high efficiency of spin-to-charge current interconversion. The paper provides some advances on the promise of tunability and versatility of half-Heuslers as candidates for exploring novel spin phenomena in topological materials.
