Anisotropic Fermi Surfaces, Electrical Transport, and Two-Dimensional Fermi Liquid Behavior in Layered Ternary Boride MoAlB

• Published in: Chinese physics letters Vol. 39; no. 5; pp. 57102 - 111
• Main Authors: Nie, Pan, Zuo, Huakun, Zhao, Lingxiao, Zhu, Zengwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd 01.05.2022; Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center and School of Physics,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430074,China%Department of Physics,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen 518055,China
• DOI: 10.1088/0256-307X/39/5/057102
• ISSN: 0256-307X

We report a study of fermiology, electrical anisotropy, and Fermi liquid properties in the layered ternary boride MoAlB, which could be peeled into two-dimensional (2D) metal borides (MBenes). By studying the quantum oscillations in comprehensive methods of magnetization, magnetothermoelectric power, and torque with the first-principle calculations, we reveal three types of bands in this system, including two 2D-like electronic bands and one complex three-dimensional-like hole band. Meanwhile, a large out-of-plane electrical anisotropy ( ρ bb / ρ aa ∼ 1100 and ρ bb / ρ cc ∼ 500, at 2 K) was observed, which is similar to those of the typical anisotropic semimetals but lower than those of some semiconductors (up to 10 5 ). After calculating the Kadowaki–Woods ratio (KWR = A / γ 2 ), we observed that the ratio of the in-plane A a , c / γ 2 is closer to the universal trend, whereas the out-of-plane A b / γ 2 severely deviates from the universality. This demonstrates a 2D Fermi liquid behavior. In addition, MoAlB cannot be unified using the modified KWR formula like other layered systems (Sr 2 RuO 4 and MoOCl 2 ). This unique feature necessitates further exploration of the Fermi liquid property of this layered molybdenum compound.