Strain-gradient induced topological transition in bent nanoribbons of the Dirac semimetal Cd3As2

Dirac semimetal is an ideal parent state to realize various exotic states of matter, such as quantum spin Hall state, Weyl semimetal phase, and Majorana zero modes. Topological phase transition allows for the switching between these different topological states. Here, in this paper, we exhibit experimentally an effective approach of inducing topological phase transition in Cd3As2 nanoribbons by applying a bending strain profile onto the sample. The local strain varies linearly from compression to tension through the cross-section of a bent nanoribbon. The strain gradient causes obvious lattice deformation and breaks the C-4 rotational symmetry, thus opening an energy gap at the Dirac points and making the bulk gapful. When further increasing the strain strength, the local strain effect dominates over the symmetry-breaking effect, where spatially-varying band shift becomes prominent across the nanoribbon. Our results demonstrate the effect of strain gradient on the evolution of energy band structures, which should be valuable for further study of strain-mediated topological phase transition.

Automated summary

Dirac semimetal serves as an ideal platform for realizing exotic states of matter, and topological phase transitions can switch between different topological states. This paper experimentally demonstrates the effective approach of inducing topological phase transition in Cd3As2 nanoribbons by applying a bending strain profile, showing the significant impact of strain gradient on the evolution of energy band structures.