Crystal growth and electrical transport properties of niobium and tantalum monopnictide and dipnictide semimetals

Abstract

The discovery of the first Weyl semimetal tantalum monoarsenide has greatly promoted physical research on the niobium and tantalum pnictide compounds. Crystallizing into the NbAs- and OsGe2-type structures, these mono- and di-pnictide semimetals manifest exotic electrical transport properties in magnetic field, which only occur in their single-crystalline forms. All the unusual electrical properties correspond to their poor carriers, which are indeed vulnerable to various crystal defects. In this review article, we present a comprehensive comparison of the crystal growth and electrical transport properties of the two semimetal families. We then discuss in detail the possible characteristic transport features, such as the chiral anomaly of Weyl quasiparticles. We emphasize the importance of crystal growth and sample manipulation for exploring the unique topological properties of Weyl semimetals in the future.