Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the (101) surface of the Kondo insulator CeNiSn

Abstract

The electronic structure of CeNiSn, which is considered a possible topological Kondo insulator, has been investigated by employing synchrotron radiation excited angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We have found that the easy cleavage plane in CeNiSn is (101), for which we have investigated the Fermi surface (FS) and band structures. The measured FS and ARPES for the (101) plane are described well by the calculated FS and band structures, obtained from the DFT calculations. The measured ARPES bands and photon energy map show that the metallic states crossing the Fermi level have the 3D nature, casting a negative suspicion for the existence of the topological surface states of the 2D character in CeNiSn. The Ce 4f Kondo resonance peak is observed in Ce 4d → 4f resonant photoemission spectroscopy, suggesting the importance of the Ce 4f electrons in determining the temperature-dependent topological electronic structure of CeNiSn.