Layer-dependent topological phase in a two-dimensional quasicrystal and approximant

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  • Jeffrey D. Cain
    Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720;
  • Amin Azizi
    Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720;
  • Matthias Conrad
    Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany;
  • Sinéad M. Griffin
    Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720;
  • Alex Zettl
    Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720;

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<jats:title>Significance</jats:title> <jats:p> The behavior of electrons in solids is intimately related to symmetry and dimensionality, and it is the interaction of these two that dictates the topological properties of materials. Here, we study this by introducing quasiperiodic order into a two-dimensional material, expanding the catalogue topological systems to include quasicrystals. Specifically, we report the isolation and investigation of a two-dimensional chalcogenide quasicrystal and approximant, ∼Ta <jats:sub>1.6</jats:sub> Te, derived from a layered transition metal dichalcogenide. Density functional theory of a large unit cell approximant demonstrates that the material possesses a layer-tunable, topologically nontrivial band structure, hitherto unseen in quasicrystalline materials. This work lays the foundation for the study of the interrelated properties of dimensionality, topology, and symmetry in van der Waals solids and heterostructures. </jats:p>

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