journal article·2026-03

Electronic switching of topology in LaSbTe

J. Bannies, M. Michiardi, H.-H. Kung, S. Godin, J. W. Simonson, M. Oudah, M. Zonno, S. Gorovikov, S. Zhdanovich, I. S. Elfimov, A. Damascelli, M. C. Aronson

Nature Materials· Volume 25· Issue 3
Publisher page

Abstract

In the past two decades, various classes of topological materials have been discovered, yet the deliberate control of topology in a single material remains largely unexplored. Here we demonstrate full experimental control over the topological nodal loop in the square-net material LaSbxTe2-x by chemical substitution and electron doping. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we show that changing the antimony concentration x from 0.86 to 1.0 in the bulk opens a gap larger than 400 meV in the nodal loop. Symmetry analysis establishes that this effect originates from the breaking of n glide symmetry in the square-net layer. The same topological phase transition can also be driven reversibly on the surface of LaSbxTe2-x by in situ chemical gating via potassium deposition, enabling on-demand switching of topology. The control parameter for both the bulk and surface transition is the electron concentration, providing a pathway towards applications based on switching topology by electrostatic gating.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Topological Materials and Phenomena · 2D Materials and Applications · Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

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