Growth and magnetotransport properties of semi-metallic WTe2 nanoribbons

Exploring exotic quantum states requires high-quality materials. Tungsten ditelluride (WTe2), a type-II Weyl semimetal, is an important platform for studying these states. Recent discoveries, including the quantum spin Hall effect, higher-order topological insulator (TI) states, and induced superconductivity, have been made on exfoliated flakes. However, this method of sample fabrication is limited by its lack of scalability. For studies of higher-order TI 1D states, ribbon-shaped WTe2 materials with reduced dimensionality are of great importance. Here, we present a simple approach for growing WTe2 nanoribbons from WO3 thin films. Magnetotransport studies, including Hall effect measurements, and the presence of large magnetoresistance at low temperatures confirm the good quality and the semi-metallic nature of the fabricated WTe2 nanoribbons, which is crucial for fundamental studies of one-dimensional topologically protected states.