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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Data availability
All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in this study are available in the article and its Supplementary Information. The raw ARPES data acquired in this study are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17059971 (ref. 44). All other data are available from the corresponding authors upon request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank A. von der Handt (UBC Earth Sciences) for assistance with the wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. This research was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Max Planck-UBC-UTokyo Centre for Quantum Materials and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Quantum Materials and Future Technologies Program. This project is also funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI); the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF); the Department of National Defence (DND); the Mitacs Accelerate Program; the Moore EPiQS Program (A.D.); the Canada Research Chairs Program (A.D.); and the CIFAR Quantum Materials Program (A.D.). This research is funded in part by a QuantEmX grant from ICAM and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant GBMF9616 to M.M. and H.-H.K. In addition, J.B. and H.-H.K. acknowledge the receipt of support from the CLSI Student Travel Support Program. J.W.S. was supported in part by a Provost’s Research Fellowship from Farmingdale State College. Use of the Canadian Light Source (QMSC), a national research facility of the University of Saskatchewan, is supported by CFI, the NSERC, the National Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Government of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan.
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J.B. grew the single crystals and characterized them. J.W.S. performed the single-crystal XRD and solved the crystal structures. J.B., M.M. and H.-H.K. conducted the ARPES experiments with help from M.Z., S. Gorovikov and S.Z. The ARPES data were analysed by J.B. with input from M.M., H.-H.K. and A.D. The core-level spectra were analysed by S. Godin, and J.B. and I.S.E. performed the DFT calculations. J.B., M.M., H.-H.K., M.O., A.D. and M.C.A. discussed the results. J.B., M.M., H.-H.K., A.D. and M.C.A. wrote the paper, with contributions from all authors.
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Bannies, J., Michiardi, M., Kung, HH. et al. Electronic switching of topology in LaSbTe. Nat. Mater. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02396-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02396-3
