Bulk Dirac Points in Distorted Spinels
Here, we report on a Dirac-like Fermi surface in three-dimensional bulk materials in a distorted spinel structure on the basis of density functional theory as well as tight-binding theory. The four examples we provide in this Letter are BiZnSiO 4 , BiCaSiO 4 , BiAlInO 4 , and BiMgSiO 4 . A necessary characteristic of these structures is that they contain a Bi lattice which forms a hierarchy of chainlike substructures, with consequences for both fundamental understanding and materials design.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗