The checkerboard lattice has been proposed to host topological flat bands as a result of destructive interference among its various electronic hopping terms. However, it has proven challenging to realize experimentally due to the difficulty of isolating this structure from any significant out-of-plane bonding while maintaining structural integrity. Here, single crystals of Zr2CuSb3, a potential candidate for the checkerboard lattice, were synthesized using the solution (self-flux) method, and their structure was confirmed via X-ray diffraction. Electrical transport measurements indicate metallic behavior with electron-dominated carriers. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals multiple electron pockets and significant kz broadening due to its large c-axis and low dispersion features in k z. Density functional theory calculations further disentangle the contributions from each high-symmetry plane, providing a comprehensive characterization of electronic behavior.
@article{arxiv.2508.18135,
title = {Investigating the Electrical Transport Properties and Electronic Structure of Zr2CuSb3},
author = {Eoghan Downey and Soumya S. Bhat and Shane Smolenski and Ruiqi Tang and Carly Mistick and Aaron Bostwick and Chris Jozwiak and Eli Rotenberg and Demet Usanmaz and Na Hyun Jo},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.18135},
year = {2026}
}