Evidence of high electron mobility in magnetic kagome topological metal FeSn thin films

Abstract

We present a systematic study of the low-energy electrodynamics of the magnetic FeSn kagome metal, which hosts both topological (Dirac) and non-trivial states. Our results reveal that the optical conductivity of FeSn shows two Drude contributions that can be associated with the linear (Dirac) and parabolic (massive) bands, with a dominance of the former to the DC conductivity at low temperatures. The weight of the Drude response shifts toward lower frequencies upon cooling due to a rapid increase in the Dirac electron mobility, which we associate with a temperature suppression of e–ph scattering. The experimental interband dielectric function is in very good agreement with that calculated within Density Functional Theory (DFT). These results provide a full description of the charge dynamics in FeSn kagome topological metal, opening the road for its use in photonic and plasmonic applications.