Magnetic and magnetotransport properties of layered TaCoTe₂ single crystals

We present the synthesis of TaCoTe2 single crystals and a systematic investigation of the physical properties of bulk crystals and thin flakes. The crystal shows a semiconducting behavior with temperature decreasing from room temperature and turns to a metallic behavior below 38 K. When the magnetic field is applied, the temperature-dependent resistivity curves show an upturn below 10 K. Furthermore, we find that the TaCoTe2 single crystal can be easily exfoliated from the bulk crystal by the micromechanical exfoliation method. Our measurements suggest that the nanoflakes have properties similar to those of the bulk crystal when the thickness is lowered to 18 nm.