Quantum mechanics

Metallurgy

Materials science

Crystal structure

Vanadium

Charge density

Physics

Superconductivity

Condensed matter physics

Neutron diffraction

Crystallography

Chemistry

Charge density wave

Physical Review Letters

Materials hosting kagome lattices have drawn interest for the diverse magnetic and electronic states generated by geometric frustration. In the AV_{3}Sb_{5} compounds (A=K, Rb, Cs), stacked vanadium kagome layers give rise to unusual charge density waves (CDW) and superconductivity. Here we report single-crystal growth and characterization of ScV_{6}Sn_{6}, a hexagonal HfFe_{6}Ge_{6}-type compound that shares this structural motif. We identify a first-order phase transition at 92 K. Single crystal x-ray and neutron diffraction reveal a charge density wave modulation of the atomic lattice below this temperature. This is a distinctly different structural mode than that observed in the AV_{3}Sb_{5} compounds, but both modes have been anticipated in kagome metals. The diverse HfFe_{6}Ge_{6} family offers more opportunities to tune ScV_{6}Sn_{6} and explore density wave order in kagome lattice materials.

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Charge Density Wave in Kagome Lattice IntermetallicScV6Sn6