Thin film growth of the Weyl semimetal NbAs

Abstract: We report the synthesis and characterization of thin films of the Weyl semimetal NbAs grown on GaAs (100) and GaAs (111)B substrates. By choosing the appropriate substrate, we can stabilize the growth of NbAs in the (001) and (100) directions. We combine x-ray characterization with high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy to understand both the macroscopic and microscopic structure of the NbAs thin films. We show that these films are textured with domains that are tens of nanometers in size and that, on a macroscopic scale, are mostly aligned to a single crystalline direction. Finally, we describe electrical transport measurements that reveal similar behavior in films grown in both crystalline directions, namely carrier densities of $\sim 10^{21} - 10^{22} $