Tunable nonreciprocal electrical transport in 2D Tellurium with different chirality

Tellurium (Te) is an elemental semiconductor with a simple chiral crystal structure. Te in a two-dimensional (2D) form synthesized by solution-based method shows excellent electrical, optical, and thermal properties. In this work, the chirality of hydrothermally grown 2D Te is identified and analyzed by hot sulfuric acid etching and high angle tilted high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. The gate-tunable nonreciprocal electrical transport is observed in 2D Te with different chirality, providing a possibility for the realization of controllable polarized spins for spintronic applications. The opposite band evolution of different-handedness 2D Te under magnetic field reveals the fundamental relationship between the spin-orbit coupling and the symmetry of the crystal structure. Our work shows that 2D Te is an ideal material system for studying the chirality-related electrical transport properties and crystal growth mechanism.