Synthesis and characterisation of Cu₂Ge, a new two-dimensional Dirac nodal line semimetal

Abstract Dirac nodal line semimetals are a novel class of topological materials in which the valence and conduction bands touch along lines in the reciprocal space, with linear dispersion. These materials attract a growing attention, but the experimental realizations for two-dimensional systems are sparse. We report here the first experimental realization of a two-dimensional hexagonal monolayer Cu2Ge, grown by evaporation of Ge on a Cu(111) substrate. Through a combination of LEED, XPS and ARPES measurements, we show that the surface presents all characteristics expected from calculations for a free-standing Cu2Ge monolayer. More specifically, the preservation of the two concentric nodal lines around the Γ point indicates weak interactions between the Cu2Ge surface and its Cu(111) substrate, making it an ideal system for the study of Dirac nodal line materials.