Tuning the topological character of half-Heusler systems: A comparative study on YTBi (T = Pd, Pt)

Half-Heusler systems host a plethora of different ground states, especially with nontrivial topology. However, there is still a lack of spectroscopic insight into the corresponding band inversion in this family. In this work, we locally explore the half-Heuslers YTBi (T = Pt and Pd) by means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy. From our analysis of the (120) surface plane, we infer that the increase of the spin-orbit coupling upon going from Pd to Pt is the main player in tuning the surface states from trivial to topologically nontrivial. Our measurements unveil a (2 x 1) reconstruction of the (120) surface of both systems. Using density functional theory calculations, we show that the observed different behavior of the local density of states near the Fermi level in these two materials is directly related to the presence of metallic surface states. Our work sheds new light on a well known tunable family of materials and opens new routes to explore the presence of topological states of matter in half-Heusler systems and its microscopic observation.