Bending strain in 3D topological semi-metals

We present an experimental set-up for the controlled application of strain gradients by mechanical piezoactuation on 3D crystalline microcantilevers that were fabricated by focused ion beam machining. A simple sample design tailored for transport characterization under strain at cryogenic temperatures is proposed. The topological semi-metal Cd3As2 serves as a test bed for the method, and we report extreme strain gradients of up to 1.3%μm−1 at a surface strain value of≈0.65% at 4K. Interestingly, the unchanged quantum transport of the cantilever suggests that the bending cycle does not induce defects via plastic deformation. This approach is a first step towards realizing transport phenomena based on structural gradients, such as artificial gauge fields in topological materials.