Surface-switchable nonreciprocity protected by Fermi arcs in Weyl semimetal TaAs

Abstract

Weyl semimetals host topologically protected surface states, known as Fermi arcs, which connect bulk Weyl nodes in momentum space. Both bulk Weyl nodes and Fermi arcs are anticipated to be chiral. The chirality of bulk bands has been confirmed through observations of the chiral anomaly and Weyl orbits. In contrast, despite their discovery more than a decade ago, the chiral nature of Fermi arcs has remained unresolved. Here we report Fermi-arc-induced nonlinear transport in the archetypal Weyl semimetal TaAs. Using focused ion beam techniques, we fabricated micro-scale devices that enable simultaneous transport measurements on opposing topological surfaces. While linear transport remains dominated by bulk conduction, nonlinear transport uncovers surface-specific contributions, including an exceptionally large third-order nonreciprocal response that exceeds conventional expectations and highlights the crucial role of the singular arc endpoints. Our findings unambiguously demonstrate the chiral nature of Fermi arcs and establish nonlinear transport as a direct probe of these topological surface states. By revealing a surface-switchable, room-temperature nonlinear response that is topologically protected, this work introduces a new functionality in Weyl semimetals. Given the abundance of natural materials predicted to host topological semimetal states, these results open opportunities for exploring nonlinear transport phenomena and device concepts across a broad class of systems.