Transport evidence of asymmetric spin–orbit coupling in few-layer superconducting 1T(d)-MoTe(2)

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides MX(2) (M = W, Mo, Nb, and X = Te, Se, S) with strong spin–orbit coupling possess plenty of novel physics including superconductivity. Due to the Ising spin–orbit coupling, monolayer NbSe(2) and gated MoS(2) of 2H structure can realize the Ising superconductivity, which manifests itself with in-plane upper critical field far exceeding Pauli paramagnetic limit. Surprisingly, we find that a few-layer 1T(d) structure MoTe(2) also exhibits an in-plane upper critical field which goes beyond the Pauli paramagnetic limit. Importantly, the in-plane upper critical field shows an emergent two-fold symmetry which is different from the isotropic in-plane upper critical field in 2H transition metal dichalcogenides. We show that this is a result of an asymmetric spin–orbit coupling in 1T(d) transition metal dichalcogenides. Our work provides transport evidence of a new type of asymmetric spin–orbit coupling in transition metal dichalcogenides which may give rise to novel superconducting and spin transport properties.