Disorder Driven Anisotropic Nonlinear Hall Effect in the Kagome Metal YbCo6Ge6 at Room Temperature

Abstract

ABSTRACT We show that the kagome metal YbCo6Ge6 displays a remarkable phenomenon: its intrinsic structural disorder and short‐range correlated motifs, rather than diminishing performance, constitute the primary mechanism for a robust and anisotropic nonlinear Hall effect (NLHE). This effect is sustained across a wide temperature range from 2 to 350 K, achieving a nonlinear responsivity of up to ∼4.5 × 10−3 m/V at 70 K, higher than known disordered and engineered quantum heterostructures. Extrinsic scattering mechanisms, modulated by structural disorder variations in the kagome lattice, primarily govern the nonlinear Hall response. Yet, a nearly temperature‐independent intrinsic Berry curvature dipole signal persists, demonstrating that quantum geometry remains significant despite the presence of disorder. These findings challenge the prevailing view that structural disorder in three‐dimensional quantum materials are detrimental and should be minimized. Instead, such correlated disorder is shown to be functional assets, establishing a new paradigm in materials design where short‐range motifs, rather than perfect crystallinity, enable room‐temperature nonlinear Hall functionality for advanced rectification and detection technologies.