Chemical substitution in crystalline quantum materials is a powerful way to explore the consequences of strong spin-orbit coupling on their structural and electronic properties. In this work, we present an investigation of thin films of the $\mathrm{La}{Pn}_2(Pn=\mathrm{Sb},\mathrm{Bi})$ class of layered square-net intermetallics. We report the growth of ${\mathrm{LaBi}}_2$ with a pristine layer-by-layer growth mode, classifying it as a good metal displaying superconductivity at $\sim 0.55\text{K}$. Compared to ${\mathrm{LaSb}}_2$, we attribute the enhanced metallic behavior and improved growth dynamics of ${\mathrm{LaBi}}_2$ to significant relativistic corrections to its electronic band structure and the resulting impact on both surface energy and intrinsic phonon scattering.

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• Spin-orbit coupling
• Thin films
• Crystal growth