No Arabic abstract
Transport and torque magnetometry measurements are performed at high magnetic fields and low temperatures in a series of p-type (Ca-doped) Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ crystals. The angular dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas and de Haas-van Alphen quantum oscillations enables us to determine the Fermi surface of the bulk valence band states as a function of the carrier density. At low density, the angular dependence exhibits a downturn in the oscillations frequency between $0^circ$ and $90^circ$, reflecting a bag-shaped hole Fermi surface. The detection of a single frequency for all tilt angles rules out the existence of a Fermi surface with different extremal cross-sections down to $24$~meV. There is therefore no signature of a camel-back in the valence band of our bulk samples, in accordance with the direct band gap predicted by $GW$ calculations.
We report a high-field magnetotransport study on selected low-carrier crystals of the topological insulator Bi$_{2-x}$Sb${_x}$Te$_{3-y}$Se$_{y}$. Monochromatic Shubnikov - de Haas (SdH) oscillations are observed at 4.2~K and their two-dimensional nature is confirmed by tilting the magnetic field with respect to the sample surface. With help of Lifshitz-Kosevich theory, important transport parameters of the surface states are obtained, including the carrier density, cyclotron mass and mobility. For $(x,y)=(0.50,1.3)$ the Landau level plot is analyzed in terms of a model based on a topological surface state in the presence of a non-ideal linear dispersion relation and a Zeeman term with $g_s = 70$ or $-54$. Input parameters were taken from the electronic dispersion relation measured directly by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy on crystals from the same batch. The Hall resistivity of the same crystal (thickness of 40~$mu$m) is analyzed in a two-band model, from which we conclude that the ratio of the surface conductance to the total conductance amounts to 32~%.
Spin-momentum locking in topological insulators and materials with Rashba-type interactions is an extremely attractive feature for novel spintronic devices and is therefore under intense investigation. Significant efforts are underway to identify new material systems with spin-momentum locking, but also to create heterostructures with new spintronic functionalities. In the present study we address both subjects and investigate a van der Waals-type heterostructure consisting of the topological insulator Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ and a single Se-Ta-Se triple-layer (TL) of H-type TaSe$_{2}$ grown by a novel method which exploits an interface reaction between the adsorbed metal and selenium. We then show, using surface x-ray diffraction, that the symmetry of the TaSe2-like TL is reduced from D$_{3h}$ to C$_{3v}$ resulting from a vertical atomic shift of the tantalum atom. Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission indicates that, owing to the symmetry lowering, the states at the Fermi surface acquire an in-plane spin component forming a surface contour with a helical Rashba-like spin texture, which is coupled to the Dirac cone of the substrate. Our approach provides a new route to realize novel chiral two-dimensional electron systems via interface engineering that do not exist in the corresponding bulk materials.
We studied the Ag-intercalated 3D topological insulator Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, combined with a first principles calculations. We demonstrate that silver atoms deposited on the surface of Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ are intercalated between the quintuple layer (QL) units of the crystal, causing a expansion of the van der Waals gaps and the detachment of topmost QLs from the bulk crystal. This leads to a relocation (in the real space) of the the topological state beneath the detached quintuple layers, accompanied by the emergence of parabolic and M-shaped trivial bands localized above the relocated topological states. These novel findings open a pathway to the engineering of Dirac fermions shielded from the ambient contamination and may facilitate the realization of fault-tolerant quantum devices.
We perform ab-initio calculations on Bi$_mathrm{{Se}}$ antisite defects in the surface of Bi$_2$Se$_3$, finding strong low-energy defect resonances with a spontaneous ferromagnetism, fixed to an out-of-plane orientation due to an exceptional large magnetic anisotropy energy. For antisite defects in the surface layer, we find semi-itinerant ferromagnetism and strong hybridization with the Dirac surface state, generating a finite energy gap. For deeper lying defects, such hybridization is largely absent, the magnetic moments becomes more localized, and no energy gap is present.
We investigate Co nanostructures on Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy [STM/STS], X-ray absorption spectroscopy [XAS], X-ray magnetic dichroism [XMCD] and calculations using the density functional theory [DFT]. In the single adatom regime we find two different adsorption sites by STM. Our calculations reveal these to be the fcc and hcp hollow sites of the substrate. STS shows a pronounced peak for only one species of the Co adatoms indicating different electronic properties of both types. These are explained on the basis of our DFT calculations by different hybridizations with the substrate. Using XMCD we find a coverage dependent spin reorientation transition from easy-plane toward out-of-plane. We suggest clustering to be the predominant cause for this observation.