No Arabic abstract
We have investigated the weak antilocalization (WAL) effect in the p-type Bi$_2$Se$_{2.1}$Te$_{0.9}$ topological system. The magnetoconductance shows a cusp-like feature at low magnetic fields, indicating the presence of the WAL effect. The WAL curves measured at different tilt angles merge together when they are plotted as a function of the normal field components, showing that surface states dominate the magnetoconductance in the Bi$_2$Se$_{2.1}$Te$_{0.9}$ crystal. We have calculated magnetoconductance per conduction channel and applied the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka formula to determine the physical parameters that characterize the WAL effect. The number of conduction channels and the phase coherence length do not change with temperature up to T=5 K. In addition, the sample shows a large positive magnetoresistance that reaches 1900% under a magnetic field of 35 T at T=0.33K with no sign of saturation. The magnetoresistance value decreases with both increasing temperature and tilt angle of the sample surface with respect to the magnetic field. The large magnetoresistance of topological insulators can be utilized in future technology such as sensors and memory devices.
In chalcogenide topological insulator materials, two types of magneto-resistance (MR) effects are widely discussed: a positive MR dip around zero magnetic field associated with the weak antilocalization (WAL) effect and a linear MR effect which generally persists to high fields and high temperatures. We have studied the MR of topological insulator Bi2Te3 films from the metallic to semiconducting transport regime. While in metallic samples, the WAL is difficult to identify due to the smallness of the WAL compared to the samples conductivity, the sharp WAL dip in the MR is clearly present in the samples with higher resistivity. To correctly account for the low field MR by the quantitative theory of WAL according to the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka (HLN) model, we find that the classical (linear) MR effect should be separated from the WAL quantum correction. Otherwise the WAL fitting alone yields an unrealistically large coefficient $alpha$ in the HLN analysis.
Quasi-1D nanowires of topological insulators are emerging candidate structures in superconductor hybrid architectures for the realization of Majorana fermion based quantum computation schemes. It is however technically difficult to both fabricate as well as identify the 1D limit of topological insulator nanowires. Here, we investigated selectively-grown Bi$_2$Te$_3$ topological insulator nanoribbons and nano Hall bars at cryogenic temperatures for their topological properties. The Hall bars are defined in deep-etched Si$_3$N$_4$/SiO$_2$ nano-trenches on a silicon (111) substrate followed by a selective area growth process via molecular beam epitaxy. The selective area growth is beneficial to the device quality, as no subsequent fabrication needs to be performed to shape the nanoribbons. Transmission line measurements are performed to evaluate contact resistances of Ti/Au contacts applied as well as the specific resistance of the Bi$_2$Te$_3$ binary topological insulator. In the diffusive transport regime of these unintentionally $n$-doped Bi$_2$Te$_3$ topological insulator nano Hall bars, we identify distinguishable electron trajectories by analyzing angle-dependent universal conductance fluctuation spectra. When the sample is tilted from a perpendicular to a parallel magnetic field orientation, these high frequent universal conductance fluctuations merge with low frequent Aharonov-Bohm type oscillations originating from the topologically protected surface states encircling the nanoribbon cross section. For 500 nm wide Hall bars we also identify low frequent Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the perpendicular field orientation, that reveal a topological high-mobility 2D transport channel, partially decoupled from the bulk of the material.
The ferromagnetic topological insulator V:(Bi,Sb)$_2$Te$_3$ has been recently reported as a quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) system. Yet the microscopic origins of the QAH effect and the ferromagnetism remain unclear. One key aspect is the contribution of the V atoms to the electronic structure. Here the valence band of V:(Bi,Sb)$_2$Te$_3$ thin films was probed in an element-specific way by resonant photoemission spectroscopy. The signature of the V $3d$ impurity band was extracted, and exhibits a high density of states near Fermi level. First-principles calculations support the experimental results and indicate the coexistence of ferromagnetic superexchange and double exchange interactions. The observed impurity band is thus expected to contribute to the ferromagnetism via the interplay of different mechanisms.
Helical spin textures with the marked spin polarizations of topological surface states have been firstly unveiled by the state-of-the-art spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy for two promising topological insulators Bi$_2$Te$_2$Se and Bi$_2$Se$_2$Te. The highly spin-polarized natures are found to be persistent across the Dirac point in both compounds. This novel finding paves a pathway to extending their utilization of topological surface state for future spintronic applications.
We study the quantum correction to conductivity on the surface of cubic topological Kondo insulators with multiple Dirac bands. We consider the model of time-reversal invariant disorder which induces the scattering of the electrons within the Dirac bands as well as between the bands. When only intraband scattering is present we find three long-range diffusion modes which lead to weak antilocalization correction to conductivity, which remains independent of the microscopic details such as Fermi velocities and relaxation times. Interband scattering gaps out two diffusion modes leaving only one long-range mode. We find that depending on the value of the phase coherence time, either three or only one long-range diffusion modes contribute to weak localization correction rendering the quantum correction to conductivity non-universal. We provide an interpretation for the results of the recent transport experiments on samarium hexaboride where weak antilocalization has been observed.