No Arabic abstract
The influence of dephasing on the quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) is studied. In the absence of dephasing, the longitudinal resistance in a QSHE system exhibits the quantum plateaus. We find that these quantum plateaus are robust against the normal dephasing but fragile with the spin dephasing. Thus, these quantum plateaus only survive in mesoscopic samples. Moreover, the longitudinal resistance increases linearly with the sample length but is insensitive to the sample width. These characters are in excellent agreement with the recent experimental results [science {bf 318}, 766 (2007)]. In addition, we define a new spin Hall resistance that also exhibits quantum plateaus. In particular, these plateaus are robust against any type of dephasing and therefore, survive in macroscopic samples and better reflect the topological nature of QSHE.
The Berry phase associated with energy bands in crystals can lead to quantized quantities, such as the quantization of electric dipole polarization in an insulator, known as a one-dimensional (1D) topological insulator (TI) phase. Recent theories have generalized such quantization from dipole to higher multipole moments, giving rise to the discovery of multipole TIs, which exhibit a cascade hierarchy of multipole topology at boundaries of boundaries: A quantized octupole moment in the three-dimensional (3D) bulk can induce quantized quadrupole moments on its two-dimensional (2D) surfaces, which then produce quantized dipole moments along 1D hinges. The model of 2D quadrupole TI has been realized in various classical structures, exhibiting zero-dimensional (0D) in-gap corner states. Here we report on the realization of a quantized octupole TI on the platform of a 3D acoustic metamaterial. By direct acoustic measurement, we observe 0D corner states, 1D hinge states, 2D surface states, and 3D bulk states, as a consequence of the topological hierarchy from octupole moment to quadrupole and dipole moment. The critical conditions of forming a nontrivial octupole moment are further demonstrated by comparing with another two samples possessing a trivial octupole moment. Our work thus establishes the multipole topology and its full cascade hierarchy in 3D geometries.
Three-dimensional topological insulators are a class of Dirac materials, wherein strong spin-orbit coupling leads to two-dimensional surface states. The latter feature spin-momentum locking, i.e., each momentum vector is associated with a spin locked perpendicularly to it in the surface plane. While the principal spin generation capability of topological insulators is well established, comparatively little is known about the interaction of the spins with external stimuli like polarized light. We observe a helical, bias-dependent photoconductance at the lateral edges of topological Bi2Te2Se platelets for perpendicular incidence of light. The same edges exhibit also a finite bias-dependent Kerr angle, indicative of spin accumulation induced by a transversal spin Hall effect in the bulk states of the Bi2Te2Se platelets. A symmetry analysis shows that the helical photoconductance is distinct to common longitudinal photoconductance and photocurrent phenomena, but consistent with the accumulated spins being transported in the side facets of the platelets. Our findings demonstrate that spin effects in the facets of 3D topological insulators can be addressed and read-out in optoelectronic devices even at room temperatures.
Low energy excitation of surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator (3DTI) can be described by Dirac fermions. By using a tight-binding model, the transport properties of the surface states in a uniform magnetic field is investigated. It is found that chiral surface states parallel to the magnetic field are responsible to the quantized Hall (QH) conductance $(2n+1)frac{e^2}{h}$ multiplied by the number of Dirac cones. Due to the two-dimension (2D) nature of the surface states, the robustness of the QH conductance against impurity scattering is determined by the oddness and evenness of the Dirac cone number. An experimental setup for transport measurement is proposed.
The interface between magnetic materials and topological insulators can drive the formation of exotic phases of matter and enable functionality through manipulation of the strong spin polarized transport. Here, we report that the spin-momentum-locked transport in the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ is completely suppressed by scattering at a heterointerface with the kagome-lattice paramagnet, Co$_7$Se$_8$. Bi$_2$Se$_{3-}$Co$_7$Se$_{8-}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ trilayer heterostructures were grown using molecular beam epitaxy. Magnetotransport measurements revealed a substantial suppression of the weak antilocalization effect for Co$_7$Se$_8$ at thicknesses as thin as a monolayer, indicating a strong dephasing mechanism. Bi$_{2-x}$Co$_x$Se$_3$ films, where Co is in a non-magnetic $3^+$ state, show weak antilocalization that survives to $x = 0.5$, which, in comparison with the heterostructures, suggests the unordered moments of the Co$^{2+}$ act as a far stronger dephasing element. This work highlights several important points regarding spin-polarized transport in topological insulator interfaces and how magnetic materials can be integrated with topological materials to realize both exotic phases as well as novel device functionality.
Three-dimensional topological insulators host surface states with linear dispersion, which manifest as a Dirac cone. Nanoscale transport measurements provide direct access to the transport properties of the Dirac cone in real space and allow the detailed investigation of charge carrier scattering. Here, we use scanning tunnelling potentiometry to analyse the resistance of different kinds of defects at the surface of a (Bi0.53Sb0.47)2Te3 topological insulator thin film. The largest localized voltage drop we find to be located at domain boundaries in the topological insulator film, with a resistivity about four times higher than that of a step edge. Furthermore, we resolve resistivity dipoles located around nanoscale voids in the sample surface. The influence of such defects on the resistance of the topological surface state is analysed by means of a resistor network model. The effect resulting from the voids is found to be small compared to the other defects.