Ambipolar Surface State Thermoelectric Power of Topological Insulator Bi2Se3

We measure gate-tuned thermoelectric power of mechanically exfoliated Bi2Se3 thin films in the topological insulator regime. The sign of the thermoelectric power changes across the charge neutrality point as the majority carrier type switches from electron to hole, consistent with the ambipolar electric field effect observed in conductivity and Hall effect measurements. Near charge neutrality point and at low temperatures, the gate dependent thermoelectric power follows the semiclassical Mott relation using the expected surface state density of states, but is larger than expected at high electron doping, possibly reflecting a large density of states in the bulk gap. The thermoelectric power factor shows significant enhancement near the electron-hole puddle carrier density ~ 0.5 x 1012 cm-2 per surface at all temperatures. Together with the expected reduction of lattice thermal conductivity in low dimensional structures, the results demonstrate that nanostructuring and Fermi level tuning of three dimensional topological insulators can be promising routes to realize efficient thermoelectric devices.

Ambipolar surface state transport in non-metallic stoichiometric Bi$_2$Se$_3$ crystals

Achieving true bulk insulating behavior in Bi$_2$Se$_3$, the archetypal topological insulator with a simplistic one-band electronic structure and sizable band gap, has been prohibited by a well-known self-doping effect caused by selenium vacancies, whose extra electrons shift the chemical potential into the bulk conduction band. We report a new synthesis method for achieving stoichiometric Bi$_2$Se$_3$ crystals that exhibit nonmetallic behavior in electrical transport down to low temperatures. Hall effect measurements indicate the presence of both electron- and hole-like carriers, with the latter identified with surface state conduction and the achievement of ambipolar transport in bulk Bi$_2$Se$_3$ crystals without gating techniques. With carrier mobilities surpassing the highest values yet reported for topological surface states in this material, the achievement of ambipolar transport via upward band bending is found to provide a key method to advancing the potential of this material for future study and applications.

Tuning bulk and surface conduction in topological Kondo insulator SmB6

Bulk and surface state contributions to the electrical resistance of single-crystal samples of the topological Kondo insulator compound SmB6 are investigated as a function of crystal thickness and surface charge density, the latter tuned by ionic liquid gating with electrodes patterned in a Corbino disk geometry on a single surface. By separately tuning bulk and surface conduction channels, we show conclusive evidence for a model with an insulating bulk and metallic surface states, with a crossover temperature that depends solely on the relative contributions of each conduction channel. The surface conductance, on the order of 100 e^2/h and electron-like, exhibits a field-effect mobility of 133 cm^2/V/s and a large carrier density of ~2x10^{14}/cm^2, in good agreement with recent photoemission results. With the ability to gate-modulate surface conduction by more than 25%, this approach provides promise for both fundamental and applied studies of gate-tuned devices structured on bulk crystal samples.

One-dimensional edge state transport in a topological Kondo insulator

Topological insulators, with metallic boundary states protected against time-reversal-invariant perturbations, are a promising avenue for realizing exotic quantum states of matter including various excitations of collective modes predicted in particle physics, such as Majorana fermions and axions. According to theoretical predictions, a topological insulating state can emerge from not only a weakly interacting system with strong spin-orbit coupling, but also in insulators driven by strong electron correlations. The Kondo insulator compound SmB6 is an ideal candidate for realizing this exotic state of matter, with hybridization between itinerant conduction electrons and localized $f$-electrons driving an insulating gap and metallic surface states at low temperatures. Here we exploit the existence of surface ferromagnetism in SmB6 to investigate the topological nature of metallic surface states by studying magnetotransport properties at very low temperatures. We find evidence of one-dimensional surface transport with a quantized conductance value of $e^2/h$ originating from the chiral edge channels of ferromagnetic domain walls, providing strong evidence that topologically non-trivial surface states exist in SmB6.

Coherent Topological Transport on the Surface of Bi2Se3

The two-dimensional (2D) surface state of the three-dimensional strong topological insulator (STI) is fundamentally distinct from other 2D electron systems in that the Fermi arc encircles an odd number of Dirac points. The TI surface is in the symplectic universality class and uniquely among 2D systems remains metallic and cannot be localized by (time-reversal symmetric) disorder. However, in finite-size samples inter-surface coupling can destroy the topological protection. The question arises: At what size can a thin TI sample be treated as having decoupled topological surface states? We show that weak anti-localization(WAL) is extraordinarily sensitive to sub-meV coupling between top and bottom topological surfaces, and the surfaces of a TI film may be coherently coupled even for thicknesses as large as 12 nm. For thicker films we observe the signature of a true 2D topological metal: perfect weak anti-localization in quantitative agreement with two decoupled surfaces in the symplectic symmetry class.

Intrinsic Electron-Phonon Resistivity in Bi2Se3 in the Topological Regime

We measure the temperature-dependent carrier density and resistivity of the topological surface state of thin exfoliated Bi2Se3 in the absence of bulk conduction. When the gate-tuned chemical potential is near or below the Dirac point the carrier density is strongly temperature dependent reflecting thermal activation from the nearby bulk valence band, while above the Dirac point, unipolar n-type surface conduction is observed with negligible thermal activation of bulk carriers. In this regime linear resistivity vs. temperature reflects intrinsic electron-acoustic phonon scattering. Quantitative comparison with a theoretical transport calculation including both phonon and disorder effects gives the ratio of deformation potential to Fermi velocity D/hbarvF = 4.7 {AA}-1. This strong phonon scattering in the Bi2Se3 surface state gives intrinsic limits for the conductivity and charge carrier mobility at room temperature of ~550 {mu}S per surface and ~10,000 cm2/Vs.