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The research effort prompted by the prediction that SmB$_6$ could be the first topological Kondo insulator has produced a wealth of new results, though not all of these seem compatible. A major discrepancy exists between scanning tunneling microscopy / spectroscopy (STM/S) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), because the two experimental methods suggest a very different number of terminations of the (100) surface with different properties. Here we tackle this issue in a combined STM/S and ARPES study. We find that two of the well-ordered topographies reported in earlier STM studies can be associated with the crystal terminations identified using photoemission. We further observe a reversal of the STM contrast with bias voltage for one of the topographies. We ascribe this result to a different energy dependence of Sm and B-derived states, and show that it can be used to obtain element specific images of SmB$_6$ and identify which topography belongs to which termination. We finally find STS results to support a modification of the low-energy electronic structure at the surface that has been proposed as the trivial origin of surface metallicity in this material.
The peculiar metallic electronic states observed in the Kondo insulator, samarium hexaboride (SmB$_6$), has stimulated considerable attention among those studying non-trivial electronic phenomena. However, experimental studies of these states have le
Recent theoretical and experimental studies suggest that SmB$_6$ is the first topological Kondo insulator: A material in which the interaction between localized and itinerant electrons renders the bulk insulating at low temperature, while topological
The recent conjecture of a topologically-protected surface state in SmB$_6$ and the verification of robust surface conduction below 4 K have prompted a large effort to understand the surface states. Conventional Hall transport measurements allow curr
Strongly correlated electron systems show many exotic properties such as unconventional superconductity, quantum criticality, and Kondo insulating behavior. In addition, the Kondo insulator SmB6 has been predicted theoretically to be a 3D topological
Impurities and defects in Kondo insulators can have an unusual impact on dynamics that blends with effects of intrinsic electron correlations. Such crystal imperfections are difficult to avoid, and their consequences are incompletely understood. Here