TY - JOUR
T1 - Scattering of topological surface-state carriers at steps on surfaces
AU - Fukui, Naoya
AU - Hobara, Rei
AU - Takayama, Akari
AU - Akiyama, Ryota
AU - Hirahara, Toru
AU - Hasegawa, Shuji
N1 - Funding Information:
Our work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research No. 25246025 and No. 16H02108, and Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows No. 13J01282.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Physical Society.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - The resistance across a step on ultrathin films of three different topological insulators, Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, and (Bi1-xPbx)2Te3, was measured through anisotropy in two-dimensional resistivity by using the in situ square four-point probe method in ultrahigh vacuum. The step resistance was much larger for Bi2Te3 than for Bi2Se3 in the range of 1-10 quintuple-layer thickness, due to the smaller critical thickness for isolation of topological surface states in Bi2Te3. The transmission probability of carriers across a step is much higher for the bulk-insulating (Bi1-xPbx)2Te3 than bulk-metallic Bi2Te3, due to prevention of scattering of surface-state carriers into the bulk states. We were able to deduce microscopic information concerning the transmission probability at individual steps from the resistance data obtained macroscopically.
AB - The resistance across a step on ultrathin films of three different topological insulators, Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, and (Bi1-xPbx)2Te3, was measured through anisotropy in two-dimensional resistivity by using the in situ square four-point probe method in ultrahigh vacuum. The step resistance was much larger for Bi2Te3 than for Bi2Se3 in the range of 1-10 quintuple-layer thickness, due to the smaller critical thickness for isolation of topological surface states in Bi2Te3. The transmission probability of carriers across a step is much higher for the bulk-insulating (Bi1-xPbx)2Te3 than bulk-metallic Bi2Te3, due to prevention of scattering of surface-state carriers into the bulk states. We were able to deduce microscopic information concerning the transmission probability at individual steps from the resistance data obtained macroscopically.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.115418
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.115418
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85092935557
SN - 2469-9950
VL - 102
JO - Physical Review B-Condensed Matter
JF - Physical Review B-Condensed Matter
IS - 11
M1 - 115418
ER -