Differentiation of surface and bulk conductivities in topological insulator via four-probe spectroscopy

Zhang, Xiaoguang; McGuire, Michael A.; Chen, Yong P.; Li, An -Ping; Durand, Corentin; Hus, Saban M.; Ma, Chuanxu; Hu, Yang; Cao, Helin; Miotkowski, Ireneusz

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04425

Title: Differentiation of surface and bulk conductivities in topological insulator via four-probe spectroscopy

Journal Article · Tue Mar 08 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04425· OSTI ID:1256807

Zhang, Xiaoguang ^[1]; McGuire, Michael A. ^[2]; Chen, Yong P. ^[3]; Li, An -Ping ^[2]; Durand, Corentin ^[2]; Hus, Saban M. ^[2]; Ma, Chuanxu ^[2]; Hu, Yang ^[3]; Cao, Helin ^[3]; Miotkowski, Ireneusz ^[3]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

Topological insulators, with characteristic topological surface states, have emerged as a new state of matter with rich potentials for both fundamental physics and device applications. However, the experimental detection of the surface transport has been hampered by the unavoidable extrinsic conductivity associated with the bulk crystals. Here we show that a four-probe transport spectroscopy in a multi-probe scanning tunneling microscopy system can be used to differentiate conductivities from the surface states and the coexisting bulk states in topological insulators. We derive a scaling relation of measured resistance with respect to varying inter-probe spacing for two interconnected conduction channels, which allows quantitative determination of conductivities from both channels. Using this method, we demonstrate the separation of 2D and 3D conduction in topological insulators by comparing the conductance scaling of Bi₂Se₃, Bi₂Te₂Se, and Sb-doped Bi₂Se₃ with that of a pure 2D conductance of graphene on SiC substrate. We also report the 2D conductance enhancement due to the surface doping effect in topological insulators. This technique can be applied to reveal 2D to 3D crossover of conductance in other complex systems.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1256807

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Vol. 16, Issue 4; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 35 works

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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Title: Differentiation of surface and bulk conductivities in topological insulator via four-probe spectroscopy

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