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Title: Structure and basal twinning of topological insulator Bi2Se3 grown by MBE onto crystalline Y3Fe5O12

Abstract

Whereas thin films of topological insulators grown by molecular beam epitaxy often display regular, triangular features, Bi2Se3 films grown onto yttrium iron garnet (YIG) display much greater disorder. Here, we present observations of various types of disorder present in these films using atomic force microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the investigation reveals the presence of an amorphous metal oxide layer between the substrate and the film, which appears to smooth out the nanometer-scale undulations in the YIG surface. It also shows the existence of quasiordered arrays of heavy atoms in some interfacial regions, as well as rotations and tilting between adjacent grains and basal twinning at various heights in the film. Using density functional theory, we explore the impact of these prominent basal twins on the electronic structure of the film.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [3];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
  3. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  4. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
  5. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1613049
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1546366
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0018994
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review Materials
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 3; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 2475-9953
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Materials Science; Band gap; Electronic structure; Twinning; Solid-solid interfaces; Topological materials; Density functional calculations; Scanning transmission electron microscopy

Citation Formats

Hickey, Danielle Reifsnyder, Azadani, Javad G., Richardella, Anthony R., Kally, James C., Lee, Joon Sue, Chang, Houchen, Liu, Tao, Wu, Mingzhong, Samarth, Nitin, Low, Tony, and Mkhoyan, K. Andre. Structure and basal twinning of topological insulator Bi2Se3 grown by MBE onto crystalline Y3Fe5O12. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1103/physrevmaterials.3.061201.
Hickey, Danielle Reifsnyder, Azadani, Javad G., Richardella, Anthony R., Kally, James C., Lee, Joon Sue, Chang, Houchen, Liu, Tao, Wu, Mingzhong, Samarth, Nitin, Low, Tony, & Mkhoyan, K. Andre. Structure and basal twinning of topological insulator Bi2Se3 grown by MBE onto crystalline Y3Fe5O12. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.3.061201
Hickey, Danielle Reifsnyder, Azadani, Javad G., Richardella, Anthony R., Kally, James C., Lee, Joon Sue, Chang, Houchen, Liu, Tao, Wu, Mingzhong, Samarth, Nitin, Low, Tony, and Mkhoyan, K. Andre. 2019. "Structure and basal twinning of topological insulator Bi2Se3 grown by MBE onto crystalline Y3Fe5O12". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.3.061201. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1613049.
@article{osti_1613049,
title = {Structure and basal twinning of topological insulator Bi2Se3 grown by MBE onto crystalline Y3Fe5O12},
author = {Hickey, Danielle Reifsnyder and Azadani, Javad G. and Richardella, Anthony R. and Kally, James C. and Lee, Joon Sue and Chang, Houchen and Liu, Tao and Wu, Mingzhong and Samarth, Nitin and Low, Tony and Mkhoyan, K. Andre},
abstractNote = {Whereas thin films of topological insulators grown by molecular beam epitaxy often display regular, triangular features, Bi2Se3 films grown onto yttrium iron garnet (YIG) display much greater disorder. Here, we present observations of various types of disorder present in these films using atomic force microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the investigation reveals the presence of an amorphous metal oxide layer between the substrate and the film, which appears to smooth out the nanometer-scale undulations in the YIG surface. It also shows the existence of quasiordered arrays of heavy atoms in some interfacial regions, as well as rotations and tilting between adjacent grains and basal twinning at various heights in the film. Using density functional theory, we explore the impact of these prominent basal twins on the electronic structure of the film.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevmaterials.3.061201},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1613049}, journal = {Physical Review Materials},
issn = {2475-9953},
number = 6,
volume = 3,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jun 25 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Tue Jun 25 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

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Cited by: 8 works
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Works referencing / citing this record:

Large-scale interlayer rotations and Te grain boundaries in ( Bi , Sb ) 2 Te 3 thin films
journal, January 2020