Evidence for a conducting surface ground state in high-quality single crystalline FeSi
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093,, Center for Advanced Nanoscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093,
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093,
- Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803,
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093,, Center for Advanced Nanoscience, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093,, Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093,
Significance The compound FeSi has been the focus of intense research efforts due to its unusual electrical, magnetic, and lattice properties, which are not well understood. This study reveals a semiconducting-to-metallic cross-over with decreasing temperature at 19 K, which is not accompanied by any bulk features, in single-crystal samples of FeSi. The low-temperature metallic behavior can be significantly enhanced by reducing the width/thickness of the sample. Application of an external magnetic field easily suppresses the electrical resistivity at low temperatures, but does not have a noticeable effect on the temperature below which metallic conduction occurs. Evidence for a conducting surface state on FeSi similar to the surface state on a topological insulator is presented.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Security; USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-04ER46105; NA0002909
- OSTI ID:
- 1463065
- Journal Information:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 34 Vol. 115; ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Isoelectronic perturbations to f - d -electron hybridization and the enhancement of hidden order in URu 2 Si 2
Quasiparticle spectroscopy in technologically relevant niobium using London penetration depth measurements: experiment and theory