Controlled removal of amorphous Se capping layer from a topological insulator

Journal Article · Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4904803· OSTI ID:22395524

Virwani, Kumar; Pushp, Aakash; Topuria, Teya; Delenia, Eugene; Rice, Philip; Kellock, Andrew; Parkin, Stuart ^[1]; Harrison, Sara E. ^[2]; Collins-McIntyre, Liam; Hesjedal, Thorsten ^[3]; Harris, James ^[2]

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1. IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, California 95120 (United States)
2. Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)
3. Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)

We report on the controlled removal of an amorphous Se capping layer from Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} topological insulators. We show that the Se coalesces into micron-sized islands before desorbing from the surface at a temperature of ∼150 °C. In situ Auger Electron Spectroscopy reveals that Se replaces a significant fraction of the Te near the top surface of the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Transmission Electron Microscopy show that after heating, Se has been incorporated in the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} lattice down to ∼7 nm from its top surface while remaining iso-structural.

• OSTI ID: 22395524
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 24; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
AUGER ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
BISMUTH SELENIDES
BISMUTH TELLURIDES
CRYSTAL LATTICES
LAYERS
RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY
SURFACES
TOPOLOGY
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY