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Nano Research 2010, 3(12): 874-880 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-010-0060-2
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 10 November 2010

Atomically Smooth Ultrathin Films of Topological Insulator Sb2Te3

Show Author's Information Guang Wang1,  Xiegang Zhu1,  Jing Wen1,  Xi Chen1,  Ke He2,  Lili Wang2,  Xucun Ma2,  Ying Liu3,4,5,  Xi Dai2,  Zhong Fang2,  Jinfeng Jia1,4( ),  Qikun Xue1,2
Key Lab for AtomicMolecular and NanoscienceDepartment of PhysicsTsinghua UniversityBeijing100084China
Institute of Physicsthe Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190China
Department of PhysicsThe Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania16802USA
Department of PhysicsShanghai Jiaotong UniversityShanghai200240China
epartment of Physics, Zhejiang University, HangzhouChina
Keywords:
electronic structure, scanning tunneling microscopy, molecular beam epitaxy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, Topological insulator
Cite this article:
Wang G, Zhu X, Wen J, et al. Atomically Smooth Ultrathin Films of Topological Insulator Sb2Te3. Nano Research, 2010, 3(12): 874-880. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-010-0060-2
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Abstract Full text About this article

The growth and characterization of single-crystalline thin films of topological insulators (TIs) is an important step towards their possible applications. Using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that moderately thick Sb2Te3 films grown layer-by-layer by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si(111) are atomically smooth, single-crystalline, and intrinsically insulating. Furthermore, these films were found to exhibit a robust TI electronic structure with their Fermi energy lying within the energy gap of the bulk that intersects only the Dirac cone of the surface states. Depositing Cs in situ moves the Fermi energy of the Sb2Te3 films without changing the electronic band structure, as predicted by theory. We found that the TI behavior is preserved in Sb2Te3 films down to five quintuple layers (QLs).


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About this article

Atomically Smooth Ultrathin Films of Topological Insulator Sb2Te3

Show Author's information Guang Wang1, Xiegang Zhu1, Jing Wen1, Xi Chen1, Ke He2, Lili Wang2, Xucun Ma2, Ying Liu3,4,5, Xi Dai2, Zhong Fang2, Jinfeng Jia1,4( ), Qikun Xue1,2
Key Lab for AtomicMolecular and NanoscienceDepartment of PhysicsTsinghua UniversityBeijing100084China
Institute of Physicsthe Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100190China
Department of PhysicsThe Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania16802USA
Department of PhysicsShanghai Jiaotong UniversityShanghai200240China
epartment of Physics, Zhejiang University, HangzhouChina

Abstract

The growth and characterization of single-crystalline thin films of topological insulators (TIs) is an important step towards their possible applications. Using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that moderately thick Sb2Te3 films grown layer-by-layer by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si(111) are atomically smooth, single-crystalline, and intrinsically insulating. Furthermore, these films were found to exhibit a robust TI electronic structure with their Fermi energy lying within the energy gap of the bulk that intersects only the Dirac cone of the surface states. Depositing Cs in situ moves the Fermi energy of the Sb2Te3 films without changing the electronic band structure, as predicted by theory. We found that the TI behavior is preserved in Sb2Te3 films down to five quintuple layers (QLs).

Keywords: electronic structure, scanning tunneling microscopy, molecular beam epitaxy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, Topological insulator

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Publication history

Received: 19 August 2010
Revised: 10 October 2010
Accepted: 17 October 2010
Published: 10 November 2010
Issue date: December 2010

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© The Author(s) 2010

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the National Basic Research Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST). Work at Pennsylvania State University is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DMR 0908700.

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