Scientific Achievement
Observed spin-momentum locked surface states in amorphous Bi2Se3 films, similar to crystalline topological insulator Bi2Se3
Significance and Impact
Represents a milestone toward observing theoretically predicted electronic topological states in amorphous materials with greater flexibility in synthesis for future technological devices
Research Details
- Synthesized amorphous Bi2Se3 thin films with short-range order similar to topological single crystals
- Magneto-transport shows increased bulk resistivity compared to crystalline Bi2Se3 and two-dimensional conductance channels evidenced by weak antilocalization
- ARPES shows surface states that cross the bulk electronic gap. These states are spin polarized with distinct energy regions of spin polarization seen in SARPES, matching theory using newly developed amorphous topological tight-binding model
- Synthesized nanocrystalline Bi2Se3 which did NOT show these effects
Publication Details
P. Corbae, S. Ciocys, D. Varjas, E. Kennedy, S. Zeltmann, M. Molina-Ruiz, S. Griffin, C. Jozwiak, Z. Chen, L.-W. Wang, A. M. Minor, M. Scott, A. G. Grushin, A. Lanzara, F. Hellman, Nature Materials (2023).