Electrical injection and detection of spin-polarized currents in topological insulator Bi2Te2Se.

ABSTRACT: Topological insulators (TIs) are an unusual phase of quantum matter with nontrivial spin-momentum-locked topological surface states (TSS). The electrical detection of spin-momentum-locking of TSS has been lacking till very recently. Many of the results are from samples with significant bulk conduction, such as Bi2Se3, where it can be challenging to separate the surface and bulk contribution to the spin signal. Here, we report spin potentiometric measurements in flakes exfoliated from bulk insulating Bi2Te2Se crystals, using two outside nonmagnetic contacts for driving a DC spin helical current and a middle ferromagnetic (FM)-Al2O3 contact for detecting spin polarization. The voltage measured by the FM electrode exhibits a hysteretic step-like change when sweeping an in-plane magnetic field

SUBMITTER: Tian J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4585757 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature