The effect of substrate and surface plasmons on symmetry breaking at the substrate interface of the topological insulator Bi₂Te₃.

ABSTRACT: A pressing challenge in engineering devices with topological insulators (TIs) is that electron transport is dominated by the bulk conductance, and so dissipationless surface states account for only a small fraction of the conductance. Enhancing the surface-to-volume ratio is a common method to enhance the relative contribution of such states. In thin films with reduced thickness, the confinement results in symmetry-breaking and is critical for the experimental observation of topologically protected surface states. We employ micro-Raman and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to examine three different mechanisms of symmetry breaking in Bi₂Te₃ TI thin films: surface plasmon generation, charge transfer, and application of a periodic strain potential. These mechanisms are fa

SUBMITTER: Wiesner M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6468116 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature