73 research outputs found
Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Enhanced Magnetic Response by Spin-Orbit Coupling
We show that the spin Hall conductivity in insulators is related with a
magnetic susceptibility representing the strength of the spin-orbit coupling.
We use this relationship as a guiding principle to search real materials
showing quantum spin Hall effect. As a result, we theoretically predict that
bismuth will show the quantum spin Hall effect, both by calculating the helical
edge states, and by showing the non-triviality of the Z_2 topological number,
and propose possible experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Bi(111) thin film with insulating interior but metallic surfaces
The electrical conductance of molecular beam epitaxial Bi on BaF2(111) was
measured as a function of both film thickness (4-540 nm) and temperature (5-300
K). Unlike bulk Bi as a prototype semimetal, the Bi thin films up to 90 nm are
found to be insulating in the interiors but metallic on the surfaces. This
result has not only resolved unambiguously the long controversy about the
existence of semimetal-semiconductor transition in Bi thin film but also
provided a straightforward interpretation for the long-puzzled temperature
dependence of the resistivity of Bi thin films, which in turn might suggest
some potential applications in spintronics
Phase transition between the quantum spin Hall and insulator phases in 3D: emergence of a topological gapless phase
Phase transitions between the quantum spin Hall and the insulator phases in
three dimensions are studied. We find that in inversion-asymmetric systems
there appears a gapless phase between the quantum spin Hall and insulator
phases in three dimensions, which is in contrast with the two-dimensional case.
Existence of this gapless phase stems from a topological nature of gapless
points (diabolical points) in three dimensions, but not in two dimensions.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Conductance of a STM contact on the surface of a thin film
The conductance of a contact, having a radius smaller than the Fermi wave
length, on the surface of a thin metal film is investigated theoretically. It
is shown that quantization of the electron energy spectrum in the film leads to
a step-like dependence of differential conductance G(V) as a function of
applied bias eV. The distance between neighboring steps in eV equals the energy
level spacing due to size quantization. We demonstrate that a study of G(V) for
both signs of the voltage maps the spectrum of energy levels above and below
Fermi surface in scanning tunneling experiments.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Size-dependent properties of dithallium selenide
We report on size-dependent properties of dithallium selenide, Tl2Se. We have
carried out a comparative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of Tl2Se
nanorods and bulk samples, measuring NMR spectra and spin-lattice relaxation
rate of 203Tl and 205Tl isotopes. Though bulk Tl2Se was reported to be a metal,
the Korringa-like spin-lattice relaxation behavior is observed only at low
temperatures and is transformed to an activation regime above ~200 K. This
finding is interpreted assuming a two-band model in the semimetallic compound.
Our measurements show significant difference in the Knight shift and indirect
nuclear exchange coupling for the bulk and nanorod Tl2Se samples, reflecting
noticeable distinction in their electronic structure. At that, Tl2Se nanorods
are semiconductors and exhibit a characteristic activation behavior in the
spin-lattice relaxation rate due to the thermal excitation of carriers to the
conduction band. The obtained size dependence of the Tl2Se properties is
interpreted in terms of the semimetal-semiconductor transformation due to the
quantum confinement.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Magnetic-field-dependent zero-bias diffusive anomaly in Pb oxide-n-InAs structures: Coexistence of two- and three-dimensional states
The results of experimental and theoretical studies of zero-bias anomaly
(ZBA) in the Pb-oxide-n-InAs tunnel structures in magnetic field up to 6T are
presented. A specific feature of the structures is a coexistence of the 2D and
3D states at the Fermi energy near the semiconductor surface. The dependence of
the measured ZBA amplitude on the strength and orientation of the applied
magnetic field is in agreement with the proposed theoretical model. According
to this model, electrons tunnel into 2D states, and move diffusively in the 2D
layer, whereas the main contribution to the screening comes from 3D electrons.Comment: 8 double-column pages, REVTeX, 9 eps figures embedded with epsf,
published versio
Quantum Conductance in Semimetallic Bismuth Nanocontacts
Electronic transport properties of bismuth nanocontacts are analyzed by means
of a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The subquantum steps
observed in the conductance versus elongation curves give evidence of atomic
rearrangements in the contact. The underlying quantum nature of the conductance
reveals itself through peaks in the conductance histograms. The shape of the
conductance curves at 77 K is well described by a simple gliding mechanism for
the contact evolution during elongation. The strikingly different behaviour at
4 K suggests a charge carrier transition from light to heavy ones as the
contact cross section becomes sufficiently small.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Let
Electronic Transport in a Three-dimensional Network of 1-D Bismuth Quantum Wires
The resistance R of a high density network of 6 nm diameter Bi wires in
porous Vycor glass is studied in order to observe its expected semiconductor
behavior. R increases from 300 K down to 0.3 K. Below 4 K, where R varies
approximately as ln(1/T), the order-of-magnitude of the resistance rise, as
well as the behavior of the magnetoresistance are consistent with localization
and electron-electron interaction theories of a one-dimensional disordered
conductor in the presence of strong spin-orbit scattering. We show that this
behaviour and the surface-enhanced carrier density may mask the proposed
semimetal-to-semiconductor transition for quantum Bi wires.Comment: 19 pages total, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
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