1 research outputs found
Phase Separation of Dirac Electrons in Topological Insulators at the Spatial Limit
In
this work we present unique signatures manifested by the local electronic
properties of the topological surface state in Bi<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> nanostructures as the spatial limit is approached. We concentrate
on the pure nanoscale limit (nanoplatelets) with spatial electronic
resolution down to 1 nm. The highlights include strong dependencies
on nanoplatelet size: (1) observation of a phase separation of Dirac
electrons whose length scale decreases as the spatial limit is approached,
and (2) the evolution from heavily n-type to lightly n-type surface
doping as nanoplatelet thickness increases. Our results show a new
approach to tune the Dirac point together with reduction of electronic
disorder in topological insulator (TI) nanostructured systems. We
expect our work will provide a new route for application of these
nanostructured Dirac systems in electronic devices