SmB6 is a strongly correlated mixed-valence Kondo insulator with a newly
discovered surface state, proposed to be of non-trivial topological origin.
However, the surface state dominates electrical conduction only below T* ~ 4 K
limiting its scientific investigation and device application. Here, we report
the enhancement of T * in SmB6 under the application of tensile strain. With
0.7% tensile strain we report surface dominated conduction at up to a
temperature of 240 K, persisting even after the strain has been removed. This
can be explained in the framework of strain-tuned temporal and spatial
fluctuations of f-electron configurations, which might be generally applied to
other mixed-valence materials. We note that this amount of strain can be indued
in epitaxial SmB6 films via substrate in potential device applications.Comment: to appear in Nature Material
