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arXiv · 2106.06217

Lifting the spin-momentum locking in ultra-thin topological insulator films

Arthur Leis·Michael Schleenvoigt·Vasily Cherepanov·Felix Lüpke·Peter Schüffelgen·Gregor Mussler·Detlev Grützmacher·Bert Voigtländer·F. Stefan Tautz
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Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) are known to carry 2D Dirac-like topological surface states in which spin-momentum locking prohibits backscattering. When thinned down to a few nanometers, the hybridization between the topological surface states at the top and bottom surfaces results in a topological quantum phase transition, which can lead to the emergence of a quantum spin Hall phase. Here, we study the thickness-dependent transport properties across the quantum phase transition on the example of (Bi$_{0.16}$Sb$_{0.84}$)$_2$Te$_3$ films, with a four-tip scanning tunnelling microscope. Our findings reveal an exponential drop of the conductivity below the critical thickness. The steepness of this drop indicates the presence of spin-conserving backscattering between the top and bottom surface states, effectively lifting the spin-momentum locking and resulting in the opening of a gap at the Dirac point. Our experiments provide crucial steps towards the detection of quantum spin Hall states in transport measurements.

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Arthur Leis, Michael Schleenvoigt, Vasily Cherepanov, Felix Lüpke, Peter Schüffelgen, Gregor Mussler, Detlev Grützmacher, Bert Voigtländer, F. Stefan Tautz. 2021-06-11. Lifting the spin-momentum locking in ultra-thin topological insulator films. https://doi.org/10.1002/qute.202100083

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