arXiv subjects

Kouji Segawa

Publications and source records attributed to Kouji Segawa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Top gating of epitaxial (Bi_{1-x}Sb_x)2Te3 topological insulator thin films

The tunability of the chemical potential for a wide range encompassing the Dirac point is important for many future devices based on topological insulators. Here we report a method to fabricate highly efficient top gates on epitaxially grown (Bi_{1-x}Sb_x)2Te3 topological insulator thin films without degrading the film quality. By combining an in situ deposited Al2O3 capping layer and a SiN_x dielectric layer deposited at low temperature, we were able to protect the films from degradation during the fabrication processes. We demonstrate that by using this top gate, the carriers in the top surface can be efficiently tuned from n- to p-type. We also show that magnetotransport properties give evidence for decoupled transport through top and bottom surfaces for the entire range of gate voltage, which is only possible in truly bulk-insulating samples.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

A new superconductor derived from topological insulator heterostructure

Topological superconductors (TSCs) are of significant current interest because they offer promising platforms for finding Majorana fermions. Here we report a new superconductor synthesized by intercalating Cu into a naturally-formed topological insulator (TI) heterostructure consisting of Bi2Se3 TI units separated by nontopological PbSe units. For the first time in a TI-based superconductor, the specific-heat behavior of this material suggests the occurrence of unconventional superconductivity with gap nodes. The existence of gap nodes in a strongly spin-orbit coupled superconductor would give rise to spin-split Andreev bound states that are the hallmark of topological superconductivity. Hence, this new superconductor emerges as an intriguing candidate TSC.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Topological Surface Transport in Epitaxial SnTe Thin Films Grown on Bi2Te3

The topological crystalline insulator SnTe has been grown epitaxially on a Bi2Te3 buffer layer by molecular beam epitaxy. In a 30-nm-thick SnTe film, p- and n-type carriers are found to coexist, and Shubnikov--de Haas oscillation data suggest that the n-type carriers are Dirac fermions residing on the SnTe (111) surface. This transport observation of the topological surface state in a p-type topological crystalline insulator became possible due to a downward band bending on the free SnTe surface, which appears to be of intrinsic origin.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Bulk topological insulators as inborn spintronics detectors

Detection and manipulation of electrons' spins are key prerequisites for spin-based electronics or spintronics. This is usually achieved by contacting ferromagnets with metals or semiconductors, in which the relaxation of spins due to spin-orbit coupling limits both the efficiency and the length scale. In topological insulator materials, on the contrary, the spin-orbit coupling is so strong that the spin direction uniquely determines the current direction, which allows us to conceive a whole new scheme for spin detection and manipulation. Nevertheless, even the most basic process, the spin injection into a topological insulator from a ferromagnet, has not yet been demonstrated. Here we report successful spin injection into the surface states of topological insulators by using a spin pumping technique. By measuring the voltage that shows up across the samples as a result of spin pumping, we demonstrate that a spin-electricity conversion effect takes place in the surface states of bulk-insulating topological insulators Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 and Sn-doped Bi2Te2Se. In this process, due to the two-dimensional nature of the surface state, there is no spin current along the perpendicular direction. Hence, the mechanism of this phenomenon is different from the inverse spin Hall effect and even predicts perfect conversion between spin and electricity at room temperature. The present results reveal a great advantage of topological insulators as inborn spintronics devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Two types of Dirac-cone surface states on (111) surface of topological crystalline insulator SnTe

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on the (111) surface of the topological crystalline insulator SnTe. Distinct from a pair of Dirac-cone surface states across the X_bar point of the surface Brillouin zone on the (001) surface, we revealed two types of Dirac-cone surface states each centered at the G_bar and M_bar points, which originate from the bulk-band inversion at the L points. We also found that the energy location of the Dirac point and the Dirac velocity are different from each other. This ARPES experiment demonstrates the surface states on different crystal faces of a topological material, and it elucidates how mirror-symmetry-protected Dirac cones of a topological crystalline insulator show up on surfaces with different symmetries.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Unexpectedly robust protection from backscattering in the topological insulator Bi$_{1.5}$Sb$_{0.5}$Te$_{1.7}$Se$_{1.3}$

Electron scattering in the topological surface state (TSS) of the bulk-insulating topological insulator Bi$_{1.5}$Sb$_{0.5}$Te$_{1.7}$Se$_{1.3}$ was studied using quasiparticle interference observed by scanning tunneling microscopy. It was found that not only the 180$^{\circ}$ backscattering but also a wide range of backscattering angles of 100$^{\circ}$--180$^{\circ}$ is effectively prohibited in the TSS. This conclusion was obtained by comparing the observed scattering vectors with the diameters of the constant-energy contours of the TSS, which were measured for both occupied and unoccupied states using time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The unexpectedly robust protection from backscattering in the TSS is a good news for applications, but it poses a challenge to the theoretical understanding of the transport in the TSS.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Unusual nature of fully-gapped superconductivity in In-doped SnTe

The superconductor Sn_{1-x}In_{x}Te is a doped topological crystalline insulator and has become important as a candidate topological superconductor, but its superconducting phase diagram is poorly understood. By measuring about 50 samples of high-quality, vapor-grown single crystals, we found that the dependence of the superconducting transition temperature Tc on the In content x presents a qualitative change across the critical doping xc ~ 3.8%, at which a structural phase transition takes place. Intriguingly, in the ferroelectric rhombohedral phase below the critical doping, Tc is found to be strongly ENHANCED with impurity scattering. It appears that the nature of electron pairing changes across xc in Sn_{1-x}In_{x}Te.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Relationship between Fermi-Surface Warping and Out-of-Plane Spin Polarization in Topological Insulators: a View from Spin-Resolved ARPES

We have performed spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the topological insulator Pb(Bi,Sb)2Te4 (Pb124) and observed significant out-of-plane spin polarization on the hexagonally warped Dirac-cone surface state. To put this into context, we carried out quantitative analysis of the warping strengths for various topological insulators (Pb124, Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, and TlBiSe2) and elucidated that the out-of-plane spin polarization Pz is systematically correlated with the warping strength. However, the magnitude of Pz is found to be only half of that expected from the kp theory when the warping is strong, which points to the possible role of many-body effects. Besides confirming a universal relationship between the spin polarization and the surface state structure, our data provide an empirical guiding principle for tuning the spin polarization in topological insulators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Anomalous metallic state above the upper critical field of the conventional three-dimensional superconductor AgSnSe2 with strong intrinsic disorder

We report superconducting properties of AgSnSe2 which is a conventional type-II superconductor in the very dirty limit due to intrinsically strong electron scatterings. While this material is an isotropic three-dimensional (3D) superconductor with a not-so-short coherence length where strong vortex fluctuations are NOT expected, we found that the magnetic-field-induced resistive transition at fixed temperatures becomes increasingly broader toward zero temperature and, surprisingly, that this broadened transition is taking place largely ABOVE the upper critical field determined thermodynamically from the specific heat. This result points to the existence of an anomalous metallic state possibly caused by quantum phase fluctuations in a strongly-disordered 3D superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Tunability of the k-space Location of the Dirac Cones in the Topological Crystalline Insulator Pb1-xSnxTe

We have performed systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the topological crystalline insulator (TCI) Pb1-xSnxTe to elucidate the evolution of its electronic states across the topological phase transition. As previously reported, the band structure of SnTe (x = 1.0) measured on the (001) surface possesses a pair of Dirac-cone surface states located symmetrically across the Xbar point in the (110) mirror plane. Upon approaching the topological phase transition into the trivial phase at x_c ~ 0.25, we discovered that Dirac cones gradually move toward the Xbar point with its spectral weight gradually reduced with decreasing x. In samples with x <= 0.2, the Dirac-cone surface state is completely gone, confirming the occurrence of the topological phase transition. Also, the evolution of the valence band feature is found to be consistent with the bulk band inversion taking place at x_c. The tunability of the location of the Dirac cones in the Brillouin zone would be useful for applications requiring Fermi-surface matching with other materials, such as spin injection.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Anomalous dressing of Dirac fermions in the topological surface state of Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and CuxBi2Se3

Quasiparticle dynamics on the topological surface state of Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and superconducting CuxBi2Se3 are studied by 7 eV laser-based angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find strong mode-couplings in the Dirac-cone surface states at energies of ~3 and ~15-20 meV, which leads to an exceptionally large coupling constant of ~3, which is one of the strongest ever reported for any material. This result is compatible with the recent observation of a strong Kohn anomaly in the surface phonon dispersion of Bi2Se3, but it appears that the theoretically proposed "spin-plasmon" excitations realized in helical metals are also playing an important role. Intriguingly, the ~3 meV mode coupling is found to be enhanced in the superconducting state of CuxBi2Se3.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Fermiology of Strongly Spin-Orbit Coupled Superconductor Sn1-xInxTe and its Implication to Topological Superconductivity

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the strongly spin-orbit coupled low-carrier density superconductor Sn1-xInxTe (x = 0.045) to elucidate the electronic states relevant to the possible occurrence of topological superconductivity recently reported for this compound from point-contact spectroscopy. The obtained energy-band structure reveals a small holelike Fermi surface centered at the L point of the bulk Brillouin zone, together with a signature of a topological surface state which indicates that this superconductor is essentially a doped topological crystalline insulator characterized by band inversion and mirror symmetry. A comparison of the electronic states with a band-non-inverted superconductor possessing a similar Fermi surface structure, Pb1-xTlxTe, suggests that the anomalous behavior in the superconducting state of Sn1-xInxTe is likely to be related to the peculiar orbital characteristics of the bulk valence band and/or the presence of a topological surface state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Anomalous suppression of the superfluid density in the CuxBi2Se3 superconductor upon progressive Cu intercalation

CuxBi2Se3 was recently found to be likely the first example of a time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor accompanied by helical Majorana fermions on the surface. Here we present that progressive Cu intercalation into this system introduces significant disorder and leads to an anomalous suppression of the superfluid density which was obtained from the measurements of the lower critical field. At the same time, the transition temperature T_c is only moderately suppressed, which agrees with a recent prediction for the impurity effect in this class of topological superconductors bearing strong spin-orbit coupling. Those unusual disorder effects give support to the possible odd-parity pairing state in CuxBi2Se3.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Odd-Parity Pairing and Topological Superconductivity in a Strongly Spin-Orbit Coupled Semiconductor

The existence of topological superconductors preserving time-reversal symmetry was recently predicted, and they are expected to provide a solid-state realization of itinerant massless Majorana fermions and a route to topological quantum computation. Their first concrete example, CuxBi2Se3, was discovered last year, but the search for new materials has so far been hindered by the lack of guiding principle. Here, we report point-contact spectroscopy experiments showing that the low-carrier-density superconductor Sn_{1-x}In_{x}Te is accompanied with surface Andreev bound states which, with the help of theoretical analysis, give evidence for odd-parity pairing and topological superconductivity. The present and previous finding of topological superconductivity in Sn_{1-x}In_{x}Te and CuxBi2Se3 demonstrates that odd-parity pairing favored by strong spin-orbit coupling is a common underlying mechanism for materializing topological superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Ambipolar transport in bulk crystals of a topological insulator by gating with ionic liquid

We report that the ionic-liquid gating of bulk single crystals of a topological insulator can control the type of the surface carriers and even results in ambipolar transport. This was made possible by the use of a highly bulk-insulating BiSbTeSe2 system where the chemical potential is located close to both the surface Dirac point and the middle of the bulk band gap. Thanks to the use of ionic liquid, the control of the surface chemical potential by gating was possible on the whole surface of a bulk three-dimensional sample, opening new experimental opportunities for topological insulators. In addition, our data suggest the existence of a nearly reversible electrochemical reaction that causes bulk carrier doping into the crystal during the ionic-liquid gating process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Manifestation of Topological Protection in Transport Properties of Epitaxial Bi2Se3 Thin Films

The massless Dirac fermions residing on the surface of three-dimensional topological insulators are protected from backscattering and cannot be localized by disorder, but such protection can be lifted in ultrathin films when the three-dimensionality is lost. By measuring the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in a series of high-quality Bi2Se3 thin films, we revealed a systematic evolution of the surface conductance as a function of thickness and found a striking manifestation of the topological protection: The metallic surface transport abruptly diminishes below the critical thickness of ~6 nm, at which an energy gap opens in the surface state and the Dirac fermions become massive. At the same time, the weak antilocalization behavior is found to weaken in the gapped phase due to the loss of πBerry phase.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Spin Polarization of Gapped Dirac Surface States Near the Topological Phase Transition in TlBi(S1-xSex)2

We performed systematic spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of TlBi(S1-xSex)2 which undergoes a topological phase transition at x ~ 0.5. In TlBiSe2 (x = 1.0), we revealed a helical spin texture of Dirac-cone surface states with an intrinsic in-plane spin polarization of ~ 0.8. The spin polarization still survives in the gapped surface states at x > 0.5, although it gradually weakens upon approaching x = 0.5 and vanishes in the non-topological phase. No evidence for the out-of-plane spin polarization was found irrespective of x and momentum. The present results unambiguously indicate the topological origin of the gapped Dirac surface states, and also impose a constraint on models to explain the origin of mass acquisition of Dirac fermions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Manipulation of Topological States and Bulk Band Gap Using Natural Heterostructures of a Topological Insulator

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on (PbSe)5(Bi2Se3)3m, which forms a natural multilayer heterostructure consisting of a topological insulator (TI) and an ordinary insulator. For m = 2, we observed a gapped Dirac-cone state within the bulk-band gap, suggesting that the topological interface states are effectively encapsulated by block layers; furthermore, it was found that the quantum confinement effect of the band dispersions of Bi2Se3 layers enhances the effective bulk-band gap to 0.5 eV, the largest ever observed in TIs. In addition, we found that the system is no longer in the topological phase at m = 1, pointing to a topological phase transition between m = 1 and 2. These results demonstrate that utilization of naturally-occurring heterostructures is a new promising strategy for realizing exotic quantum phenomena and device applications of TIs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗