2009/08/23 by Hailin Peng, Keji Lai, Desheng Kong +6 · 7 citations
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions #Chemical and Physical Properties of Materials #Electron #Gapless playback #Magnetoresistance #Quantum #Spintronics #Surface states #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topological insulator #Topological order #Topology (electrical circuits) #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nmat2609
5 pages, 4 figures, RevTex format
arxiv created 2009/08/23 · openalex publication_date 2009/12/13 · arxiv updated 2015/05/14 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Topological insulators represent novel phases of quantum matter with an insulating bulk gap and gapless edges or surface states. The two-dimensional topological insulator phase was predicted in HgTe quantum wells and confirmed by transport measurements. Recently, Bi2Se3 and related materials have been proposed as three-dimensional topological insulators with a single Dirac cone on the surface and verified by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments. Here, we show unambiguous transport evidence of topological surface states through periodic quantum interference effects in layered single-crystalline Bi2Se3 nanoribbons. Pronounced Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the magnetoresistance clearly demonstrate the coverage of two-dimensional electrons on the entire surface, as expected from the topological nature of the surface states. The dominance of the primary h/e oscillation and its temperature dependence demonstrate the robustness of these electronic states. Our results suggest that topological insulator nanoribbons afford novel promising materials for future spintronic devices at room temperature.