Crystal Symmetry Breaking in Few-Quintuple Bismuth Telluride Films: Applications in Nanometrology of Topological Insulators

Abstract

We report results of micro-Raman spectroscopy investigation of the "graphene-like" mechanically exfoliated single-crystal bismuth telluride films with the thickness ranging from a few-nm-range to bulk limit. It is found that the optical phonon mode A1u, which is not-Raman active in bulk bismuth telluride crystals, appears in the atomically-thin films due to crystal-symmetry breaking. The intensity ratios of the out-of-plane A1u and A1g modes to the in-plane Eg mode grow with decreasing film thickness. The evolution of Raman signatures with the film thickness can be used for identification of bismuth telluride crystals with the thickness of few-quintuple layers, which are important for topological insulator and thermoelectric applications.

13 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures; to be presented at MRS Spring Meeting, 2010

References in corpus (8)

• Electric Field Effect in Atomically Thin Carbon Films
• The Raman Fingerprint of Graphene
• Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Topological Phase Transition in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Topological Insulators with Inversion Symmetry
• Discovery (theoretical prediction and experimental observation) of a large-gap topological-insulator class with spin-polarized single-Dirac-cone on the surface
• A topological Dirac insulator in a quantum spin Hall phase : Experimental observation of first strong topological insulator
• Graphene-on-Sapphire and Graphene-on-Glass: Raman Spectroscopy Study

Cited by in corpus (41)

• Topological insulators and superconductors
• Micro-Raman Spectroscopy of Mechanically Exfoliated Few-Quintuple Layers of Bi(2)Te(3), Bi(2)Se(3) and Sb(2)Te(3) Materials
• One-Dimensional van der Waals Quantum Materials -- State of the Art and Perspectives
• Mechanically-Exfoliated Stacks of Thin Films of Bismuth Telluride Topological Insulators with Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance
• First Principles Investigations of the Atomic, Electronic, and Thermoelectric Properties of Equilibrium and Strained Bi2Se3 & Bi2Te3, with van der Waals Interactions
• The Commensurate-Incommensurate Charge-Density-Wave Transition and Phonon Zone Folding in 1T-TaSe2 Thin Films
• Newly observed first-order resonant Raman modes in few-layer MoS${}_2$
• Electron-phonon scattering in topological insulator thin films
• Phonon and Thermal Properties of Exfoliated Tantalum Diselenide Thin Films
• Electron-phonon scattering in topological insulators
• Anomalous dressing of Dirac fermions in the topological surface state of Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and CuxBi2Se3
• Nonstoichiometric doping and Bi antisite defect in single crystal Bi2Se3
• Fabrication and Characterization of Topological Insulator Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ Nanocrystals
• Holey topological thermoelectrics
• Helical fluctuations in the Raman response of the topological insulator Bi2Se3
• Anomalous Electron Transport in Field-Effect Transistors with Titanium Ditelluride Semimetal Thin-Film Channels
• Electron-hole pairing in topological insulator thin film
• Growth, characterization, and transport properties of ternary (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 topological insulator layers
• Phonon spectrum and bonding properties of Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$: Role of strong spin-orbit interaction
• Surface-to-bulk scattering in topological insulator films
• A Cleanroom in a Glovebox
• AFM and Raman studies of topological insulator materials subject to argon plasma etching
• Surface Phonons in the Topological Insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3
• Low vibration high numerical aperture automated variable temperature Raman microscope
• Revealing travel patterns and city structure with taxi trip data
• Experimental evidence on the Altshuler-Aronov-Spivak interference of the topological surface states in the exfoliated Bi2Te3 nanoflakes
• Dynamical properties of magnetic topological insulator $T$Bi${}_2$Te${}_4$ ($T=$Mn, Fe): phonons dispersion, Raman active modes, and chiral phonons study
• Van der Waals epitaxial growth of topological insulator Bi${}_{2-x}$Sb${}_x$Te${}_{3-y}$Se${}_y$ ultrathin nanoplate on electrically insulating fluorophlogopite mica
• Effect of Mn doping on ultrafast carrier dynamics in thin films of the topological insulator Bi2Se3
• Layer-by-layer disentanglement of Bloch states via frequency-domain photoemission
• Thermoelectric efficiency of topological insulators in a magnetic field
• Influence of local symmetry on lattice dynamics coupled to topological surface states
• Manipulating Spin-Lattice Coupling in Layered Magnetic Topological Insulator Heterostructure $via$ Interface Engineering
• Electrical modulation of the edge channel transport in topological insulators coupled to ferromagnetic leads
• Multiple scattering theory of quasiparticles on a topological insulator surface
• Growth control of highly textured Bi2Te3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition
• Inter-surface interaction via phonon in three-dimensional topological insulator
• Tunneling behavior of bismuth telluride nanoplates in electrical transport
• Preservation of Topological Surface States in Millimeter-Scale Transferred Membranes
• Topological insulator Bi2Te3 films synthesized by metal organic chemical vapor deposition
• Exploring Structural and Electronic Properties of Topological Insulator/Graphene Nano-heterostructures