Ripple modulated electronic structure of a 3D topological insulator

Abstract

3D topological insulators, similar to the Dirac material graphene, host linearly dispersing states with unique properties and a strong potential for applications. A key, missing element in realizing some of the more exotic states in topological insulators is the ability to manipulate local electronic properties. Analogy with graphene suggests a possible avenue via a topographic route by the formation of superlattice structures such as a moiré patterns or ripples, which can induce controlled potential variations. However, while the charge and lattice degrees of freedom are intimately coupled in graphene, it is not clear a priori how a physical buckling or ripples might influence the electronic structure of topological insulators. Here we use Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy to determine the effects of a one-dimensional periodic buckling on the electronic properties of Bi2Te3. By tracking the spatial variations of the scattering vector of the interference patterns as well as features associated with bulk density of states, we show that the buckling creates a periodic potential modulation, which in turn modulates the surface and the bulk states. The strong correlation between the topographic ripples and electronic structure indicates that while doping alone is insufficient to create predetermined potential landscapes, creating ripples provides a path to controlling the potential seen by the Dirac electrons on a local scale. Such rippled features may be engineered by strain in thin films and may find use in future applications of topological insulators.

Nature Communications (accepted)

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Cited by in corpus (17)

• Colloquium: Topological Band Theory
• A quantum phase transition from triangular to stripe charge order in NbSe${}_2$
• Mapping the unconventional orbital texture in topological crystalline insulators
• Strain engineering Dirac surface states in heteroepitaxial topological crystalline insulator thin films
• Possible strain induced Mott gap collapse in 1T-TaS${}_2$
• Persistent Optical Gating of a Topological Insulator
• Ballistic geometric resistance resonances in a single surface of a topological insulator
• Generation of strain-induced pseudo-magnetic field in a doped type-II Weyl semimetal
• Defect Role in the Carrier Tunable Topological Insulator (Bi${}_{1-x}$Sb${}_x$)${}_2$Te${}_3$ Thin Films
• Interface symmetry and spin control in topological insulator-semiconductor heterostructures
• Nanoscale Determination of the Mass Enhancement Factor in the Lightly-Doped Bulk Insulator Lead Selenide
• Elastic scattering of surface states on three-dimensional topological insulators
• Unconventional band structure for a periodically gated surface of a three dimensional Topological Insulator
• Particle-hole asymmetry and quantum confinement effects on the magneto-optical response of topological insulator thin-films
• Electron scattering in a superlattice of line defects on the surface of topological insulators
• Non-local Chemical Potential Modulation in Topological Insulators Via Electric Field Driven Trapped Charge Migration
• Nature of Spontaneous Curvature in Suspended Graphene