Response of the topological surface state to surface disorder in TlBiSe${}_2$

Abstract

Through a combination of experimental techniques we show that the topmost layer of the topo- logical insulator TlBiSe${}_2$ as prepared by cleavage is formed by irregularly shaped Tl islands at cryogenic temperatures and by mobile Tl atoms at room temperature. No trivial surface states are observed in photoemission at low temperatures, which suggests that these islands can not be re- garded as a clear surface termination. The topological surface state is, however, clearly resolved in photoemission experiments. This is interpreted as a direct evidence of its topological self-protection and shows the robust nature of the Dirac cone like surface state. Our results can also help explain the apparent mass acquisition in S-doped TlBiSe${}_2$.

arXiv comment16 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (18)

• Topological Insulators
• Topological insulators and superconductors
• Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Topological Surface States Protected From Backscattering by Chiral Spin Texture
• p-type Bi2Se3 for topological insulator and low temperature thermoelectric applications
• STM imaging of electronic waves on the surface of Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$: topologically protected surface states and hexagonal warping effects
• Coexistence of the topological state and a two-dimensional electron gas on the surface of Bi2Se3
• Topological Phase Transition and Texture Inversion in a Tunable Topological Insulator
• Large tuneable Rashba spin splitting of a two-dimensional electron gas in Bi2Se3
• Landau Quantization of Massless Dirac Fermions in Topological Insulator
• Reactive chemical doping of the $B{i}_{2}S{e}_3$ topological insulator
• Unexpected mass acquisition of Dirac fermions at the quantum phase transition of a topological insulator
• Photoemission Spectroscopy of Magnetic and Non-magnetic Impurities on the Surface of the Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ Topological Insulator
• Tolerance of topological surface states towards magnetic moments: Fe on Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3
• In-plane magnetic anisotropy of Fe atoms on Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$(111)
• Stability of the Bi2Se3(111) topological state: electron-phonon and -defect scattering
• The fate of topological-insulator surface states under strong disorder
• Experimental verification of the surface termination in the topological insulator TlBiSe${}_2$ using core-level photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Electronic structure of quantum materials studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy
• Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission on topological materials
• Role of surface termination in realizing well-isolated topological surface states within the bulk band gap in TlBiSe${}_2$ and TlBiTe${}_2$
• Sputtering induced re-emergence of the topological surface state in Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Experimental demonstration of pitfalls and remedies for precise force deconvolution in frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy
• Switching on surface conduction in a topological insulator