Surface state reconstruction in ion-damaged SmB_6

Abstract

We have used ion-irradiation to damage the (001) surfaces of SmB_6 single crystals to varying depths, and have measured the resistivity as a function of temperature for each depth of damage. We observe a reduction in the residual resistivity with increasing depth of damage. Our data are consistent with a model in which the surface state is not destroyed by the ion-irradiation, but instead the damaged layer is poorly conducting and the initial surface state is reconstructed below the damage. This behavior is consistent with a surface state that is topologically protected.

5 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (20)

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• Topological Kondo Insulators
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• Topological Superconductor-Luttinger Liquid Junctions
• Surface Theory of a Family of Topological Kondo Insulators
• Spintronics and spincaloritronics in topological insulators
• Composition-spread Growth and the Robust Topological Surface State of Kondo insulator SmB6 Thin Films
• Mott scattering at the interface between a metal and a topological insulator
• Ettingshausen effect due to Majorana modes

Cited by in corpus (18)

• Robustness of the Insulating Bulk in the Topological Kondo Insulator SmB${}_6$
• Topological surface states interacting with bulk excitations in the Kondo insulator SmB${}_6$ revealed via planar tunneling spectroscopy
• Pressure-induced quantum phase transitions in topological insulator YbB6
• Modification and Control of Topological Insulator Surface States Using Surface Disorder
• Observation of the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of SmB6 thin films
• A highly asymmetric nodal semimetal in bulk SmB6
• Chemical and valence reconstruction at the surface of SmB6 revealed with resonant soft x-ray reflectometry
• Topological surface conduction in Kondo insulator YbB${}_{12}$
• Electron spin dynamics of two-dimensional layered materials
• Robust Surface States indicated by Magnetotransport in SmB6 Thin Films
• Planar tunneling spectroscopy of the topological Kondo insulator SmB${}_6$
• Fragility of the Kondo insulating gap against disorder: relevance to recent puzzles in topological Kondo insulators
• Non-universal weak antilocalization effect in cubic topological Kondo insulators
• Many-body breakdown of indirect gap in topological Kondo insulators
• An STM perspective on hexaborides: Surface states of the Kondo insulator SmB${}_6$
• Surface reconstruction in a tight-binding model for the topological Kondo insulator SmB6
• Quantum phase transition and destruction of Kondo effect in pressurized SmB6
• Persistence of correlation-driven surface states in SmB6 under pressure