Large Enhancement of Electronic Thermal Conductivity and Lorenz Number in Topological Insulator Bi2Te2Se Thin Films

Abstract

Topological insulators (TI) have attracted extensive research effort due to their insulating bulk states but conducting surface states. However, investigation and understanding of thermal transport in topological insulators, particularly the effect of surface states are lacking. In this work, we studied thickness-dependent in-plane thermal conductivity of Bi2Te2Se TI thin films. A large enhancement of both thermal and electrical conductivity was observed for films with thicknesses below 20 nm, which is attributed to the surface states and bulk-insulating nature of these films. Surprisingly, a surface Lorenz number of over 10 times the Sommerfeld value was found. Transport measurements indicated that the surface is near the charge neutrality point when the film thickness is below 20 nm. Possible reasons for the large Lorenz number include the electrical and thermal current decoupling in the surface state Dirac fluid and the bipolar diffusion transport involving surface states.

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