Magnetotransport signatures of three-dimensional topological insulator nanostructures

Abstract

We study the magnetotransport properties of patterned 3D topological insulator nanostructures with several leads, such as kinks or Y-junctions, near the Dirac point with analytical as well as numerical techniques. The interplay of the nanostructure geometry, the external magnetic field and the spin-momentum locking of the topological surface states lead to a richer magnetoconductance phenomenology as compared to straight nanowires. Similar to straight wires, a quantized conductance with perfect transmission across the nanostructure can be realized across a kink when the input and output channels are pierced by a half-integer magnetic flux quantum. Unlike for straight wires, there is an additional requirement depending on the orientation of the external magnetic field. A right-angle kink shows a unique $\pi$-periodic magnetoconductance signature as a function of the in-plane angle of the magnetic field. For a Y-junction, the transmission can be perfectly steered to either of the two possible output legs by a proper alignment of the external magnetic field. These magnetotransport signatures offer new ways to explore topological surface states and could be relevant for quantum transport experiments on nanostructures which can be realized with existing fabrication methods.

12 pages, 8 figures, including corrections in accordance with Erratum Phys. Rev. B 103, 079902 (2021)

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Cited by in corpus (16)

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• Quantum transport in topological surface states of Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$ nanoribbons
• Aharonov-Bohm interference and phase-coherent surface-state transport in topological insulator rings
• Gate-induced decoupling of surface and bulk state properties in selectively-deposited Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$ nanoribbons
• Robust and fragile Majorana bound states in proximitized topological insulator nanoribbons
• Perfect transmission and Aharanov-Bohm oscillations in topological insulator nanowires with nonuniform cross section
• Crossed Andreev reflection in topological insulator nanowire T-junctions
• Jackiw-Rebbi zero modes in non-uniform topological insulator nanowire
• Low-energy modeling of three-dimensional topological insulator nanostructures
• Fabry-Pérot interferometry with gate-tunable 3D topological insulator nanowires
• Multiple Andreev reflections in two-dimensional Josephson junctions with broken time-reversal symmetry
• Transport in a thin topological insulator with potential and magnetic barriers
• Intertwined topological phases in TaAs2 nanowires with giant magnetoresistance and quantum coherent surface transport
• Conductance asymmetry in proximitized magnetic topological insulator junctions with Majorana modes
• In-plane magnetic field driven conductance modulations in topological insulator kinks
• In-plane magnetic field-driven symmetry breaking in topological insulator-based three-terminal junctions