Broken mirror symmetry tuned topological transport in PbTe/SnTe heterostructures

Abstract

The tunability of topological surface states and controllable opening of the Dirac gap are of great importance to the application of topological materials. In topological crystalline insulators (TCIs), crystal symmetry and topology of electronic bands intertwine to create topological surface states and thus the Dirac gap can be modulated by symmetry breaking structural changes of lattice. By transport measurement on heterostructures composed of p-type topological crystalline insulator SnTe and n-type conventional semiconductor PbTe, here we show a giant linear magnetoresistance (up to 2150% under 14 T at 2 K) induced by the Dirac Fermions at the PbTe/SnTe interface. In contrast, PbTe/SnTe samples grown at elevated temperature exhibit a cubic-to-rhombohedral structural phase transition of SnTe lattice below 100 K and weak antilocalization effect. Such distinctive magneto-resistance behavior is attributed to the broken mirror symmetry and gapping of topological surface states. Our work provides a promising application for future magneto-electronics and spintronics based on TCI heterostructures.

arXiv comment16 pages of text including four figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Ferromagnetic phase transition in topological crystalline insulator thin films: interplay of anomalous Hall angle and magnetic anisotropy
• Weak antilocalization beyond the fully diffusive regime in Pb1-xSnxSe topological quantum wells
• Quantum transport and mobility spectrum of topological carriers in (001) SnTe/PbTe heterojunctions
• Reconstruction, rumpling, and Dirac states at the (001) surface of a topological crystalline insulator Pb1-xSnxSe
• Cr resonant impurity for studies of band inversion and band offsets in IV-VI semiconductors
• Topological quantum switch and controllable quasi 1D wires in antimonene