Defect-free SnTe topological crystalline insulator nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy on graphene

Abstract

SnTe topological crystalline insulator nanowires have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on graphene/SiC substrates. The nanowires have cubic rock-salt structure, they grow along [001] crystallographic direction and have four sidewalls consisting of {100} crystal planes known to host metallic surface states with Dirac dispersion. Thorough high resolution transmission electron microscopy investigations show that the nanowires grow on graphene in the van der Walls epitaxy mode induced when the catalyzing Au nanoparticle mixes with Sn delivered from SnTe flux, providing liquid Au-Sn alloy. The nanowires are totally free from structural defects, but their {001} sidewalls are prone to oxidation, which points out on necessity of depositing protective capping in view of exploiting the magneto-electric transport phenomena involving charge carriers occupying topologically protected states.

arXiv comment7 pages, 8 figures

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Synthesis of narrow SnTe nanowires using alloy nanoparticles
• Corner states, hinge states and Majorana modes in SnTe nanowires
• Spin and Orbital Spectroscopy in the Absence of Coulomb Blockade in Lead Telluride Nanowire Quantum Dots
• Spin-orbit insulating phase in SnTe cubic nanowires: consequences on the topological surface states
• Catalyst-free MBE growth of PbSnTe nanowires with tunable aspect ratio
• Topological electronic structure of twin boundaries and twinning superlattices in the SnTe material class
• Pentagonal nanowires from topological crystalline insulators: a platform for intrinsic core-shell nanowires and higher-order topology