Carrier doping of Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ surface by chemical adsorption -- a DFT study

Abstract

Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ is one of the most promising topological insulators, but it suffers from intrinsic n-doping due to Se-vacancies, which shifts the Fermi level into the bulk conduction band, leading to topologically trivial carriers. Recently it was shown that this Fermi-level shift can be compensated by a locally controlled surface p-doping process, through water adsorption and XUV irradiation. Here, the microscopic mechanism of this surface doping is studied by means of density functional theory (DFT) focusing on the adsorption of H${}_2$O, OH, O, C and CH on Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$. We find that water adsorption has a negligible doping effect while hydroxyl groups lead to n-doping. Carbon adsorption on Se vacancies gives rise to p-doping but it also strongly modifies the electronic band structure around the Dirac point. Only if the Se vacancies are filled with atomic oxygen, the experimentally observed p-doping without change of the topological surface bands is reproduced. Based on the DFT results, we propose a reaction path where photon absorption gives rise to water splitting and the produced O atoms fill the Se vacancies. Adsorbed OH groups appear as intermediate states and carbon impurities may have a catalytic effect in agreement with experimental observations.

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