Transport property of topological crystalline insulator SnTe (100) and ferrimagnetic insulator heterostructures

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2022.05.033

Abstract

Abstract:

Topological crystalline insulator (TCI) SnTe is a potential material for quantum electronic devices because of its attractive inherent sensitivity of band topology and highly mobile characteristic of Dirac fermions. The proximity effect at the interface of SnTe film can affect the topological surface transport and may result in novel quantum magneto-electric effects. Here, we study the magnetoelectrical transport properties of SnTe thin films grown on ferrimagnetic insulators Eu₃Fe₅O₁₂ (110) (EuIG (110)) and Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (111) (YIG (111)) single-crystal underlayers by molecular beam epitaxy. Linear magnetic resistance (LMR) is observed in SnTe/EuIG heterostructures in the low field range, which is different from the weak antilocalization (WAL) characteristic of SnTe/YIG heterostructures. Especially, the double carrier characteristic with the coexistence of holes and electrons in SnTe/EuIG heterostructure is quite different from the holes as main carriers in SnTe/YIG, although the SnTe layer remains the same crystal plane (100) in the two heterostructures. The LMR in SnTe/EuIG is attributed to the topological surface Dirac electrons and disordered domain distribution in the SnTe layer which is in sharp contrast to the WAL of SnTe/YIG with ordered domain distribution in the SnTe layer. The present studies of transport properties not only provide a fundamental understanding of the transport mechanism of TCI and magnetite insulator heterostructure but also display the promising application probability for tunable topological electronic devices.

Key words: Topological crystalline insulator, Ferrimagnetic insulators, Linear magnetoresistance, Electrical transport, Molecular beam epitaxy

Anqi Zhang, Daheng Liu, Teng Yang, Song Ma, Zhidong Zhang. Transport property of topological crystalline insulator SnTe (100) and ferrimagnetic insulator heterostructures[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 131: 204-211.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1. (a) XRD pattern of the EuIG (110)/GGG (110) film and SnTe (100)/EuIG (110) film. (b) XRD pattern of the YIG (111)/GGG (111) film and SnTe (100)/YIG (111) film. (c) Schematic for atomic arrangement on the crystal plane of SnTe (100), EuIG (110), and YIG (111). (d) Schematic diagram of SnTe (100) crystal plane arrangement on EuIG (110) and YIG (111) crystal plane.

Fig. 2. (a) RHEED image of the EuIG (110) substrate after degassing. (b) RHEED image of the grown SnTe (100)/EuIG (110) film. (c) HRTEM image of the grown SnTe (100)/EuIG (110)/GGG (110) film. The downward panel shows the enlarged part marked with the red circle. (d, e) AFM images of the surface of the EuIG (110) and YIG (111) layers grown by PLD with a thickness of 25 nm and the size of the scanned area is 1 μm ×1 μm. White circles and arrows represent grains and their growth direction. (f, g) AFM images of the surface of the SnTe (100)/EuIG (110) and SnTe (100)/YIG (111) layers and the size of the scanned area is 3 μm × 3 μm.

Fig. 3. TOF-SIMS depth profiles mapping of Fe, Sn, Te, and all elements for (a) SnTe (100)/EuIG (110) and (b) SnTe (100)/YIG (111).

Fig. 4. (a) Temperature dependence of sheet resistance of SnTe/EuIG and SnTe/YIG films. Rs -T of the SnTe/EuIG and SnTe/YIG films below 80 K is shown in the inset. (b) MR curves in vertical field measured at 5 K of SnTe/EuIG and SnTe/YIG films and the zoomed MR curves under high magnetic fields (inset). (c) Hall curves in vertical magnetic fields of SnTe/EuIG and SnTe/YIG films at 5 K. (d) Drude model fitting Hall curve of SnTe/EuIG film at 5 K.

Fig. 5. (a) MR in vertical magnetic fields of SnTe/EuIG film at different temperatures. The magnetic field in the illustration ranges from -2 T to 2 T. (b) Hall curves in vertical magnetic fields of SnTe/EuIG film at different temperatures and the zoomed Hall curves under high magnetic fields (inset). (c) MR in vertical magnetic fields of SnTe/YIG film at different temperatures. The magnetic field in the illustration ranges from -2 T to 2 T. (d) Hall curves in vertical magnetic fields of SnTe/YIG film at different temperatures and the zoomed Hall curves under high magnetic fields (inset).

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