Observation of topological crystalline insulator surface states on (111)-oriented Pb1-xSnxSe films

Summary, in English

We present angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements of the surface states on in-situ grown (111) oriented films of Pb1-xSnxSe, a three-dimensional topological crystalline insulator. We observe surface states with Dirac-like dispersion at (Gamma) over bar and (M) over bar in the surface Brillouin zone, supporting recent theoretical predictions for this family of materials. We study the parallel dispersion isotropy and Dirac-point binding energy of the surface states, and perform tight-binding calculations to support our findings. The relative simplicity of the growth technique is encouraging, and suggests a clear path for future investigations into the role of strain, vicinality, and alternative surface orientations in (Pb,Sn)Se solid solutions.

• Author: Craig Polley; P. Dziawa; A. Reszka; A. Szczerbakow; R. Minikayev; J. Z. Domagala; S. Safaei; P. Kacman; R. Buczko; Johan Adell; M. H. Berntsen; B. M. Wojek; O. Tjernberg; B. J. Kowalski; T. Story; Balasubramanian Thiagarajan
• Department/s: MAX IV Laboratory
• Publishing year: 2014
• Language: English
• Publication/Series: Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
• Volume: 89
• Issue: 7
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.075317
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Topic: Physical Sciences; Natural Sciences
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1098-0121