Conductance of gated junctions as a probe of topological interface states

Eklavya Thareja, Ilya Vekhter, and Mahmoud M. Asmar
Phys. Rev. B 102, 125308 – Published 23 September 2020

Abstract

Energy dispersion and spin orientation of the protected states at an interface between topological insulators and nontopological materials depend on the charge redistribution, strain, and atomic displacement at the interface. Knowledge of these properties is essential for applications of topological compounds, but direct access to them in the interface geometry is difficult. We show that conductance of a gated double junction at the surface of a topological insulator exhibits oscillations and a quasilinear decay as a function of gate voltage in different regimes. These give the values for the quasiparticle velocities along and normal to the junction in the interface region, and determine the symmetry of the topological interface states. The results are insensitive to the boundary conditions at the junction.

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  • Received 9 July 2019
  • Revised 26 July 2020
  • Accepted 27 August 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.125308

©2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Eklavya Thareja*, Ilya Vekhter, and Mahmoud M. Asmar

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA

  • *ethare1@lsu.edu
  • vekhter@lsu.edu
  • Current address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Center for Materials for Information Technology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487; masmar@ua.edu

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Vol. 102, Iss. 12 — 15 September 2020

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