A brief review of Bi2Se3 based topological insulator: From fundamentals to applications

Abstract

Topological Insulators are new classes of materials with insulating bulk but having gapless surface states. Integer Quantum Hall Effect, discovered in 1980 was the first property with topological association in topological insulators. For the last couple of decades different types of these exotic materials were foreseen, then revealed and fascinated the scientists due to their plethora of applications. Bi2Se3 is one of them with a single Dirac cone on its surface states and having the highest bulk band gap of 0.3 eV among all other topological insulator materials. While the transport properties of its single crystals are renowned, thin films are also causing equally sensational detections and very recently nanoparticles are also being used in some excellent innovations. In this manuscript, a review on the meticulous studies of Bi2Se3 is presented where different synthesis techniques; crystal structures; various physical properties and modern day applications were taken into concern.