Effects of oxygen plasma etching on Sb2Te3 explored by torque detected quantum oscillations

Abstract

De Haas–van Alphen measurements evidence that oxygen plasma etching strongly affects the properties of the three-dimensional topological insulator Sb2Te3. The quantum oscillations in magnetization down to low temperature (T ≥ 2 K) and high magnetic field (B ≤ 7 T) have been systematically investigated using a high-sensitive cantilever torque magnetometer. The effective mass and the oscillation frequency obtained from de Haas–van Alphen measurements first increase and then decrease as the oxygen plasma etching time increases from 0 to 12 min, corresponding to an up- and down-shift of the Dirac point. We establish the cantilever torque magnetometer as a powerful contactless tool to investigate the oxygen sensitivity of the surface state in topological insulators.