Evidence of topological surface states with upward band bending in (Bi[formula omitted]Sb[formula omitted])[formula omitted]Te[formula omitted] topological insulator

Abstract

Significant efforts have been put in the past to minimize the bulk conduction to probe the exotic surface states of topological insulators (TIs), nevertheless, the surface transport is usually hindered by the presence of bulk conduction. The identification and separation of the contribution of topological surface states (TSS) by electrical transport is important for understanding the unique properties of TIs and developing new electronic devices based on these materials. In this report we have studied Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations, magneto-resistance (MR) and hall resistivity under high magnetic field in (Bi0.45Sb0.60)2Te3 single crystal grown by modified Bridgman method. Our results show the existence of SdH oscillations which arise from TSS. The obtained Fermi wave vector and Fermi velocity of surface charge carriers show a good agreement with those found by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments. Two band model fit to hall resistivity confirms the high mobility of surface bands and low mobility of bulk bands. Band bending effect is investigated which exhibits a depletion of carriers from near by bulk towards the surface states resulting in an upward band bending. A large non-saturating MR (∼347)% is observed as a result of multichannel quantum coherent transport mechanism.