High-quality Bi2Te3 thin films grown on mica substrates for potential optoelectronic applications

Abstract

We report high-quality topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films grown on muscovite mica substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The topographic and structural analysis revealed that the Bi2Te3 thin films exhibited atomically smooth terraces over a large area and a high crystalline quality. Both weak antilocalization effect and quantum oscillations were observed in the magnetotransport of the relatively thin samples. A phase coherence length of 277 nm for a 6 nm thin film and a high surface mobility of 0.58 m2 V−1 s−1 for a 4 nm thin film were achieved. These results confirm that the thin films grown on mica are of high quality.