Abstract
In situ microscopic-four-point probe conductivity measurements were performed for ultrathin bismuth (Bi) films formed on Si(111)-7×7. From the extrapolation of thickness-dependent conductivity and decrease in conductivity through surface oxidation, we found clear evidence of large surface-state conductivity (σss∼1.5×10−3 Ω−1/? at room temperature) in ultrathin Bi(001) films. For the thinnest films (∼25 A), the transport properties are dominated by the surface states. The temperature dependence of the surface-state conductivity showed a metallic behavior down to 15K. These results point to the possibility to use these Bi surface states for spintronics device applications utilizing the largely Rashba spin-split properties.
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