Quantum and classical contributions to linear magnetoresistance in topological insulator thin films

Abstract

Three dimensional topological insulators possess backscattering immune relativistic Dirac fermions on their surface due to nontrivial topology of the bulk band structure. Both metallic and bulk insulating topological insulators exhibit weak-antilocalization in the low magnetic field and linear like magnetoresistance in higher fields. We explore the linear magnetoresistance in bulk insulating topological insulator Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition technique. Thin films of Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey were found to be insulating in nature, which conclusively establishes the origin of linear magnetoresistance from surface Dirac states. The films were thoroughly characterized for their crystallinity and composition and then subjected to transport measurements. We present a careful analysis taking into considerations all the existing models of linear magnetoresistance. We comprehend that the competition between classical and quantum contributions to magnetoresistance results in linear magnetoresistance in high fields. We observe that the cross-over field decreases with increasing temperature and the physical argument for this behavior is explained.