Weak Anti-Localization and Quantum Oscillations in Topological Crystalline Insulator PbTe**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 10675023, 11075018, 11375028 and 11675020, and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education under Grant No 20120003110011.

Abstract

Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) have attracted worldwide interest since their theoretical predication and have created exciting opportunities for studying topological quantum physics and for exploring spintronic applications. In this work, we successfully synthesize PbTe nanowires via the chemical vapor deposition method and demonstrate the existence of topological surface states by their 2D weak anti-localization effect and Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations. More importantly, the surface state contributes ∼61% of the total conduction, suggesting dominant surface transport in PbTe nanowires at low temperatures. Our work provides an experimental groundwork for researching TCIs and is a step forward for the applications of PbTe nanowires in spintronic devices.