Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning.
Topological insulators exhibit a bulk energy gap and spin-polarized surface states that lead to unique electronic properties, with potential applications in spintronics and quantum information processing. However, transport measurements have typically been dominated by residual bulk charge carriers...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
|
| _version_ | 1826261216797917184 |
|---|---|
| author | Kong, D Chen, Y Cha, J Zhang, Q Analytis, J Lai, K Liu, Z Hong, S Koski, K Mo, S Hussain, Z Fisher, I Shen, Z Cui, Y |
| author_facet | Kong, D Chen, Y Cha, J Zhang, Q Analytis, J Lai, K Liu, Z Hong, S Koski, K Mo, S Hussain, Z Fisher, I Shen, Z Cui, Y |
| author_sort | Kong, D |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Topological insulators exhibit a bulk energy gap and spin-polarized surface states that lead to unique electronic properties, with potential applications in spintronics and quantum information processing. However, transport measurements have typically been dominated by residual bulk charge carriers originating from crystal defects or environmental doping, and these mask the contribution of surface carriers to charge transport in these materials. Controlling bulk carriers in current topological insulator materials, such as the binary sesquichalcogenides Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3 and Bi2Se3, has been explored extensively by means of material doping and electrical gating, but limited progress has been made to achieve nanostructures with low bulk conductivity for electronic device applications. Here we demonstrate that the ternary sesquichalcogenide (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 is a tunable topological insulator system. By tuning the ratio of bismuth to antimony, we are able to reduce the bulk carrier density by over two orders of magnitude, while maintaining the topological insulator properties. As a result, we observe a clear ambipolar gating effect in (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 nanoplate field-effect transistor devices, similar to that observed in graphene field-effect transistor devices. The manipulation of carrier type and density in topological insulator nanostructures demonstrated here paves the way for the implementation of topological insulators in nanoelectronics and spintronics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:18:02Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:1917382d-5593-439e-8e9c-08515f0666f5 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T19:18:02Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:1917382d-5593-439e-8e9c-08515f0666f52022-03-26T10:47:02ZAmbipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:1917382d-5593-439e-8e9c-08515f0666f5EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2011Kong, DChen, YCha, JZhang, QAnalytis, JLai, KLiu, ZHong, SKoski, KMo, SHussain, ZFisher, IShen, ZCui, YTopological insulators exhibit a bulk energy gap and spin-polarized surface states that lead to unique electronic properties, with potential applications in spintronics and quantum information processing. However, transport measurements have typically been dominated by residual bulk charge carriers originating from crystal defects or environmental doping, and these mask the contribution of surface carriers to charge transport in these materials. Controlling bulk carriers in current topological insulator materials, such as the binary sesquichalcogenides Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3 and Bi2Se3, has been explored extensively by means of material doping and electrical gating, but limited progress has been made to achieve nanostructures with low bulk conductivity for electronic device applications. Here we demonstrate that the ternary sesquichalcogenide (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 is a tunable topological insulator system. By tuning the ratio of bismuth to antimony, we are able to reduce the bulk carrier density by over two orders of magnitude, while maintaining the topological insulator properties. As a result, we observe a clear ambipolar gating effect in (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 nanoplate field-effect transistor devices, similar to that observed in graphene field-effect transistor devices. The manipulation of carrier type and density in topological insulator nanostructures demonstrated here paves the way for the implementation of topological insulators in nanoelectronics and spintronics. |
| spellingShingle | Kong, D Chen, Y Cha, J Zhang, Q Analytis, J Lai, K Liu, Z Hong, S Koski, K Mo, S Hussain, Z Fisher, I Shen, Z Cui, Y Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning. |
| title | Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning. |
| title_full | Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning. |
| title_fullStr | Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning. |
| title_short | Ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator (Bi(x)Sb(1-x))2Te3 by composition tuning. |
| title_sort | ambipolar field effect in the ternary topological insulator bi x sb 1 x 2te3 by composition tuning |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kongd ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT cheny ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT chaj ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT zhangq ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT analytisj ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT laik ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT liuz ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT hongs ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT koskik ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT mos ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT hussainz ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT fisheri ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT shenz ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning AT cuiy ambipolarfieldeffectintheternarytopologicalinsulatorbixsb1x2te3bycompositiontuning |