Two-step growth of high quality Bi2Te3 thin films on Al2O3 (0001) by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

Large-area topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films were grown on Al2O3 (0001) using a two-temperature step molecular beam epitaxy growth process. By depositing a low temperature nucleation layer to serve as a template for high temperature epitaxial film growth, a high quality terrace-step surface morphology with a significant reduction in three-dimensional defect structures was achieved. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate that high crystalline quality Bi2Te3 layers were grown incoherently by van der Waals epitaxy using this technique. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements verified the integrity of this growth method by confirming the presence of metallic surface states on cleaved two-step Bi2Te3 samples.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Apr 29, 2013
Source ID
10.1063/1.4803717

Entities

People

  • Bo Zhou
  • J. S. Harris
  • S. E. Harrison
  • Shengxi Li
  • Y. Huo
  • Y. L. Chen

Organizations

  • Advanced Light Source
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Stanford University
  • University of Oxford

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Analytical Mechanics
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene