One-dimensional topological edge states of bismuth bilayers Author: Iiya K. Drozdov, A. Alexandradinata, Sangjun Jeon, Stevan Nadj-Perge, Huiwen Ji, R. J. Cava, B. Andrei Bernevig and Ali Yazdani Present: Yuqin Sophia Duan
Background Quantum Spin Hall Effect Bi bilayer vs. graphene Top View Quantum Spin Hall Effect Bi bilayer vs. graphene Strong spin-orbit coupling Side View
motivation Conductance: only showed by semiconducting heterostructures in the topological phase Experiments on Bi suffered from an irregular structure of their edges
Experiment Single Bi crystal growth using the Bridgeman method STM Measurement Atomic structure of Bi-bilayer in (111) plane
experiment Simulation: Hybridization calculation of edges based on Liu-Allen model & ab initio1 Type-A edge has less bonds with the substrate; Type-B has direct hoppings to the substrate
Stm measurement
conductivity dI/dV spectra were acquired using a lock-in amplifier at f = 757 Hz. Type A show clear signature of 1D edge state, next we will look at its connection to the bulk electronic state of Bi bilayer.
Conclusion: Propagating 1D edge state is similar to the prediction for free-standing Bi bi-layer. To determine whether the 1D edge states have the predicted topological properties of free-standing Bi bilayer, they further examine the scattering properties. STM maps obtained along a line perpendicular to the edge & along the edge
Scattering properties The topological nature of the two edge modes, reflected in their spin properties allow scattering only between the states of similar spin Spatial 1D Fourier transform of the conductance map along the type A atomic step edge Wavefactors q = kf – k1
Dispersion and spin texture Spin expectation values for the top branch are plotted as a function of momentum. Employ Liu-Allen tight-binding model, but with a self-consistent Hartree term
Summary Strong suppression of the backscattering wavevector q* Experimentally characterized properties of q1 scattering channel Model calculation for a Bi bilayer Type A zigzag edges behave in a manner similar to free-standing Bi-bilayer quantum spin Hall system