Nanoscale Probing of Local Electrical Characteristics on MBE-Grown Bi₂Te₃ Surfaces under Ambient Conditions

Abstract

The local electrical characteristics on the surface of MBE-grown Bi2Te3 are probed under ambient conditions by conductive atomic force microscopy. Nanoscale mapping reveals a 10-100× enhancement in current at step-edges compared to that on terraces. Analysis of the local current-voltage characteristics indicates that the transport mechanism is similar for step-edges and terraces. Comparison of the results with those for control samples shows that the current enhancement is not a measurement artifact but instead is due to local differences in electronic properties. The likelihood of various possible mechanisms is discussed. The absence of enhancement at the step-edges for graphite terraces is consistent with the intriguing possibility that spin-orbit coupling and topological effects play a significant role in the step-edge current enhancement in Bi2Te3.