Field Effect and Spin-Valve Effect in the PbSnTe Topological Crystalline Insulator

Abstract

The characteristics of MIS structures based on insulating PbSnTe:In films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with compositions near the band inversion are studied. It is shown that a number of their features can be induced by a ferroelectric phase transition with the Curie temperature in the range of 15-20 K. The injection and detection of spin-polarized electrons in PbSnTe:In are studied by using ferromagnetic contacts Co and Co $${}_{40}$$ Fe $${}_{40}$$ B $${}_{20}$$ . A spin-valve effect is discovered by measuring the magnetoresistance in local geometry at a distance of more than 30 $$mu$$ m from ferromagnetic contacts. The presence of a surface spin-polarized state with a linear dispersion law is demonstrated by means of the photoemission with angular and spin resolution.