Work

Catalyst-free MBE growth of PbSnTe nanowires with tunable aspect ratio

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) are interesting for their topological surface states, which hold great promise for scattering-free transport channels and fault-tolerant quantum computing. A promising TCI is SnTe. However, Sn-vacancies form in SnTe, causing a high hole density, hindering topological transport from the surface being measured. This issue could be relieved by using nanowires with a high surface-to-volume ratio. Furthermore, SnTe can be alloyed with Pb reducing the Sn-vacancies while maintaining its topological phase. Here we present the catalyst-free growth of monocrystalline PbSnTe in molecular beam epitaxy. By the addition of a pre-deposition stage before the growth, we have control over the nucleation phase and thereby increase the nanowire yield. This facilitates tuning the nanowire aspect ratio by a factor of four by varying the growth parameters. These results allow us to grow specific morphologies for future transport experiments to probe the topological surface states in a Pb 1– x Sn x Te-based platform.

Source: Nanotechnology

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad47c8

Authors: Mathijs G C Mientjes, Xin Guan, Pim J H Lueb, Marcel A Verheijen, Erik P A M Bakkers

Institution: Eindhoven University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Topological Materials and Phenomena

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,165

Funders: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, H2020 European Research Council