Quantum Hall effect from the topological surface states of strained bulk HgTe

We report transport studies on a three-dimensional, 70-nm-thick HgTe layer, which is strained by epitaxial growth on a CdTe substrate. The strain induces a band gap in the otherwise semimetallic HgTe, which thus becomes a three-dimensional topological insulator. Contributions from residual bulk carr...

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Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 106; no. 12; p. 126803
Main Authors Brüne, C, Liu, C X, Novik, E G, Hankiewicz, E M, Buhmann, H, Chen, Y L, Qi, X L, Shen, Z X, Zhang, S C, Molenkamp, L W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 22.03.2011
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ISSN1079-7114
DOI10.1103/physrevlett.106.126803

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Summary:We report transport studies on a three-dimensional, 70-nm-thick HgTe layer, which is strained by epitaxial growth on a CdTe substrate. The strain induces a band gap in the otherwise semimetallic HgTe, which thus becomes a three-dimensional topological insulator. Contributions from residual bulk carriers to the transport properties of the gapped HgTe layer are negligible at mK temperatures. As a result, the sample exhibits a quantized Hall effect that results from the 2D single cone Dirac-like topological surface states.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.106.126803