Robust Weak Topological Insulator in the Bismuth Halide Bi_{4}Br_{2}I_{2}

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 133; no. 8; p. 086602
• Main Authors: Noguchi, Ryo, Kobayashi, Masaru, Kawaguchi, Kaishu, Yamamori, Wataru, Aido, Kohei, Lin, Chun, Tanaka, Hiroaki, Kuroda, Kenta, Harasawa, Ayumi, Kandyba, Viktor, Cattelan, Mattia, Barinov, Alexei, Hashimoto, Makoto, Lu, Donghui, Ochi, Masayuki, Sasagawa, Takao, Kondo, Takeshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 23.08.2024
• ISSN: 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.086602

We apply a topological material design concept for selecting a bulk topology of 3D crystals by different van der Waals stackings of 2D topological insulator layers, and find a bismuth halide Bi_{4}Br_{2}I_{2} to be an ideal weak topological insulator (WTI) with the largest band gap (∼300  meV) among all the WTI candidates, by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and resistivity measurements. Furthermore, we reveal that the topological surface state of a WTI is not "weak" but rather robust against external perturbations against the initial theoretical prediction by performing potassium deposition experiments. Our results vastly expand future opportunities for fundamental research and device applications with a robust WTI.