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Scaling effects in Sesqui‐chalcogenides are of major interest to understand and optimize their performance in heavily scaled applications, including topological insulators and phase‐change devices. A combined experimental and theoretical study is presented for molecular beam epitaxy‐grown films of antimony‐telluride (Sb2Te3). Structural,vibrational, optical, and bonding properties upon varying confinement are studied for thicknesses ranging from 1.3 to 56 nm. In ultrathin films, the low‐frequency coherent phonons of A1g1 symmetry are softened compared to the bulk (64.5 cm−1 at 1.3 nm compared to 68 cm−1 at 55.8 nm). A concomitant increase of the high‐frequency A1g2 Raman mode is seen. X‐ray diffraction analyses unravel an accompanying out of plane stretch by 5%, mainly stemming from an increase in the Te‐Te gap. This conclusion is supported by density functional theory slab models, which reveal a significant dependency of chemical bonding on film thickness. Changes in atomic arrangement, vibrational frequencies, and bonding extend over a thickness range much larger than observed for other material classes. The finding of these unexpectedly pronounced thickness‐dependent effects in quasi‐2D material Sb2Te3 allows tuning of the film properties with thickness. The results are discussed in the context of a novel bond‐type, characterized by a competition between electron localization and delocalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasi-one-dimensional (1D) topological insulators hold the potential of forming the basis of novel devices in spintronics and quantum computing. While exposure to ambient conditions and conventional fabrication processes are an obstacle to their technological integration, ultra-high vacuum lithography techniques, such as selective area epitaxy (SAE), provide all the necessary ingredients for their refinement into scalable device architectures. In this work, high-quality SAE of quasi-1D topological insulators on templated Si substrates is demonstrated. After identifying the narrow temperature window for selectivity, the flexibility and scalability of this approach is revealed. Compared to planar growth of macroscopic thin films, selectively grown regions are observed to experience enhanced growth rates in the nanostructured templates. Based on these results, a growth model is deduced, which relates device geometry to effective growth rates. After validating the model experimentally for various three-dimensional topological insulators (3D TIs), the crystal quality of selectively grown nanostructures is optimized by tuning the effective growth rates to 5 nm/h. The high quality of selectively grown nanostructures is confirmed through detailed structural characterization via atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, in an in situ prepared three-terminal Josephson junction based on the topological insulator Bi 4 Te 3 and the superconductor Nb the transport properties are studied. The differential resistance maps as a function of two bias currents reveal extended areas of Josephson supercurrent, including coupling effects between adjacent superconducting electrodes. The observed dynamics for the coupling of the junctions is interpreted using a numerical simulation of a similar geometry based on a resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction model. The temperature dependency indicates that the device behaves similar to prior experiments with single Josephson junctions comprising topological insulators' weak links. Irradiating radio frequencies to the junction, we find a spectrum of integer Shapiro steps and an additional fractional step, which is interpreted with a skewed current–phase relationship. In a perpendicular magnetic field, we observe Fraunhofer-like interference patterns in the switching currents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We succeeded in the fabrication of topological insulator (Bi0.57Sb0.43)2Te3 Hall bars as well as nanoribbons by means of selective-area growth using molecular beam epitaxy. By performing magnetotransport measurements at low temperatures information on the phase-coherence of the electrons is gained by analyzing the weak-antilocalization effect. Furthermore, from measurements on nanoribbons at different magnetic field tilt angles an angular dependence of the phase-coherence length is extracted, which is attributed to transport anisotropy and geometrical factors. For the nanoribbon structures universal conductance fluctuations were observed. By performing a Fourier transform of the fluctuation pattern a series of distinct phase-coherent closed-loop trajectories are identified. The corresponding enclosed areas can be explained in terms of nanoribbon dimensions and phase-coherence length. In addition, from measurements at different magnetic field tilt angles we can deduce that the area enclosed by the loops are predominately oriented parallel to the quintuple layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanohybrid superconducting junctions using antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) topological insulator nanoribbons and Nb superconducting electrodes are fabricated using electron beam lithography and magnetron sputtering. The effects of bias current, temperature, and magnetic field on the transport properties of the junctions in a four‐terminal measurement configuration are investigated. Two features are observed. First, the formation of a Josephson weak‐link junction. The junction is formed by proximity‐induced areas in the nanoribbon right underneath the inner Nb electrodes which are connected by the few tens of nanometers short Sb2Te3 bridge. At 0.5 K a critical current of 0.15 µA is observed. The decrease of the supercurrent with temperature is explained in the framework of a diffusive junction. Furthermore, the Josephson supercurrent is found to decrease monotonously with the magnetic field indicating that the structure is in the small‐junction limit. As a second feature, a transition is also observed in the differential resistance at larger bias currents and larger magnetic fields, which is attributed to the suppression of the proximity‐induced superconductive state in the nanoribbon area underneath the Nb electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quasi‐1D nanowires of topological insulators are candidate structures in superconductor hybrid architectures for Majorana fermion based quantum computation schemes. Here, selectively grown Bi2Te3 topological insulator nanoribbons at cryogenic temperatures are investigated. The nanoribbons are defined in deep‐etched Si3N4/SiO2 nano‐trenches on a silicon (111) substrate followed by a selective area growth process via molecular beam epitaxy. The selective area growth is beneficial to the device quality, as no subsequent fabrication needs to be performed to shape the nanoribbons. In the diffusive transport regime of these unintentionally n‐doped Bi2Te3 topological insulator nanoribbons, electron trajectories are identified by analyzing angle dependent universal conductance fluctuation spectra. When the sample is tilted from a perpendicular to a parallel magnetic field orientation, these high frequent conductance modulations merge with low frequent Aharonov–Bohm type oscillations originating from the topologically protected surface states along the nanoribbon perimeter. For 500 nm wide Hall bars low frequent Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations are identified in a perpendicular magnetic field orientation. These reveal a topological, high‐mobility, 2D transport channel, partially decoupled from the bulk of the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]