Growth and characterization of snte crystalline topological insulator

We report the single crystal growth and characterization of crystalline topological insulator SnTe with XRD, SEM, EDX and resistivity measurements. We have grown SnTe single crystal by modified Bridgman method. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the orientation of the cleaved sample along {200} reflections showing the single crystalline nature of our crystal. Single β-SnTe phase was confirmed from the Rietveld refinement of room temperature-powder XRD pattern. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image shows flat terraces demonstrating a layered structure in SnTe single crystal. Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) on different regions of same crystal showsnearly1:1 stoichiometry throughout the grown crystal. Zero field transport measurements on (200) plane shows a clear metallic behavior down to 2K having the residual resistivity ratio (RRR) ∼6.8. The hump in temperature derivative of resistivity curve at ∼60K indicates the transition due to Teantisite defects.