Topologically Nontrivial Phase-Change Compound GeSb2Te4.

Chalcogenide phase-change materials show strikingly contrasting optical and electrical properties, which has led to their extensive implementation in various memory devices. By performing spin-, time-, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy combined with the first-principles calculation, we report the experimental results that the crystalline phase of GeSb2Te4 is topologically nontrivial in the vicinity of the Dirac semimetal phase. The resulting linearly dispersive bulk Dirac-like bands that cross the Fermi level and are thus responsible for conductivity in the stable crystalline phase of GeSb2Te4 can be viewed as a 3D analogue of graphene. Our finding provides us with the possibility of realizing inertia-free Dirac currents in phase-change materials.

Phase Equilibria in the Ag2Te-PbTe-Sb2Te3 System and Thermodynamic Properties of the (2PbTe)1-x(AgSbTe2)x Solid Solutions.

Phase equilibria in the Ag2Te-PbTe-Sb2Te3 system were experimentally investigated by means of differential thermal analysis, powder X-ray diffraction techniques and electromotive force (EMF) measurement method. A liquidus surface projection of the system, 750 K and 300 K isothermal sections, as well as five vertical sections of the phase diagram, were constructed. The primary crystallization fields of phases and homogeneity range of phases were also determined. The character and temperature of the various nonvariant and monovariant equilibria were identified. The studied sys-tem is characterized by the formation of a wide continuous band of a high-temperature cubic structured solid solution (?-phase) between PbTe and Ag1-xSb1 + xTe2 + x intermediate phase. The partial molar thermodynamic functions of lead telluride in alloys and standard integral thermodynamic functions of the ?-solid solutions along the 2PbTe-"AgSbTe2" section were calculated based on the EMF measurements results.

Temperature Driven Phase Transition at the Antimonene/Bi2Se3 van der Waals Heterostructure.

We report the discovery of a temperature-induced phase transition between the α and ß structures of antimonene. When antimony is deposited at room temperature on bismuth selenide, it forms domains of α-antimonene having different orientations with respect to the substrate. During a mild annealing, the ß phase grows and prevails over the α phase, eventually forming a single domain that perfectly matches the surface lattice structure of bismuth selenide. First-principles thermodynamics calculations of this van der Waals heterostructure explain the different temperature-dependent stability of the two phases and reveal a minimum energy transition path. Although the formation energies of freestanding α- and ß-antimonene only slightly differ, the ß phase is ultimately favored in the annealed heterostructure due to an increased interaction with the substrate mediated by the perfect lattice match.

Phase Equilibria in The MnGa2T?4-MnIn2T?4 System, Crystal Structure and Physical Properties of MnGaInT?4.

The phase equilibria in the MnGa2T?4-MnIn2T?4 system were experimentally investigated by means of differential thermal analysis and powder X-ray diffraction technique. It was found that this system is quasi-binary and characterized by dystectic and eutectic equilibria and the formation of a wide area of solid solutions based on the starting compounds. The crystal structures of the MnGaInTe4 and MnIn2T?4 were refined by the Rietveld method using powder X-ray diffraction data. It was established, that both phases crystallize in the tetragonal system (Space group I-42m). Electron paramagnetic resonance and Raman spectra, as well as the temperature dependences of the electrical conductivity and the Hall effect for the MnGaInTe4 crystal, were studied.

Phase Equilibria in the Tl4PbTe3-Tl9SmTe6-Tl9BiTe6 Section of the Tl-Pb-Bi-Sm-Te System.

Phase equilibria in the section Tl4PbTe3-Tl9SmTe6-Tl9BiTe6 of the Tl-Pb-Bi-Sm-Te system were determined by combination of differential thermal analysis, powder X-ray diffraction methods as well as microhardness measurements. The phase diagrams of the boundary systems Tl4PbTe3-Tl9SmTe6, Tl9SmTe6-Tl9BiTe6, isothermal section at 820 and 840 K, some isopleth sections and as well as liquidus and solidus surfaces projections, were plotted. Unlimited solid solutions, which crystallize in Tl5Te3 structure type were found in the system at the solidus temperatures and below.

Manipulating the Topological Interface by Molecular Adsorbates: Adsorption of Co-Phthalocyanine on Bi2Se3.

Topological insulators are a promising class of materials for applications in the field of spintronics. New perspectives in this field can arise from interfacing metal-organic molecules with the topological insulator spin-momentum locked surface states, which can be perturbed enhancing or suppressing spintronics-relevant properties such as spin coherence. Here we show results from an angle-resolved photemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) study of the prototypical cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc)/Bi2Se3 interface. We demonstrate that that the hybrid interface can act on the topological protection of the surface and bury the Dirac cone below the first quintuple layer.

Multiple Coexisting Dirac Surface States in Three-Dimensional Topological Insulator PbBi6Te10.

By means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements, we unveil the electronic band structure of three-dimensional PbBi6Te10 topological insulator. ARPES investigations evidence multiple coexisting Dirac surface states at the zone-center of the reciprocal space, displaying distinct electronic band dispersion, different constant energy contours, and Dirac point energies. We also provide evidence of Rashba-like split states close to the Fermi level, and deeper M- and V-shaped bands coexisting with the topological surface states. The experimental findings are in agreement with scanning tunneling microscopy measurements revealing different surface terminations according to the crystal structure of PbBi6Te10. Our experimental results are supported by density functional theory calculations predicting multiple topological surface states according to different surface cleavage planes.

Plasma-Wave Terahertz Detection Mediated by Topological Insulators Surface States.

Topological insulators (TIs) represent a novel quantum state of matter, characterized by edge or surface-states, showing up on the topological character of the bulk wave functions. Allowing electrons to move along their surface, but not through their inside, they emerged as an intriguing material platform for the exploration of exotic physical phenomena, somehow resembling the graphene Dirac-cone physics, as well as for exciting applications in optoelectronics, spintronics, nanoscience, low-power electronics, and quantum computing. Investigation of topological surface states (TSS) is conventionally hindered by the fact that in most of experimental conditions the TSS properties are mixed up with those of bulk-states. Here, we activate, probe, and exploit the collective electronic excitation of TSS in the Dirac cone. By engineering Bi2Te(3-x)Sex stoichiometry, and by gating the surface of nanoscale field-effect-transistors, exploiting thin flakes of Bi2Te2.2Se0.8 or Bi2Se3, we provide the first demonstration of room-temperature terahertz (THz) detection mediated by overdamped plasma-wave oscillations on the "activated" TSS of a Bi2Te2.2Se0.8 flake. The reported detection performances allow a realistic exploitation of TSS for large-area, fast imaging, promising superb impacts on THz photonics.

Experimental evidence of hidden topological surface states in PbBi4Te7.

A topological surface state that is protected physically under the Bi2Te3-like five-layer block has been revealed on the Pb-based topological insulator (TI) PbBi4Te7 by bulk sensitive angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). Furthermore, conservation of the spin polarization of the hidden topological surface states is directly confirmed by bulk-sensitive spin ARPES observation. This finding paves the way to realize the real spintronics devices by TIs that are operable in the real environment.

Disentanglement of surface and bulk Rashba spin splittings in noncentrosymmetric BiTeI.

BiTeI has a layered and noncentrosymmetric structure where strong spin-orbit interaction leads to a giant Rashba spin splitting in the bulk bands. We present direct measurements of the bulk band structure obtained with soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES), revealing the three-dimensional Fermi surface. The observed spindle torus shape bears the potential for a topological transition in the bulk by hole doping. Moreover, the bulk electronic structure is clearly disentangled from the two-dimensional surface electronic structure by means of high-resolution and spin-resolved ARPES measurements in the ultraviolet regime. All findings are supported by ab initio calculations.

Atom-specific spin mapping and buried topological states in a homologous series of topological insulators.

A topological insulator is a state of quantum matter that, while being an insulator in the bulk, hosts topologically protected electronic states at the surface. These states open the opportunity to realize a number of new applications in spintronics and quantum computing. To take advantage of their peculiar properties, topological insulators should be tuned in such a way that ideal and isolated Dirac cones are located within the topological transport regime without any scattering channels. Here we report ab-initio calculations, spin-resolved photoemission and scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments that demonstrate that the conducting states can effectively tuned within the concept of a homologous series that is formed by the binary chalcogenides (Bi(2)Te(3), Bi(2)Se(3) and Sb(2)Te(3)), with the addition of a third element of the group IV.