Hybridization, inter-ion correlation, and surface states in the Kondo insulator SmB6

Abstract

As an exemplary Kondo insulator, SmB6 has been studied for several decades. However, direct evidence for the development of the Kondo coherent state and for the evolution of the electronic structure in the material has not been obtained due to the compound's rather complicated electronic and thermal transport behavior. Recently, these open questions have attracted increasing attention as the emergence of a time-reversal-invariant topological surface state in the Kondo insulator has been suggested. Here, we use point-contact spectroscopy to reveal the temperature dependence of the electronic states in SmB6. We demonstrate that SmB6 is a model Kondo insulator: Below 100 K, the conductance spectra reflect the Kondo hybridization of Sm ions, but, below about 30 K, signatures of inter-ion correlation effects clearly emerge. Moreover, we find evidence that the low-temperature insulating state of this exemplary Kondo-lattice compound harbors conduction states on the surface, in support of predictions of nontrivial topology in Kondo insulators.