Two-dimensional surface state in the quantum limit of a topological insulator

Abstract

The topological insulator is a unique state of matter that possesses a metallic surface state of massless particles known as Dirac fermions, which have coupled spin and momentum quantum numbers. Owing to the preservation of time-reversal symmetry, this coupling protects the wavefunctions against disorder 1-3 . The experimental realization of this state of matter in Bi 2 Se 3 and Bi 2 Se 3 has sparked considerable interest owing both to their potential use in spintronic devices and in the investigation of the fundamental nature of topologically non-trivial quantum matter. However, the conductivity of these compounds tends to be dominated by the bulk of the material because of chemical imperfection, making the transport properties of the surface nearly impossible to measure. We have systematically reduced the number of bulk carriers in Bi 2 Se 3 to the point where a magnetic field can collapse them to their lowest Landau level. Beyond this field, known as the three-dimensional (3D) 'quantum limit', the signature of the 2D surface state can be seen. At still higher fields, we reach the 2D quantum limit of the surface Dirac fermions. In this limit we observe an altered phase of the oscillations, which is related to the peculiar nature of the Landau quantization of topological insulators at high field. Furthermore, we observe quantum oscillations corresponding to fractions of the Landau integers, suggesting that correlation effects can be observed in this new state of quantum matter. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.