Magnetotransport in nanocrystalline SmB6 thin films

Abstract

SmB6 has been predicted to be a prototype of topological Kondo insulator (TKI) but its direct experimental evidence as a TKI is still lacking to date. Here we report on our search for the signature of a topological surface state and investigation of the effect of disorder on transport properties in nanocrystalline SmB6 thin films through longitudinal magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient measurements. The magnetoresistance (MR) at 2 K is positive and linear (LPMR) at low field and become negative and quadratic at higher field. While the negative part is understood from the reduction of the hybridization gap due to Zeeman splitting, the positive dependence is similar to what is observed in other topological insulators (TI). We conclude that the LPMR is a characteristic of TI and is related to the linear dispersion near the Dirac cone. The Hall resistance shows a sign change around 50K. It peaks and becomes nonlinear around 10 K then decreases below 10 K. This indicates that carriers with opposite signs emerge below 50 K. These properties indicate that the surface states are robust and probably topological in our nanocrystalline films.