title: Dimensional crossover in the quantum transport behaviour of the natural topological insulator Aleksite.
abstract: Three-dimensional topological insulators comprise topologically protected surface states displaying massless, Dirac-like linear dispersion with spin-momentum locking. Electrical conduction through such surface states has been documented to manifest itself in a two-dimensional character of the angle-dependent magnetotransport behavior. Here, we explore the size-dependent electronic properties of nanostructures made of the lead-containing mineral Aleksite, a naturally occurring topological insulator. Compared to its sister compound Kawazulite, a member of the well-studied Tetradymite crystal class, the crystal structure of Aleksite is distinguished by its lack of any counterpart within the group of synthetic topological insulators. Low temperature Hall measurements on thin Aleksite nanosheets reveal a significant carrier mobility on the order of 1000 cm(2)/(Vs), and a high carrier density of n = 3.9 × 10(25) m(-3). Importantly, for Aleksite nanoribbons with a width below 150 nm, a 1D weak antilocalization effect along with 1D universal conductance fluctuations emerges, which transforms into 2D behavior for larger ribbon widths.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gehring
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vaklinova
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoyer
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Hadj M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Benia
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Physics of Nanostructured Materials, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Viera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Skakalova
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Physics of Nanostructured Materials, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Argentero
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Physics of Nanostructured Materials, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eder
authors.affiliation: University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Physics of Nanostructured Materials, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jannik C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burghard
authors.affiliation: 1] Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany [2] Institut de Physique de la Matière Condensée, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kern