title: Spatial potential ripples of azimuthal surface modes in topological insulator Bi2Te3 nanowires.
abstract: Topological insulators (TI) nanowires (NW) are an emerging class of structures, promising both novel quantum effects and potential applications in low-power electronics, thermoelectrics and spintronics. However, investigating the electronic states of TI NWs is complicated, due to their small lateral size, especially at room temperature. Here, we perform scanning probe based nanoscale imaging to resolve the local surface potential landscapes of Bi2Te3 nanowires (NWs) at 300 K. We found equipotential rings around the NWs perimeter that we attribute to azimuthal 1D modes. Along the NW axis, these modes are altered, forming potential ripples in the local density of states, due to intrinsic disturbances. Potential mapping of electrically biased NWs enabled us to accurately determine their conductivity which was found to increase with the decrease of NW diameter, consistent with surface dominated transport. Our results demonstrate that TI NWs can pave the way to both exotic quantum states and novel electronic devices.
authors.affiliation: IMM-Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, PTM, E- 28760, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muñoz Rojo
authors.affiliation: Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.|Applied Science and Technology Graduate Program, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Yingjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: IMM-Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, PTM, E- 28760, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Manzano
authors.affiliation: IMM-Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, PTM, E- 28760, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alvaro
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nanostructure and Solid State Physics, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gooth
authors.affiliation: Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Miquel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salmeron
authors.affiliation: IMM-Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, PTM, E- 28760, Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Marisol
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin-Gonzalez