Topological proximity effect in a topological insulator hybrid

T. Shoman, A. Takayama, T. Sato (), S. Souma, T. Takahashi, T. Oguchi, Kouji Segawa and Yoichi Ando ()
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T. Shoman: Tohoku University
A. Takayama: WPI Research Center, Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University
T. Sato: Tohoku University
S. Souma: WPI Research Center, Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University
T. Takahashi: Tohoku University
T. Oguchi: Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University
Kouji Segawa: Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University
Yoichi Ando: Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract It is well known that a topologically protected gapless state appears at an interface between a topological insulator and an ordinary insulator; however, the physics of the interface between a topological insulator and a metal has largely been left unexplored. Here we report a novel phenomenon termed topological proximity effect, which occurs between a metallic ultrathin film and a three-dimensional topological insulator. We study one bilayer of bismuth metal grown on the three-dimensional topological insulator material TlBiSe2, and by using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we found evidence that the topological Dirac-cone state migrates from the surface of TlBiSe2 to the attached one-bilayer Bi. We show that such a migration of the topological state occurs as a result of strong spin-dependent hybridization of the wave functions at the interface, which is also supported by our first-principles calculations. This discovery points to a new route to manipulating the topological properties of materials.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7547

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