Molecular beam epitaxy of high structural quality Bi2Se3 on lattice matched InP(111) substrates

TL;DR

This paper reports the successful growth of high-quality Bi2Se3 topological insulator layers on lattice-matched InP(111) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy, demonstrating improved crystal quality and well-defined structural features.

Contribution

It presents a novel epitaxial growth method for Bi2Se3 on InP(111) substrates with enhanced structural quality and detailed microscopic characterization.

Findings

Significant improvement in crystal quality of Bi2Se3 on InP(111)

Presence of triangular twin domains increasing with layer thickness

Confirmation of domain quality via transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

Epitaxial layers of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on laterally lattice-matched InP(111)B substrates. High resolution X-ray diffraction shows a significant improvement of Bi2Se3 crystal quality compared to layers deposited on other substrates. The measured full width at half maximum of the rocking curve is Delta omega=13 arcsec, and the (omega-2theta) scans exhibit clear layer thickness fringes. Atomic force microscope images show triangular twin domains with sizes increasing with layer thickness. The structural quality of the domains is confirmed on the microscopic level by transmission electron microscopy.