Phase-coherent transport in catalyst-free vapor phase deposited Bi$_2$Se$_3$ crystals

TL;DR

This study investigates phase-coherent electron transport in catalyst-free vapor phase grown Bi$_2$Se$_3$ crystals, revealing bulk dominance in transport despite charge tunability and identifying dephasing mechanisms at low temperatures.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of phase coherence and dephasing processes in vapor-grown Bi$_2$Se$_3$ crystals, highlighting bulk transport dominance and spin flip scattering effects.

Findings

Linear increase of phase coherence length with electron density

Bulk contributions dominate electron transport in all devices

Spin flip scattering limits phase coherence at low temperatures

Abstract

Free-standing Bi$_2$Se$_3$ single crystal flakes of variable thickness are grown using a catalyst-free vapor-solid synthesis and are subsequently transferred onto a clean Si$^{++}$/SiO$_2$ substrate where the flakes are contacted in Hall bar geometry. Low temperature magneto-resistance measurements are presented which show a linear magneto-resistance for high magnetic fields and weak anti-localization (WAL) at low fields. Despite an overall strong charge carrier tunability for thinner devices, we find that electron transport is dominated by bulk contributions for all devices. Phase coherence lengths $\l_\phi$ as extracted from WAL measurements increase linearly with increasing electron density exceeding $1 \mu $m at 1.7 K. While $\l_\phi$ is in qualitative agreement with electron electron interaction-induced dephasing, we find that spin flip scattering processes limit $\l_\phi$ at low temperatures.