Residual gas absorption effect on the electronic structure of Cr-doped Bi2Se3

TL;DR

This study investigates how residual gas condensation on Cr-doped Bi2Se3 surfaces affects the temperature-dependent energy gap at the Dirac point, impacting the realization of the quantum anomalous Hall effect.

Contribution

It identifies residual gas condensation as a key factor influencing the temperature dependence of the surface energy gap in impurity-doped topological insulators.

Findings

Residual gas condensation causes electron doping and gap variation with temperature.

Surface adsorbates weaken ferromagnetism and affect transport measurements.

Addressing this issue could enable higher temperature quantum anomalous Hall effects.

Abstract

In this report, we identify the origin of the temperature dependence of the surface energy gap in impurity-doped topological insulators. The gap at the Dirac point and its variation with temperature were studied by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in Cr-doped Bi2Se3. Our valence band photoemission results revealed that the gap varies with temperature due to residual gas condensation on the sample surface with cooling. Adsorbate on the surface of the sample creates an electron doping effect that modifies the chemical potential of the system resulting in the change of the gap with variable temperature. Such electron doping can weaken the ferromagnetism and lead to a bulk band contribution in the transport measurements. Also, a larger energy gap is required to suppress the thermal excitations for the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Therefore, such effects can hinder the quantum anomalous Hall state at higher temperatures. Resolving this issue can pave the way for enhancing the observation temperature of the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Therefore, our findings can play a significant role in the discovery of the high-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect in impurity-doped topological insulators.