Experimental Observation of Bound States of 2D Dirac Electrons at Surface Steps of the Topological Insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$

TL;DR

This study experimentally observes one-dimensional bound states of Dirac electrons near surface steps of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$, revealing new effects beyond simple scattering and interference.

Contribution

It demonstrates the formation of 1D bound states due to band bending at surface steps, supported by STM/STS measurements and numerical simulations.

Findings

Bound states observed near surface steps of Bi$_2$Se$_3$

Band bending causes potential wells leading to bound states

Numerical models support experimental results

Abstract

Topologically protected surface states of three-dimensional topological insulators provide a model framework for studying massless Dirac electrons in two dimensions. Usually a step on the surface of a topological insulator is treated as a scatterer for the Dirac electrons, and the study of its effect is focused on the interference of the incident and scattered electrons. Then a major role plays the warping of the Dirac cone far from the Dirac point. The existence of another significant effect near the Dirac point brought about by the presence of steps is experimentally demonstrated here. Namely the band bending in the vicinity of steps leads to formation of 1D bound states in the corresponding potential wells. The observation of bound states in such potential wells in our scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy investigation of the surface of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ is reported. Numerical simulations support our conclusion and provide a recipe for the identification of such states.