Selective Trapping of Hexagonally Warped Topological Surface States in a Triangular Quantum Corral

TL;DR

This study demonstrates selective trapping of topological surface states in a triangular quantum corral on Bi2Te3, revealing how geometry and spin texture influence Dirac electron confinement and interference patterns.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental observation of TSS trapping in a non-circular quantum corral, highlighting the role of geometry and hexagonal warping in topological insulator surface states.

Findings

TSS exhibit trapping and de-trapping behaviors inside the corral.

Selection rules depend on geometry and spin texture of TSS.

Two distinct trapping mechanisms are identified.

Abstract

The surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator (TI) hosts two-dimensional massless Dirac fermions (DFs), the gapless and spin-helical nature of which yields many exotic phenomena, such as the immunity of topological surface states (TSS) to back-scattering. This leads to their high transmission through surface defects or potential barriers. Quantum corrals, previously elaborated on metal surfaces, can act as nanometer-sized electronic resonators to trap Schr\"odinger electrons by quantum confinement. It is thus intriguing, concerning their peculiar nature, to put the Dirac electrons of TSS to the test in similar circumstances. Here, we report the behaviors of TSS in a triangular quantum corral (TQC) fabricated by epitaxially growing Bi bilayer nanostructures on the surfaces of Bi2Te3 films. Unlike a circular corral, the TQC is supposed to be totally transparent for DFs. By mapping the electronic structure of TSS inside TQCs through a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope in the real space, both the trapping and de-trapping behaviors of the TSS electrons are observed. The selection rules are found to be governed by the geometry and spin texture of the constant energy contour of TSS upon the strong hexagonal warping in Bi2Te3. Careful analysis of the quantum interference patterns of quasi-bound states yields the corresponding wave vectors of trapped TSS, through which two trapping mechanisms favoring momenta in different directions are uncovered. Our work indicates the extended nature of TSS and elucidates the selection rules of the trapping of TSS in the presence of a complicated surface state structure, giving insights into the effective engineering of DFs in TIs.