Introducing antiferromagnetic ordering on the surface states of a Bi2Se3 topological insulator by europium doping

Abstract

Topological insulators (TIs) are materials with an insulating bulk characterized by a gapped band structure, along with gapless metallic surface states having a Dirac cone with a helical spin structure in momentum space. The helical spin–momentum locking of the surface states arises from intrinsic spin–orbit coupling (SOC) and provides topological protection to the surface states against scattering from external perturbations, like defects and non-magnetic impurities. Breaking the topological protection of surface states of topological insulators is an essential prerequisite for exploring their applications. Rare-earth ions typically exhibit larger magnetic moments than transition-metal ions and thus promise the opening of a wider exchange gap in the Dirac surface states of topological insulators. Bi₂Se₃ is an interesting material; on the one hand, it has semiconducting properties when it is thin sheets; on the other hand, it's a topological insulator when the structure has a minimum of six quintuple layers (QLs), with diverse applications in photothermal, thermoelectric, and optical properties. Here, we have developed a controlled colloidal synthesis with low temperature and a cost-effective process for the synthesis of undoped and Eu-doped 2D layered Bi₂Se₃ nanosheets. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements demonstrated a correlation between the shift of the Dirac point position and the dopant content, which has been theoretically established by the band structure calculation. At low temperatures below 10 K, for the 10% Eu doped sample, magnetic data suggests an antiferromagnetic ordering in the sample, which may be the contribution of the mixed valence state of europium. Our results support that antiferromagnetic exchange interaction can exist in topological surface states in rare earth Eu-doped Bi₂Se₃, which can open a new window to novel quantum phenomena.