Structural spillage: An efficient method to identify noncrystalline topological materials
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Muñoz-Segovia, Daniel (ORCID:0000000153180058)↗
Engineering topics
Varjas, Dániel
Publications and source records attributed to Varjas, Dániel.
Observation of spin-momentum locked surface states in amorphous Bi 2 Se 3
Crystalline symmetries have played a central role in the identification and understanding of quantum materials. Here we investigate whether an amorphous analogue of a well-known three-dimensional strong topological insulator has topological properties in the solid state. We show that amorphous Bi 2 Se 3 thin films host a number of two-dimensional surface conduction channels. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data are consistent with a dispersive two-dimensional surface state that crosses the bulk gap. Spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy shows this state has an anti-symmetric spin texture, confirming the existence of spin-momentum locked surface states. We discuss these experimental results in light of theoretical photoemission spectra obtained with an amorphous topological insulator tight-binding model, contrasting it with alternative explanations. In conclusion, the discovery of spin-momentum locked surface states in amorphous materials opens a new avenue to characterize amorphous matter and triggers the search for an overlooked subset of quantum materials outside of current classification schemes.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗