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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Comprehensive Characterization of Extended Defects in Semiconductor Materials by a Scanning Electron Microscope
Published on: May 28, 2016
Electrical resistance of individual defects at a topological insulator surface
Felix Lüpke1,2, Markus Eschbach2,3, Tristan Heider2,3
1Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
Abstract:
Three-dimensional topological insulators host surface states with linear dispersion, which manifest as a Dirac cone. Nanoscale transport measurements provide direct access to the transport properties of the Dirac cone in real space and allow the detailed investigation of charge carrier scattering. Here we use scanning tunnelling potentiometry to analyse the resistance of different kinds of defects at the surface of a (Bi0.53Sb0.47)2Te3 topological insulator thin film. We find the largest localized voltage drop to be located at domain boundaries in the topological insulator film, with a resistivity about four times higher than that of a step edge. Furthermore, we resolve resistivity dipoles located around nanoscale voids in the sample surface. The influence of such defects on the resistance of the topological surface state is analysed by means of a resistor network model. The effect resulting from the voids is found to be small compared with the other defects.
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