Suchergebnisse

By means of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, we have investigated the native defects present in Bi2Se3, which belongs to the family of topological insulators. We experimentally demonstrate that selenium vacancy defects (VSe1) are present in Bi2Se3 as-grown samples, and that their charge is delocalized as temperature increases. At least from 100 K up to room temperature both V0Se1 and V+Se1 charge states coexist. The observed charge delocalization determines the contribution of VSe1 defects to the n-type conductivity of Bi2Se3. These findings are supported by theoretical calculations, which show that vacancies of nonequivalent Se1 and Se2 selenium atoms are clearly differentiated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, enabling us to directly detect and quantify the most favorable type of selenium vacancy. In addition to open-volume defects, experimental data indicate the presence of defects that act as shallow traps, suggesting that more than one type of native defects coexist in Bi2Se3. As will be discussed, the presence of a dislocation density around 1010cm−2 could be the source of the detected shallow traps. Understanding the one-dimensional defects and the origin of the charge delocalization that leads Bi2Se3 to be an n-type semiconductor will help in the development of high-quality topological insulators based on this material. ; This work is supported by the Basque Government Grant No. IT-443-10 and partially supported by the Basque Government Grant No. IT-756-13, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under the project TEC2014-60173, and by the Generalitat Valenciana under the projects Prometeo II 2015/004 and ISIC/2012/008. I.U. also wants to acknowledge financial support from the Basque Government Grant No. PRE-2014-214 and J. Feuchtwanger for his technical support. V.M.-B. thanks the University of Valencia for its predoctoral fellowships. Finally, we would also like to thank BCMaterials for its economic support. ; Peer reviewed

The structural and vibrational properties of bismuth selenide (Bi 2Se 3) have been studied by means of x-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements up to 20 and 30 GPa, respectively. The measurements have been complemented with ab initio total-energy and lattice dynamics calculations. Our experimental results evidence a phase transition from the low-pressure rhombohedral (R-3m) phase (¿-Bi 2Se 3) with sixfold coordination for Bi to a monoclinic C2/m structure (ß-Bi 2Se 3) with sevenfold coordination for Bi above 10 GPa. The equation of state and the pressure dependence of the lattice parameters and volume of ¿ and ß phases of Bi 2Se 3 are reported. Furthermore, the presence of a pressure-induced electronic topological phase transition in ¿-Bi 2Se 3 is discussed. Raman measurements evidence that Bi 2Se 3 undergoes two additional phase transitions around 20 and 28 GPa, likely toward a monoclinic C2/c and a disordered body-centered cubic structure with 8-fold and 9- or 10-fold coordination, respectively. These two high-pressure structures are the same as those recently found at high pressures in Bi 2Te 3 and Sb 2Te 3. On pressure release, Bi 2Se 3 reverts to the original rhombohedral phase after considerable hysteresis. Symmetries, frequencies, and pressure coefficients of the Raman and infrared modes in the different phases are reported and discussed. © 2011 American Physical Society. ; This work was done under financial support from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under Projects No. MAT2007-66129, No. MAT2010-21270-C04-03/04, and No. CSD-2007-00045 and from the Valencian government under Project No. Prometeo/2011-035. It is also supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic Project No. MSM 0021627501. E.P.G. acknowledges the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Education. Supercomputer time was provided by the Red Espanola de Supercomputacion and the MALTA cluster. ; Vilaplana Cerda, RI.; Santamaría-Pérez, D.; Gomis Hilario, O.; Manjón Herrera, FJ.; ...