• Chinese Physics B
  • Vol. 29, Issue 9, (2020)
Shuya Xing1, Le Lei1, Haoyu Dong1, Jianfeng Guo1, Feiyue Cao1, Shangzhi Gu1, Sabir Hussain2、3, Fei Pang1、†, Wei Ji1, Rui Xu1, and Zhihai Cheng1
Author Affiliations
  • 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Functional Materials & Micro-nano Devices, Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 00872, China
  • 2CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
  • 3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10009, China
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    DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/aba27c Cite this Article
    Shuya Xing, Le Lei, Haoyu Dong, Jianfeng Guo, Feiyue Cao, Shangzhi Gu, Sabir Hussain, Fei Pang, Wei Ji, Rui Xu, Zhihai Cheng. Epitaxial growth of antimony nanofilms on HOPG and thermal desorption to control the film thickness[J]. Chinese Physics B, 2020, 29(9): Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Group-V elemental nanofilms were predicted to exhibit interesting physical properties such as nontrivial topological properties due to their strong spin–orbit coupling, the quantum confinement, and surface effect. It was reported that the ultrathin Sb nanofilms can undergo a series of topological transitions as a function of the film thickness h: from a topological semimetal (h > 7.8 nm) to a topological insulator (7.8 nm > h > 2.7 nm), then a quantum spin Hall (QSH) phase (2.7 nm > h > 1.0 nm) and a topological trivial semiconductor (h > 1.0 nm). Here, we report a comprehensive investigation on the epitaxial growth of Sb nanofilms on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate and the controllable thermal desorption to achieve their specific thickness. The morphology, thickness, atomic structure, and thermal-strain effect of the Sb nanofilms were characterized by a combination study of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The realization of Sb nanofilms with specific thickness paves the way for the further exploring their thickness-dependent topological phase transitions and exotic physical properties.
    Shuya Xing, Le Lei, Haoyu Dong, Jianfeng Guo, Feiyue Cao, Shangzhi Gu, Sabir Hussain, Fei Pang, Wei Ji, Rui Xu, Zhihai Cheng. Epitaxial growth of antimony nanofilms on HOPG and thermal desorption to control the film thickness[J]. Chinese Physics B, 2020, 29(9):
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