Adsorptions and Reactions on Topological Insulator Surfaces Investigated by Low Energy Ion Scattering
Abstract
Topological insulator (TI) materials insulate in the bulk while conduct on the surface, which makes them promising for future quantum computing and spintronics. The momentum-spin locked electron states are concentrated in the first few atomic layers, which demands a surface sensitive technique to probe. Meanwhile, the stability of the surfaces under various conditions still needs more study before TIs can be further utilized. Low energy Ion scattering (LEIS) is an extremely surface sensitive tool for investigating both surface structure and electronic properties. In this thesis, the spatial distribution of the filled topological surface states (TSS), halogen and Cs adsorption and reaction on Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 TI surfaces and heterostructures of bismuth bilayers on TIs are studied using LEIS and other surface analysis techniques.