The experimental determination of exchange mass terms in surface states on both terminations of MnBi4Te7

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Song, Dezhi, Hang, Fuyang, Yao, Gang, Zhang, Jun, Jiang, Ye-Ping, Jia, Jin-Feng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Song, Dezhi
Hang, Fuyang
Yao, Gang
Zhang, Jun
Jiang, Ye-Ping
Jia, Jin-Feng
author_facet Song, Dezhi
Hang, Fuyang
Yao, Gang
Zhang, Jun
Jiang, Ye-Ping
Jia, Jin-Feng
contents The intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulators in the Mn-Bi-Te family, composed of superlattice-like MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n (n = 0, 1, 2, 3...) layered structure, present intriguing states of matter such as quantum anomalous Hall effect and the axion insulator. However, the surface state gap, which is the prerequisite for the observation of these states, remains elusive. Here by molecular beam epitaxy, we obtain two types of MnBi4Te7 films with the exclusive Bi2Te3 (BT) or MnBi2Te4 (MBT) terminations. By scanning tunneling spectroscopy, the mass terms in the surface states are identified on both surface terminations. Experimental results reveal the existence of a hybridization gap of approximately 23 meV in surface states on the BT termination. This gap comes from the hybridization between the surface states and the spin-split states in the adjacent MBT layer. On the MBT termination, an exchange mass term of about 30 meV in surface states is identified by taking magnetic-field-dependent Landau level spectra as well as theoretical simulations. In addition, the mass term varies with the field in the film with a heavy BiMn doping level in the Mn layers. These findings demonstrate the existence of mass terms in surface states on both types of terminations in our epitaxial MnBi4Te7 films investigated by local probes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_22058
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The experimental determination of exchange mass terms in surface states on both terminations of MnBi4Te7
Song, Dezhi
Hang, Fuyang
Yao, Gang
Zhang, Jun
Jiang, Ye-Ping
Jia, Jin-Feng
Materials Science
The intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulators in the Mn-Bi-Te family, composed of superlattice-like MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n (n = 0, 1, 2, 3...) layered structure, present intriguing states of matter such as quantum anomalous Hall effect and the axion insulator. However, the surface state gap, which is the prerequisite for the observation of these states, remains elusive. Here by molecular beam epitaxy, we obtain two types of MnBi4Te7 films with the exclusive Bi2Te3 (BT) or MnBi2Te4 (MBT) terminations. By scanning tunneling spectroscopy, the mass terms in the surface states are identified on both surface terminations. Experimental results reveal the existence of a hybridization gap of approximately 23 meV in surface states on the BT termination. This gap comes from the hybridization between the surface states and the spin-split states in the adjacent MBT layer. On the MBT termination, an exchange mass term of about 30 meV in surface states is identified by taking magnetic-field-dependent Landau level spectra as well as theoretical simulations. In addition, the mass term varies with the field in the film with a heavy BiMn doping level in the Mn layers. These findings demonstrate the existence of mass terms in surface states on both types of terminations in our epitaxial MnBi4Te7 films investigated by local probes.
title The experimental determination of exchange mass terms in surface states on both terminations of MnBi4Te7
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.22058