Grain boundaries in the 3D topological insulator

• Grant number: 18/02065-6
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - Brazil
• Start date: April 02, 2018
• End date: August 01, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Adalberto Fazzio
• Grantee: Adalberto Fazzio
• Visiting researcher: Tome Mauro Schmidt
• Visiting researcher institution: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). Instituto de Física, Brazil
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/02317-2 - Interfaces in materials: electronic, magnetic, structural and transport properties, AP.TEM

Abstract

Topological insulators are a class of materials in which there is a strong coupling between momentum and spin degrees of freedom. This leads to a fundamentally new state of matter in, which the presence of a surface creates a topologically protected metallic state. Surface states make electronic motion insensitive to scattering by impurities.Our Project with Prof. Schmidt deals primarily with surface problems in polycrystalline topological insulation. That is a look at grain interfaces. In a 3D material, grain boundaries are 2D defects in the crystalline structure. The question we want to answer is: How are the topological states in grain interfaces? Prof. Schmidt has long experience with complex defects in materials and has recently published a paper on grain boundaries in 2D topological compounds, and our goal is to explore in 3D materials, like Bi2Se3. (AU)