| Grant number: | 16/22366-5 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | March 01, 2017 |
| Effective date (End): | February 20, 2018 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics |
| Cooperation agreement: | Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
| Principal Investigator: | Eduardo Abramof |
| Grantee: | Celso Israel Fornari |
| Home Institution: | Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 15/16191-5 - The research in new materials involving high magnetic fields and low temperatures, AP.TEM |
Abstract Topological insulators have received great attention of the scientific community due to its unique surface characteristics. These materials behave like conventional insulators in the bulk and have a metallic surface with unique properties, which has been investigated both for technological applications such as quantum computing and spintronics, and for basic scientific research, as in the search of the Majorana fermion. However, these topological properties are extremely sensitive to contamination on the surface, which can modify the crystalline structure leading to degradation of the topological order. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to protect these topological states from contamination in order to use their surface properties at room conditions. This project aims to investigate a protective layer to Bi2Te3 compound to protect the surface states from contamination, while preserving the topological order in the compound. In addition, we will study this topological system by doping with rare earths and by producing vertical p-n junctions. With these new structures, it is expected to suppress free carriers from the bulk, allowing direct measurements through surface channels. This post-doctoral project is included in the thematic project FAPESP Nr. 15/16191-5 and will have collaboration with the group of Experimental Physics VII of the Würzburg University in Germany. (AU) | |