Influence of Electron Elastic and Inelastic Scatterings on Magnetoconductance for Bi₂Te₃/MnTe Composite Films

Topological insulators (TIs) usually exhibit complicated magnetoconductance phenomena due to their unique energy band structures. By constructing a series of Bi2Te3/MnTe composite films, we investigated structure/composition effects on the magnetoconductance characteristics, including parabolic magnetoconductance, linear magnetoconductance, and weak antilocalization. The contributions of elastic/inelastic scatterings in the Hikami–Larkin–Nagaoka (HLN) quantum interference model are distinguished based on the transport regime of electrons in the composite films, and the basis for judging its range of applicability is provided. The modified HLN model successfully extends beyond low-field fitting (based on inelastic quantum coherent scattering processes in TIs) to encompass the full magnetic field range by incorporating elastic scattering contributions that govern high-field quantum decoherence mechanisms. This work provides critical insights into the linear magnetoconductance mechanisms involving elastic/inelastic scattering in strongly spin–orbit-coupled inhomogeneous systems while advancing the rational design of high-sensitivity, high-precision magnetoresistive devices.