Method for extraction of microcrystals based on focused electron/ion beam processing and their magnetotransport characterization

Abstract We propose a new in situ microfabrication method using focused electron/ion beam processing to study the influence of crystal orientation on magnetotransport properties. Previous studies obtained microcrystals extracted from bulk single crystals with the out-of-plane crystallographic axis $$\overrightarrow{c}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>c</mml:mi> <mml:mo>→</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> perpendicular to the applied magnetic field $$\overrightarrow{B}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>→</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> and parallel to the current flow. The new method orients $$\overrightarrow{c}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>c</mml:mi> <mml:mo>→</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> parallel to $$\overrightarrow{B}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>→</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> and perpendicular to the current. Magnetotransport measurements at 2 K on Bi 2 Se 3 samples fabricated using both methods reveal differences in zero-field resistivity and charge carrier mobility, demonstrating the impact of the crystal orientation in which the microcrystal is extracted on the electrical transport properties. Graphical Abstract