Quantum Coherent Transport of 1D Ballistic States in Second-Order Topological Insulator <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Bi</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>4</

We investigate quantum transport in micrometer-sized single crystals of <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mrow> <a:msub> <a:mrow> <a:mi>Bi</a:mi> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:mn>4</a:mn> </a:mrow> </a:msub> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:msub> <a:mrow> <a:mi>Br</a:mi> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:mn>4</a:mn> </a:mrow> </a:msub> </a:mrow> </a:math> , a material predicted to be a second-order topological insulator. 1D topological states with long phase coherence times are revealed via the modulation of quantum interference with magnetic field and gate voltage. In particular, we demonstrate the existence of Aharonov-Bohm interference between 1D ballistic states several micrometers long, that we identify as phase-coherent hinge modes on neighboring step edges at the crystal surface. These Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are made possible by a disordered phase-coherent contact region, the existence of which is confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX) of FIB lamellae. Their coherent nature modulates the transmission of the 1D edge states, leading to weak antilocalization and universal conductance fluctuations with surprisingly large characteristic fields and a strongly anisotropic behavior. These complementary experimental results provide a comprehensive, coherent description of quantum transport in <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <c:mrow> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi>Bi</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>4</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi>Br</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>4</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> </c:mrow> </c:math> and establish the material as a second-order topological insulator with topologically protected 1D ballistic states.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review X
Published
2025-10-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/2bqq-t7ml
Primary Topic
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Type
article
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article

Quantum Coherent Transport of 1D Ballistic States in Second-Order Topological Insulator <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Bi</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>4</

Karl J. Friston
Physical Review X
Topological Materials and Phenomena
article

Quantum Coherent Transport of 1D Ballistic States in Second-Order Topological Insulator <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Bi</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>4</

Karl J. Friston
article en

Abstract

We investigate quantum transport in micrometer-sized single crystals of <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mrow> <a:msub> <a:mrow> <a:mi>Bi</a:mi> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:mn>4</a:mn> </a:mrow> </a:msub> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:msub> <a:mrow> <a:mi>Br</a:mi> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:mn>4</a:mn> </a:mrow> </a:msub> </a:mrow> </a:math> , a material predicted to be a second-order topological insulator. 1D topological states with long phase coherence times are revealed via the modulation of quantum interference with magnetic field and gate voltage. In particular, we demonstrate the existence of Aharonov-Bohm interference between 1D ballistic states several micrometers long, that we identify as phase-coherent hinge modes on neighboring step edges at the crystal surface. These Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are made possible by a disordered phase-coherent contact region, the existence of which is confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX) of FIB lamellae. Their coherent nature modulates the transmission of the 1D edge states, leading to weak antilocalization and universal conductance fluctuations with surprisingly large characteristic fields and a strongly anisotropic behavior. These complementary experimental results provide a comprehensive, coherent description of quantum transport in <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <c:mrow> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi>Bi</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>4</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi>Br</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>4</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> </c:mrow> </c:math> and establish the material as a second-order topological insulator with topologically protected 1D ballistic states.

Physical Review XVol. 16(1)
Université de Lille (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Laboratoire de physique des Solides (FR), Shanghai Institute for Science of Science (CN), Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies (FR), Institut d'Electronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (FR), Institute of Science Tokyo (JP)
Openalex Percentile: Top 68%
Topological Materials and Phenomena
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