Built-in electric field and its origin at the (111)R surface of topological insulators GeBi4Te7 and MnBi4Te7
Abstract The topological insulator GeBi 4 Te 7 belongs to a family of compounds consisting of alternating quintuple and septuple layers (QLs and SLs), and its surface electronic structure is determined by whether the crystal terminates with a QL or SL layer block. Using spatially and momentum-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and STM/STS in the field emission resonance spectroscopy regime as well, we clearly revealed the charge redistribution between the QL and SL terminations, as evidenced by band bending. We attribute the charge redistribution to cation antisite defects in the SLs, which are electrically active and lead to an uncompensated surface charge. Our findings and the ability to manipulate the electronic properties of the surface have profound implications for the entire family of compounds, including the magnetic topological insulator Mn(Bi,Sb) 4 Te 7 .
Authors
- Kirill A. Bokai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6646-7186)
- Matteo Amati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3809-2145)
- А. С. Фролов (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7955-6359)
- J. Sánchez‐Barriga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9947-6700)
- Dmitry Yu. Usachov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0390-0007)
- D. A. Estyunin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3947-5049)
- Lada V. Yashina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8370-9140)
- Nadezhda V. Vladimirova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5525-3521)
- D. V. Vyalikh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9053-7511)
- V. S. Stolyarov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5317-0818)
- Luca Gregoratti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4947-2370)
- Maria A. Kirsanova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7476-6293)
- Anton I. Sergeev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4797-8455)
- Alexander Fedorov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9228-7082)
- Vladimir A. Golyashov
- Roman R. Kozii
- Sergey M. Aksenov
- Vladimir V. Voroshnin
- Oleg E. Tereshchenko
Institutions
- Ikerbasque (ES)
- National Research University Higher School of Economics (RU)
- National University of Science and Technology (RU)
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (RU)
- Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
- St Petersburg University (RU)
- Lomonosov Moscow State University (RU)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE)
- IMDEA Nanoscience (ES)
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A. (IT)
- Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (RU)
- Murmansk Arctic State University (RU)
- Institute of Semiconductor Physics (RU)
- Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (CN)
- Donostia International Physics Center (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Materials
- Published
- 2026-06-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-026-01162-5
- Primary Topic
- Topological Materials and Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00