Nanomechanical, structural, and transport properties of Bi3Se2Te thin films

Abstract

New ternary phase of Bi3Se2Te thin films were successfully grown through pulsed laser deposition with a single Bi2Se2Te crystal as the target. Bi-rich and Se-and Te-deficient compositions deposited at a substrate temperature (T-s) of 250 degrees C and helium gas pressures (P-He) ranging from 2.0 x 10(-5) to 6.5 x 10(-1) Torr aided the formation of the dominant Bi-rich phase: Bi3Se2Te. The films were grown epitaxially on Al2O3 (001) substrates with Bi3Se2Te [001]//Al2O3 [001] and Bi3Se2Te [110]//Al2O3 [210]. An increase in P-He remarkably enhanced the hardness and Young\'s modulus of the films, primarily because of the decrease in nanograin size, following the HallePetch relationship. Moreover, the Bi3Se2Te films present linear magnetoresistance under a high perpendicular magnetic field (B >= 4 T) and twodimensional weak antilocalization effect under a low B (+/- 1 T) which may be attributed to topological insulator surface state (TSS). Clearly, further theoretical calculations and experiments are needed to confirm the suggested interpretation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.