Electron localization in ultrathin films of three-dimensional topological insulators

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/25/11/117201

Abstract

The recent discovery of three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) has provided a fertile ground for obtaining further insights into electron localization in condensed matter systems. In the past few years, a tremendous amount of research effort has been devoted to investigate electron transport properties of 3D TIs and their low dimensional structures in a wide range of disorder strength, covering transport regimes from weak antilocalization to strong localization. The knowledge gained from these studies not only offers sensitive means to probe the surface states of 3D TIs but also forms a basis for exploring novel topological phases. In this article, we briefly review the main experimental progress in the study of the localization in 3D TIs, with a focus on the latest results on ultrathin TI films. Some new transport data will also be presented in order to complement those reported previously in the literature.

Keywords: localization topological insulator metal-insulator transition quantum transport

Received: 18 March 2016
Revised: 11 April 2016
Accepted manuscript online:

PACS:	72.15.Rn	(Localization effects (Anderson or weak localization))
	73.20.Fz	(Weak or Anderson localization)
	73.25.+i	(Surface conductivity and carrier phenomena)

Fund:

Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2012CB921703 and 2015CB921102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61425015, 11374337, and 91121003), and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB070202).

Corresponding Authors: Yongqing Li
E-mail: yqli@iphy.ac.cn

Cite this article:

Jian Liao(廖剑), Gang Shi(史刚), Nan Liu(刘楠), Yongqing Li(李永庆) Electron localization in ultrathin films of three-dimensional topological insulators 2016 Chin. Phys. B 25 117201

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Electron localization in ultrathin films of three-dimensional topological insulators

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