Topological insulator nanostructures for near-infrared transparent flexible electrodes.

Journal article

Topological insulators are an intriguing class of materials with an insulating bulk state and gapless Dirac-type edge/surface states. Recent theoretical work predicts that few-layer topological insulators are promising candidates for broadband and high-performance optoelectronic devices due to their spin-momentum-locked massless Dirac edge/surface states, which are topologically protected against all time-reversal-invariant perturbations. Here, we present the first experimental demonstration of near-infrared transparent flexible electrodes based on few-layer topological-insulator Bi(2)Se(3) nanostructures epitaxially grown on mica substrates by means of van der Waals epitaxy. The large, continuous, Bi(2)Se(3)-nanosheet transparent electrodes have single Dirac cone surface states, and exhibit sheet resistances as low as ~330 Ω per square, with a transparency of more than 70% over a wide range of wavelengths. Furthermore, Bi(2)Se(3)-nanosheet transparent electrodes show high chemical and thermal stabilities as well as excellent mechanical durability, which may lead to novel optoelectronic devices with unique properties.

Authors: Peng, H; Dang, W; Cao, J; Chen, Y; Wu, D

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Nature chemistry
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 281-286
• Publication date: 2012-04-01
• DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1277
• EISSN: 1755-4349
• ISSN: 1755-4330
• Language: English
• Keywords: Nanostructures; Aluminum Silicates; Bismuth; Electrodes; Infrared Rays; Selenium Compounds