A lateral heterojunction of topological insulator Sb2Te3/Bi2Te3 was successfully synthesized using a two-step solvothermal method. The two crystalline components were separated well by a sharp lattice-matched interface when the optimized procedure was used. Inspecting the heterojunction using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed that epitaxial growth occurred along the horizontal plane. A rectification curve was observed at low temperatures. Quantum correction from the weak antilocalization reveals the transport of the topological surface state. There was, therefore, a staggered-gap lateral heterojunction with a small junction voltage, which is appealing for a platform for spin filters and one-dimensional topological interface states.
@article{arxiv.1503.00390,
title = {Lateral Heterojunction Sb2Te3/Bi2Te3 and its topological transport},
author = {Fucong Fei and Qianjin Wang and Zhongxia Wei and Rui Wang and Danfeng Pan and Bo Zhao and Xuefeng Wang and Xinran Wang and Fengqi Song and Baigeng Wang and Jianguo Wan and Guanghou Wang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.00390},
year = {2015}
}