Development and nanoscale characterization of back-gated topological devices

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The objective of this proposal is to establish the methodology to perform back-gated scanning tunneling microscopy on topological insulators, study these materials on a local scale with spectroscopy and gating, and to explore candidate materials for two-dimensional topological insulators. While gated STM has been highly successful in studying graphene, it has yet to be achieved in topological insulators. The intellectual merit is the following. The ability to gate while performing STM will provide a tremendously powerful control knob to manipulate the properties of topological insulators and explore the role of interactions. The discovery of ultra thin films of topological insulators will be important to realizing the quantum spin hall effect. The broader impacts are the following. Gated devices will provide the ability to position the Fermi energy near the Dirac point or away from the bulk bands and into the most interesting regimes for future applications. The edge modes at domain wall boundaries in 2D topological insulators are potentially useful for realizing one-dimensional dissipationless spin transport. Undergraduates, graduate students and post-docs will be trained on materials and instruments at the forefront of today?s research. The PI?s integrated outreach and education activities will expose talented high school students to cutting edge research. The program to effectively mentor post-doctoral scholars in the department will impact the training of future scientists. The PI?s ongoing collaboration with the Lynch School of Education will have a real measurable impact on the training and numbers of science teachers in middle- and high schools in urban areas.