Abstract
Strong spin orbit materials have become especially interesting due to their potential for
applications in spintronics, novel transistors, and the search for Majorana fermions. In order
to fully take advantage of these materials they must be thoroughly studied. This work
focuses on the material Bi2Se3, which is a strong spin orbit material and a topological insulator.
I describe a synthesis technique and low-temperature transport measurements of
nanostructures of Bi2Se3, that when annealed with palladium show evidence of superconductivity.
The growth method is a catalyst-free atmospheric pressure vapor-solid growth.
The growth method yields a variety of nanostructures, and materials analysis shows ordered
structures of bismuth selenide in all cases. Low-temperature measurements of as-grown
nanostructures indicate tunable carrier density in all samples. By doping the nanostructures
with palladium via annealing, the transport properties of the samples can be altered to
exhibit superconductivity. Thin films of palladium are deposited on prefabricated Bi2Se3
nanodevices and annealed at temperatures in excess of 100 Celsius. We find that Bi2Se3
absorbs Pd under these conditions and that the absorption of Pd results in evidence of superconductivity,
as shown by transport measurements measurements below 1K.
applications in spintronics, novel transistors, and the search for Majorana fermions. In order
to fully take advantage of these materials they must be thoroughly studied. This work
focuses on the material Bi2Se3, which is a strong spin orbit material and a topological insulator.
I describe a synthesis technique and low-temperature transport measurements of
nanostructures of Bi2Se3, that when annealed with palladium show evidence of superconductivity.
The growth method is a catalyst-free atmospheric pressure vapor-solid growth.
The growth method yields a variety of nanostructures, and materials analysis shows ordered
structures of bismuth selenide in all cases. Low-temperature measurements of as-grown
nanostructures indicate tunable carrier density in all samples. By doping the nanostructures
with palladium via annealing, the transport properties of the samples can be altered to
exhibit superconductivity. Thin films of palladium are deposited on prefabricated Bi2Se3
nanodevices and annealed at temperatures in excess of 100 Celsius. We find that Bi2Se3
absorbs Pd under these conditions and that the absorption of Pd results in evidence of superconductivity,
as shown by transport measurements measurements below 1K.
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | The Niels Bohr Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen |
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| Publication status | Published - 2016 |