Properties of thin film SnTe grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The topological crystalline insulator SnTe exhibits multiple surface states protected by crystal symmetry. Thin films of SnTe have been grown by physical vapor deposition techniques on several substrates; these films tend to consist of a heterogeneous collection domain structures. In this talk, we report systematic studies of the structure and transport properties of SnTe films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Combining atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction measurements, we find that the domains consist of crystallites with {100} and {111} surfaces. When the thickness of SnTe exceeds 400 u.c., the {100} surface becomes dominant. Transport measurements show that conduction in the films can be attributed to both Sn vacancies in bulk SnTe and the surface topological states of SnTe.