Growth of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 on amorphous fused silica by MBE

Topological insulator (TI) thin films of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 have been successfully grown on amorphous fused silica (vitreous SiO2) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We find that such growth is possible and investigations by X-ray diffraction reveal good crystalline quality with a high degree of order along the c-axis. Atomic force microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and X-ray reflectivity are used to study the surface morphology and structural film parameters. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies confirm the existence of a topological surface state. This work shows that TI films can be grown on amorphous substrates, while maintaining the topological surface state despite the lack of in-plane rotational order of the domains. The growth on fused silica presents a promising route to detailed thermoelectric measurements of TI films, free from unwanted thermal, electrical, and piezoelectric influences from the substrate. (C) 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim