Localization and Directionality of Surface Transport in Bi ₂Te ₃ Ordered 3D Nanonetworks

Abstract

The resistance of an ordered 3D-Bi ₂Te ₃ nanowire nanonetwork was studied at low temperatures. Below 50 K the increase in resistance was found to be compatible with the Anderson model for localization, considering that conduction takes place in individual parallel channels across the whole sample. Angle-dependent magnetoresistance measurements showed a distinctive weak antilocalization characteristic with a double feature that we could associate with transport along two perpendicular directions, dictated by the spatial arrangement of the nanowires. The coherence length obtained from the Hikami–Larkin–Nagaoka model was about 700 nm across transversal nanowires, which corresponded to approximately 10 nanowire junctions. Along the individual nanowires, the coherence length was greatly reduced to about 100 nm. The observed localization effects could be the reason for the enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient observed in the 3D-Bi ₂Te ₃ nanowire nanonetwork compared to individual nanowires.