Evidence of Distributed Robust Surface Current Flow in 3D Topological Insulators

Abstract

The topologically protected conducting state is expected to exist on the entire surface of three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs). Using concurrent measurements of the local and nonlocal conduction, we provide experimental evidence for the topological robustness of the surface-conducting states of bulk-insulating Bi_{1.5}Sb_{0.5}Te_{1.7}Se_{1.3} crystalline flakes. The detailed investigation of local and nonlocal charge conductance on the top surfaces, combining with the comprehensive numerical simulation, reveals that the charge current is widely distributed over the entire surface of a TI. Our findings show evidence of the presence of the topologically protected conducting state at the side wall with irregularly stacked edges between the top and bottom surfaces. This study provides a reliable means of accurately characterizing the topological surface states with inherent nonlocal surface-dominant conducting channels in a TI.