Symmetry breaking of the surface mediated quantum Hall effect in Bi₂Se₃ nanoplates using Fe₃O₄ substrates

Abstract

Bi2Se3 nanoplate devices are synthesized on SiO2 and ferrimagnetic insulator substrates. We experimentally demonstrate that ferromagnetism is induced into the bottom surface. The symmetry broken bottom states give rise to an additional Shubnikov-de Haas frequency and leads to a decoupling of the top and bottom quantum Hall effects. We present a three-channel model that separates the bulk, top and bottom surface contributions to the Hall resistance, indicating the presence of two symmetry shifted half-integer QHEs.