Crystal structure and epitaxy of Bi2Te3 films grown on Si

We report comprehensive x-ray diffraction studies of the crystal structure and epitaxy of thin films of the topological insulator Bi2Te3 grown on Si (1 1 1). The films are single crystals of high crystalline quality, which strongly depend on that of their substrates, with in-plane epitaxial relationships of Bi2Te3 [2 1 −3 0] ‖ Si [1 −1 0] and Bi2Te3 [0 1 −1 0] ‖ Si [1 1 −2] along which the lattices of 1 × 3 Bi2Te3 and 2 × 2 Si supercells are well matched. As the samples age, we observe loss of crystalline Bi2Te3 film thickness accompanied with roughening of the crystalline interfaces, formation of new crystalline phases as well as compositional and structural modification of the Si substrate, consistent with the diffusion of Te into the Si substrate.