Topological insulators (TIs) are bulk insulators with exotic ‘topologically protected’ surface conducting modes. It has recently been pointed out that when stacked together, interactions between surface modes can induce diverse phases including the TI, Dirac semimetal, and Weyl semimetal. However, currently a full experimental understanding of the conditions under which topological modes interact is lacking. Here, working with multilayers of the TI Sb2Te3 and the band insulator GeTe, we provide experimental evidence of multiple topological modes in a single Sb2Te3-GeTe-Sb2Te3 structure. Furthermore, we show that reducing the thickness of the GeTe layer induces a phase transition from a Dirac-like phase to a gapped phase. By comparing different multilayer structures we demonstrate that this transition occurs due to the hybridisation of states associated with different TI films. Our results demonstrate that the Sb2Te3-GeTe system offers strong potential towards manipulating topological states as well as towards controlledly inducing various topological phases.
A model proposed by Tinkham1to explain the resistance versus temperature broadening found in highTcsuperconductors in applied magnetic fields is extended to “foot and knee”-structured data taken on polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O6+δ. The proposed extension involves a series combination of two types of superconductors. For this series combination to result, a critical ratio of the two types of superconductors must be met—a result common to both percolation and randomized cellular autonoma theory. This critical ratio is investigated via statistical computer models of a polycrystalline superconductor having two phases of crystallites—one with substantially lowerJcthan the other.
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