Tunable interaction-induced localization of surface electrons in antidot   nanostructured Bi2Te3 thin films
  Recently, a logarithmic decrease of conductivity has been observed in topological insulators at low temperatures, implying a tendency of localization of surface electrons. Here, we report quantum transport experiments on the topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films with arrayed antidot nanostructures. With increasing density of the antidots, a systematic decrease is observed in the slope of the logarithmic temperature-dependent conductivity curves, indicating the electron-electron interaction can be tuned by the antidots. Meanwhile, the weak anti-localization effect revealed in magnetoconductivity exhibits an enhanced dominance of electron-electron interaction among decoherence mechanisms. The observation can be understood from an antidot-induced reduction of the effective dielectric constant, which controls the interactions between the surface electrons. Our results clarify the indispensable role of the electron-electron interaction in the localization of surface electrons and indicate the localization of surface electrons in an interacting topological insulator. 
Hong-Chao Liu, Hai-Zhou Lu, Hong-Tao He, Baikui Li, Shi-Guang Liu,   Qing Lin He, Gan Wang, Iam Keong Sou, Shun-Qing Shen an...
cond-mat.mes-hall