Twin domain imaging in topological insulator BiTe and BiSe epitaxial thin films by scanning X-ray nanobeam microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction.

The twin distribution in topological insulators BiTe and BiSe was imaged by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy (SXRM). The crystal orientation at the surface, determined by EBSD, is correlated with the surface topography, which shows triangular pyramidal features with edges oriented in two different orientations rotated in the surface plane by 60°. The bulk crystal orientation is mapped out using SXRM by measuring the diffracted X-ray intensity of an asymmetric Bragg peak using a nano-focused X-ray beam scanned over the sample. By comparing bulk- and surface-sensitive measurements of the same area, buried twin domains not visible on the surface are identified. The lateral twin domain size is found to increase with the film thickness.