Topological insulators




Topological insulators are special materials that are insulating in their interior and conducting at the surface. This surface conductance is ‘topologically protected’, which means that it is very robust and cannot easily be removed. Moreover, the surface states exhibit an intimate coupling between their direction of motion and their spin. Using Josephson junction configurations and nanostructures we investigate the basic properties of three dimensional topological insulators such as Bi2Te3, with a view to their applications in novel forms of spintronics.



Selected recent & key publications:


M. Veldhorst, M. Snelder, M. Hoek, C.G. Molenaar, D.P. Leusink, A.A. Golubov, H. Hilgenkamp and A. Brinkman,

‘Magnetotransport and induced superconductivity in Bi based three-dimensional topological insulators’,

Physica Status Solidi Rapid Research Letters 7, 26 (2013).


M. Veldhorst, M. Snelder, M. Hoek, T. Gang, V.K. Guduru, X.L. Wang, U. Zeitler, W.G. van der Wiel, A.A. Golubov, H. Hilgenkamp and A. Brinkman,

‘Josephson supercurrent through a topological insulator surface state’,

Nature Materials doi:10.1038/nmat3255 (2012).


More publications see: List of publications