Many Topological Insulators Fail the Surface Conduction Test

Abstract

In this report, we scrutinize the thickness dependent resistivity data from the recent literature on electrical transport measurements in topological insulators. A linear increase in resistivity with increase in thickness is expected in the case of these materials since they have an insulating bulk and conducting surface. However, such a trend is not seen in the resistivity versus thickness data for all the cases examined, except for some samples, where it holds for a narrow range of thickness.