Gate-Tunable Surface States in Topological Insulator β-Ag₂Te with High Mobility

Stimulated by novel properties in topological insulators, experimentally realizing quantum phases of matter and employing control over their properties have become a central goal in condensed matter physics. β-silver telluride (Ag₂Te) is predicted to be a new type narrow-gap topological insulator. While enormous efforts have been plunged into the topological nature in silver chalcogenides, sophisticated research on low-dimensional nanostructures remains unexplored. Here, we report the record-high bulk carrier mobility of 298 600 cm²/(V s) in high-quality Ag₂Te nanoplates and the coexistence of the surface and bulk state from systematic Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations measurements. By tuning the correlation between the top and bottom surfaces, we can effectively enhance the contribution of the surface to the total conductance up to 87% at 130 V. These results are instrumental to the high-mobility physics study and even suitable to explore exotic topological phenomena in this material system.