Surface conductivity in SmB6

We present a study of low temperature electron transport (resistivity, magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient) in SmB6 single crystals having different polar (100) and nonpolar (110) and (111) surfaces after mechanical polishing and chemical etching. The estimation of effective parameters for surface and bulk charge carriers allows us to conclude that surface conductivity is very sensitive to the method of surface treatment. The most pronounced change is observed for the polar (100) surface, for which the related Hall concentration of charge carriers at 2 K decreases more than by 2 orders of magnitude and the Hall mobility increases by a factor of 15 after etching these faces in diluted nitric acid. We suggest that the strong dependence of surface properties on the type of treatment may result from both topological protection, which is influenced by intrinsic defects or surface reconstruction, and band bending effects, which modulate the properties of the surface conduction layer in case of polar faces. [Display omitted] •Surface conductivity in SmB6 is very sensitive to the method of surface treatment.•Etching of polar (100) surface induces 15-fold rise of Hall mobility in SmB6.•Surface magnetoresistance in SmB6 depends on polarity of crystal planes.