Ordered growth of topological insulator Bi2Se3 thin films on dielectric amorphous SiO2 by MBEElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Influence of Se passivation, RHEED patterns during the growth and annealing procedures, the RHEED pattern and XRD profile of epitaxially grown Bi2Se3 films on a Al2O3(0001) substrate, additional HRTEM images, AFM images, and Hall effect measurements. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03032f

Topological insulators (TIs) are exotic materials which have topologically protected states on the surface due to strong spin-orbit coupling. However, a lack of ordered growth of TI thin films on amorphous dielectrics and/or insulators presents a challenge for applications of TI-junctions. We report the growth of topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 thin films on amorphous SiO 2 by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). To achieve the ordered growth of Bi 2 Se 3 on an amorphous surface, the formation of other phases at the interface is suppressed by Se passivation. Structural characterizations reveal that Bi 2 Se 3 films are grown along the [001] direction with a good periodicity by the van der Waals epitaxy mechanism. A weak anti-localization effect of Bi 2 Se 3 films grown on amorphous SiO 2 shows a modulated electrical property by the gating response. Our approach for ordered growth of Bi 2 Se 3 on an amorphous dielectric surface presents considerable advantages for TI-junctions with amorphous insulator or dielectric thin films. Topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 thin films are grown directly on an oxidized amorphous silicon (SiO 2 ) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy using a van der Waals epitaxy method.