Karl Franzens University Graz | Graz University of Technology | |
Surface Electronic Structure of SmB6 - The first topological Kondo insulator? The prediction that Kondo insulators could be topologically non-trivial [1] renewed interest in SmB6, a material that already earned a reputation as the first mixed valence system and the first Kondo insulator. Dzero et al.’s proposal [1] connects two of the most topical fields in solid state research: Topological insulators and strongly correlated, heavy Fermion materials. In addition, robust surface conductivity —inherent to a topological insulator— would elegantly explain SmB6’s anomalous transport properties; an issue that has puzzled researchers for decades [2]. |