Several small-band-gap semiconductors are now known to protect metallic surface states as a consequence of the topology of the bulk electron wave functions. The known “topological insulators” with this behavior include the important thermoelectric materials ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2{\mathrm{Te}}_3$ and ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2{\mathrm{Se}}_3$, whose surfaces are observed in photoemission experiments to have an unusual electronic structure with a single Dirac cone. We study in-plane (i.e., horizontal) transport in thin films made of these materials. The surface states from top and bottom surfaces hybridize, and conventional diffusive transport predicts that the tunable hybridization-induced band gap leads to increased thermoelectric performance at low temperatures. Beyond simple diffusive transport, the conductivity shows a crossover from the spin-orbit-induced antilocalization at a single surface to ordinary localization.

• Received 31 March 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.166603