We study the influence of electron puddles created by doping of a 2D topological insulator on its helical edge conductance. A single puddle is modeled by a quantum dot tunnel coupled to the helical edge. It may lead to significant inelastic backscattering within the edge because of the long electron dwelling time in the dot. We find the resulting correction to the perfect edge conductance. Generalizing to multiple puddles, we assess the dependence of the helical edge resistance on the temperature and doping level and compare it with recent experimental data.

• Received 7 March 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.216402