Band structure of Bi surfaces formed on Bi2Se3 upon exposure to air

Bi₂Se₃ has been the focus of intense interest over the past decade due to its topological properties. Bi surfaces are known to form on Bi₂Se₃ upon exposure to atmosphere, but their electronic structure has not been investigated. Here, we report band structure measurements of such Bi surfaces using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Measured spectra can be well explained by the band structure of a single bilayer of Bi on Bi₂Se₃, and show that Bi surfaces consistently dominate the photoemission signal for air exposure times of at least 1 hour. These results demonstrate that atmospheric effects should be taken into consideration when identifying two-dimensional transport channels, and when designing surface-sensitive measurements of Bi₂Se₃, ideally limiting air exposure to no more than a few minutes.