The dependences of the electrical conductivity, the Hall coefficient, and the Seebeck coefficient on the layer thickness d (d ¼ 18À600 nm) of p-type topological insulator Bi 2 Te 3 thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum on glass substrates were obtained at room temperature. In the thickness range of d ¼ 18-100 nm, sustained oscillations with a substantial amplitude were revealed. The observed oscillations are well approximated by a harmonic function with a period Dd ¼ (9.5 6 0.5) nm. At d > 100 nm, the transport coefficients practically do not change as d is increased. The oscillations of the kinetic properties are attributed to the quantum size effects due to the hole confinement in the Bi 2 Te 3 quantum wells. The results of the theoretical calculations of Dd within the framework of a model of an infinitely deep potential well are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is suggested that the substantial amplitude of the oscillations and their sustained character as a function of d are connected with the topologically protected gapless surface states of Bi 2 Te 3 and are inherent to topological insulators. V C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

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