Fermiology of the Strongly Spin-Orbit Coupled Superconductor Sn1-xInxTe: Implications for Topological Superconductivity

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the strongly spin-orbit coupled low-carrier density superconductor Sn1-xInxTe (x = 0.045) to elucidate the electronic states relevant to the possible occurrence of topological superconductivity, as recently reported for this compound based on point-contact spectroscopy. The obtained energy-band structure reveals a small holelike Fermi surface centered at the L point of the bulk Brillouin zone, together with a signature of a topological surface state, indicating that this material is a doped topological crystalline insulator characterized by band inversion and mirror symmetry. A comparison of the electronic states with a band-noninverted superconductor possessing a similar Fermi surface structure, Pb1-xTlxTe, suggests that the anomalous behavior in the superconducting state of Sn1-xInxTe is related to the peculiar orbital characteristics of the bulk valence band and/or the presence of a topological surface state.