We report resistance measurements in HgTe wells with an inverted band structure near the charge neutrality point (CNP), where the system is expected to be a two-dimensional topological insulator with a dominant edge states contribution. The sample resistance is found to be about 100 times higher than the resistance quantum $h/2e^2$. Surprisingly, instead of a strong temperature dependence expected in such a seemingly insulating state the resistance at the CNP is found to be temperature independent at low temperatures. The experimental results are compared to the recent theoretical models.

• Received 5 November 2013
• Revised 27 February 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.125305