\textit{Ab initio} studies of the electronic and transport properties of topological insulator-metal contacts

Topological insulators (TI) hold great promise for novel applications in electronics and optoelectronics. For such device applications, TIs need to be contacted with a metal for electron injection. Depending on the character and strength of the interaction, a metal contact can modify the properties of TI surface states and induce new states at the interface. In this work, we study via \textit{ab initio} Density Functional Theory the electronic and transport properties of realistic interfaces between a thin film TI and several magnetic and non-magnetic metal surfaces. We will discuss how band topology, band bending and hybridization effects affect charge injection and the contact properties (Schotkky versus ohmic) of the interface.