A topological insulator is a material that behaves as an insulator in its interior (bulk) but whose surface contains conducting states. This property represents a non-trivial, symmetry protected topological order. As a consequence, electrons in topological insulators can only move along the surface of the material. In the bulk of a non-interacting topological insulator, the Fermi level is positioned within the gap between the conduction and valence bands. On the surface, there are special states within the bulk energy gap which can be effectively described by a Dirac Hamiltonian: