Signatures of charge inhomogeneities in the infrared spectra of topological insulators Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3

Surface terminations control charge transfer from bulk to surface states in topological insulators

Topological insulators (TI) hold significant potential for various electronic and optoelectronic devices that rely on the Dirac surface state (DSS), including spintronic and thermoelectric devices, as well as terahertz detectors. The behavior of electrons within the DSS plays a pivotal role in the performance of such devices. It is expected that DSS appear on a surface of three dimensional(3D) TI by mechanical exfoliation. However, it is not always the case that the surface terminating atomic configuration and corresponding band structures are homogeneous. In order to investigate the impact of surface terminating atomic configurations on electron dynamics, we meticulously examined the electron dynamics at the exfoliated surface of a crystalline 3D TI (Bi2 Se3 ) with time, space, and energy resolutions. Based on our comprehensive band structure calculations, we found that on one of the Se-terminated surfaces, DSS is located within the bulk band gap, with no other surface states manifesting within this region. On this particular surface, photoexcited electrons within the conduction band effectively relax towards DSS and tend to linger at the Dirac point for extended periods of time. It is worth emphasizing that these distinct characteristics of DSS are exclusively observed on this particular surface.

Real-space nanoimaging of THz polaritons in the topological insulator Bi2Se3

Plasmon polaritons in topological insulators attract attention from a fundamental perspective and for potential THz photonic applications. Although polaritons have been observed by THz far-field spectroscopy on topological insulator microstructures, real-space imaging of propagating THz polaritons has been elusive so far. Here, we show spectroscopic THz near-field images of thin Bi₂Se₃ layers (prototypical topological insulators) revealing polaritons with up to 12 times increased momenta as compared to photons of the same energy and decay times of about 0.48 ps, yet short propagation lengths. From the images we determine and analyze the polariton dispersion, showing that the polaritons can be explained by the coupling of THz radiation to various combinations of Dirac and massive carriers at the Bi₂Se₃ surfaces, massive bulk carriers and optical phonons. Our work provides critical insights into the nature of THz polaritons in topological insulators and establishes instrumentation and methodology for imaging of THz polaritons.

Interface-Dominated Topological Transport in Nanograined Bulk Bi2 Te3

3D topological insulators (TI) host surface carriers with extremely high mobility. However, their transport properties are typically dominated by bulk carriers that outnumber the surface carriers by orders of magnitude. A strategy is herein presented to overcome the problem of bulk carrier domination by using 3D TI nanoparticles, which are compacted by hot pressing to macroscopic nanograined bulk samples. Bi₂ Te₃ nanoparticles well known for their excellent thermoelectric and 3D TI properties serve as the model system. As key enabler for this approach, a specific synthesis is applied that creates nanoparticles with a low level of impurities and surface contamination. The compacted nanograined bulk contains a high number of interfaces and grain boundaries. Here it is shown that these samples exhibit metallic-like electrical transport properties and a distinct weak antilocalization. A downward trend in the electrical resistivity at temperatures below 5 K is attributed to an increase in the coherence length by applying the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka model. THz time-domain spectroscopy reveals a dominance of the surface transport at low frequencies with a mobility of above 10³ cm² V^-1 s^-1 even at room temperature. These findings clearly demonstrate that nanograined bulk Bi₂ Te₃ features surface carrier properties that are of importance for technical applications.

Infrared Optical Conductivity of Bulk Bi2Te2Se

Mid- and near-infrared measurements reveal that the optical conductivity of the three-dimensional topological insulator, Bi2Te2Se, is dominated by bulk carriers and shows a linear-in-frequency increase at 0.5 to 0.8 eV. This linearity might be interpreted as a signature of three-dimensional (bulk) Dirac bands; however, band-structure calculations show that transitions between bands with complex dispersion contribute instead to the inter-band optical conductivity at these frequencies and, hence, the observed linearity is accidental. These results warn against the oversimplified interpretations of optical-conductivity measurements in different Dirac materials.

Revealing 'plasmaron' feature in DySb by optical spectroscopy study

We report magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and optical spectroscopy study on single crystal sample DySb. It exhibits extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR), and a magnetic phase transition from paramagnetic (PM) to antiferromagnetic (AFM) state at about 10 K. A 'screened' plasma edge at about 4000 cm^-1 is revealed by optical measurement, which suggests that the material has a low carrier density. With decreasing temperature, the 'screened' plasma edge shows a blue shift, possibly due to a decrease of the effective mass of carriers. Notably, an anomalous temperature dependent midinfrared absorption feature is observed in the vicinity of the 'screened' plasma edge. In addition, it can be connected to the inflection point in the real part of the dielectric function [Formula: see text], the frequency of which exactly tracks the temperature dependent 'screened' plasma frequency. This phenomena can be explained by the appearance of a coupled electron-plasmon 'plasmaron' feature.

Theory of topological insulator waveguides: polarization control and the enhancement of the magneto-electric effect

Topological insulators subject to a time-reversal-symmetry-breaking perturbation are predicted to display a magneto-electric effect that causes the electric and magnetic induction fields to mix at the material's surface. This effect induces polarization rotations of between ≈1-10 mrad per interface in an incident plane-polarized electromagnetic wave normal to a multilayered structure. Here we show, theoretically and numerically, that by using a waveguide geometry with a topological insulator guide layer and magneto-dielectric cladding it is possible to achieve rotations of ≈100 mrad and generate an elliptical polarization with only a three-layered structure. This geometry is beneficial, not only as a way to enhance the magneto-electric effect, rendering it easier to observe, but also as a method for controlling the polarization of electromagnetic radiation.

Fano q-reversal in topological insulator Bi2Se3

We studied the magneto-optical response of a canonical topological insulator Bi2Se3 with the goal of addressing a controversial issue of electron-phonon coupling. Magnetic-field induced modifications of reflectance are very pronounced in the infrared part of the spectrum, indicating strong electron-phonon coupling. This coupling causes an asymmetric line-shape of the 60 cm(-1) phonon mode, and is analyzed within the Fano formalism. The analysis reveals that the Fano asymmetry parameter (q) changes sign when the cyclotron resonance is degenerate with the phonon mode. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of magnetic field driven q-reversal.

Interplay of Surface and Dirac Plasmons in Topological Insulators: The Case of Bi_{2}Se_{3}

We have investigated plasmonic excitations at the surface of Bi_{2}Se_{3}(0001) via high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. For low parallel momentum transfer q_{∥}, the loss spectrum shows a distinctive feature peaked at 104 meV. This mode varies weakly with q_{∥}. The behavior of its intensity as a function of primary energy and scattering angle indicates that it is a surface plasmon. At larger momenta (q_{∥}~0.04 Å^{-1}), an additional peak, attributed to the Dirac plasmon, becomes clearly defined in the loss spectrum. Momentum-resolved loss spectra provide evidence of the mutual interaction between the surface plasmon and the Dirac plasmon of Bi_{2}Se_{3}. The proposed theoretical model accounting for the coexistence of three-dimensional doping electrons and two-dimensional Dirac fermions accurately represents the experimental observations. The results reveal novel routes for engineering plasmonic devices based on topological insulators.

PVP-Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of High-Yielded Bi2Te3 Hexagonal Nanoplates: Application in Passively Q-Switched Fiber Laser

High-yielded Bi₂Te₃ hexagonal nanoplates were fabricated via a facile solvothermal method with the assistance of poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). Effects of PVP molecular weight and concentration on the morphology and size distribution of the products were illustrated in this study. Molecular weight of PVP is significant for determining the morphology of Bi₂Te₃. The hexagonal nanoplates with high yield were obtained in the presence of PVP with molecular weight of 40000–45000. The average size and size distribution of Bi₂Te₃ nanoplates can be slightly varied by controlling concentration of PVP. High-yielded Bi₂Te₃ nanoplates exhibit characteristics of saturable absorption, identified by open-aperture Z-scan technique. The synthesized Bi₂Te₃ nanoplates with large saturation intensity of 4.6 GW/cm² and high modulation depth of 45.95% generated a stable passively Q-switched fiber laser pulse at 1.5 μm. In comparison with recently reported Q-switched fiber lasers utilizing exfoliated Bi₂Te₃ nanosheets, our passive Q-switching operations could be conducted at a relatively low threshold power of 30.2 mW or a quite high output power of 99.45 mW by tuning the cavity parameters.

Topological insulator metamaterials with tunable negative refractive index in the optical region

A blueshift tunable metamaterial (MM) exhibiting a double-negative refractive index based on a topological insulator (bismuth selenide, Bi2Se3) has been demonstrated in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region. The potential of Bi2Se3 as a dielectric interlayer of the multilayer MM is explored. The optical response of elliptical nanohole arrays penetrating through Au/Bi2Se3/Au films is numerically investigated using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The blueshift tuning range of the MM is as high as 370 nm (from 2,140 to 1,770 nm) after switching the Bi2Se3 between its trigonal and orthorhombic states.