A 3D Topological Insulator (TI) is an intrinsically stratified electronic material characterized by an insulating bulk and Dirac free electrons at the interface with vacuum or another dielectric. In this paper, we investigate, through terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, the plasmon excitation of Dirac electrons on thin films of (Bi1-xInx)(2)Se-3 TI patterned in the form of a micro-ribbon array, across a Quantum Phase Transition (QPT) from the topological to a trivial insulating phase. The latter is achieved by In doping onto the Bi-site and is characterized by massive electrons at the surface. While the plasmon frequency is nearly independent of In content, the plasmon width undergoes a sudden broadening across the QPT, perfectly mirroring the single particle (free electron) behavior as measured on the same films. This strongly suggests that the topological protection from backscattering characterizing Dirac electrons in the topological phase extends also to their plasmon excitations.

Topologically protected Dirac plasmons and their evolution across the quantum phase transition in a (Bi1-xInx)2Se3 topological insulator / Autore, Marta; Giorgianni, Flavio; D'Apuzzo, Fausto; Di Gaspare, Alessandra; Lo Vecchio, Irene; Brahlek, Matthew; Koirala, Nikesh; Oh, Seongshik; Schade, Urlich; Ortolani, Michele; Lupi, Stefano. - In: NANOSCALE. - ISSN 2040-3364. - STAMPA. - 8:8(2016), pp. 4667-4671. [10.1039/c5nr02976g]

Topologically protected Dirac plasmons and their evolution across the quantum phase transition in a (Bi1-xInx)2Se3 topological insulator

ORTOLANI, MICHELE;LUPI, Stefano
2016

Abstract

A 3D Topological Insulator (TI) is an intrinsically stratified electronic material characterized by an insulating bulk and Dirac free electrons at the interface with vacuum or another dielectric. In this paper, we investigate, through terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, the plasmon excitation of Dirac electrons on thin films of (Bi1-xInx)(2)Se-3 TI patterned in the form of a micro-ribbon array, across a Quantum Phase Transition (QPT) from the topological to a trivial insulating phase. The latter is achieved by In doping onto the Bi-site and is characterized by massive electrons at the surface. While the plasmon frequency is nearly independent of In content, the plasmon width undergoes a sudden broadening across the QPT, perfectly mirroring the single particle (free electron) behavior as measured on the same films. This strongly suggests that the topological protection from backscattering characterizing Dirac electrons in the topological phase extends also to their plasmon excitations.
2016
Materials Science (all)
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Topologically protected Dirac plasmons and their evolution across the quantum phase transition in a (Bi1-xInx)2Se3 topological insulator / Autore, Marta; Giorgianni, Flavio; D'Apuzzo, Fausto; Di Gaspare, Alessandra; Lo Vecchio, Irene; Brahlek, Matthew; Koirala, Nikesh; Oh, Seongshik; Schade, Urlich; Ortolani, Michele; Lupi, Stefano. - In: NANOSCALE. - ISSN 2040-3364. - STAMPA. - 8:8(2016), pp. 4667-4671. [10.1039/c5nr02976g]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/911834
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