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arXiv · 1607.03844

Gate-Variable Mid-Infrared Optical Transitions in a $(Bi_{1-x}Sb_x)_2Te_3$ Topological Insulator

William S. Whitney·Victor W. Brar·Yunbo Ou·Yinming Shao·Artur R. Davoyan·D. N. Basov·Ke He·Qi-Kun Xue·Harry A. Atwater
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Abstract

We report mid-infrared spectroscopy measurements of an electrostatically gated topological insulator, in which we observe several percent modulation of transmittance and reflectance of (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 films as gating shifts the Fermi level. Infrared transmittance measurements of gated (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 films were enabled by use of an epitaxial lift-off method for large-area transfer of topological insulator films from infrared-absorbing SrTiO3 growth substrates to thermal oxidized silicon substrates. We combine these optical experiments with transport measurements and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to identify the observed spectral modulation as a gate-driven transfer of spectral weight between both bulk and topological surface channels and interband and intraband channels. We develop a model for the complex permittivity of gated (Bi1-xSbx)2Te3, and find a good match to our experimental data. These results open the path for layered topological insulator materials as a new candidate for tunable infrared optics and highlight the possibility of switching topological optoelectronic phenomena between bulk and spin-polarized surface regimes.

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William S. Whitney, Victor W. Brar, Yunbo Ou, Yinming Shao, Artur R. Davoyan, D. N. Basov, Ke He, Qi-Kun Xue, Harry A. Atwater. 2016-07-13. Gate-Variable Mid-Infrared Optical Transitions in a $(Bi_{1-x}Sb_x)_2Te_3$ Topological Insulator. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03992

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