arXiv subjects

N. Koirala

Publications and source records attributed to N. Koirala.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Gate tunable quantum Hall effects in defect-suppressed Bi2Se3 films

Despite many years of efforts, attempts to reach the quantum regime of topological surface states (TSS) on an electrically tunable topological insulator (TI) platform have so far failed on binary TI compounds such as Bi2Se3 due to high density of interfacial defects. Here, utilizing an optimal buffer layer on a gatable substrate, we demonstrate the first electrically tunable quantum Hall effects (QHE) on TSS of Bi2Se3. On the n-side, well-defined QHE shows up, but it diminishes near the charge neutrality point (CNP) and completely disappears on the p-side. Furthermore, around the CNP the system transitions from a metallic to a highly resistive state as the magnetic field is increased, whose temperature dependence indicates presence of an insulating ground state at high magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Coexistence of bulk and surface states probed by Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in Bi$_2$Se$_3$ with high charge-carrier density

Topological insulators are ideally represented as having an insulating bulk with topologically protected, spin-textured surface states. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that these surface transport channels can be accompanied by a finite conducting bulk, as well as additional topologically trivial surface states. To investigate these parallel conduction transport channels, we studied Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in Bi$_2$Se$_3$ thin films, in high magnetic fields up to 30 T so as to access channels with a lower mobility. We identify a clear Zeeman-split bulk contribution to the oscillations from a comparison between the charge-carrier densities extracted from the magnetoresistance and the oscillations. Furthermore, our analyses indicate the presence of a two-dimensional state and signatures of additional states the origin of which cannot be conclusively determined. Our findings underpin the necessity of theoretical studies on the origin of and the interplay between these parallel conduction channels for a careful analysis of the material's performance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Surface vibrational modes of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ observed by Raman spectroscopy

We present polarization resolved Raman scattering study of surface vibration modes in the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ single crystal and thick films. Besides the four Raman active bulk phonons, we observed four additional modes with much weaker intensity and slightly lower energy than the bulk counterparts. Using symmetry analysis, we assigned these additional modes to out-of-plane surface phonons. Comparing with first principle calculations, we conclude that the appearance of these modes is due to $c$-axis lattice distortion and van der Waals gap expansion near the crystal surface. Two of the surface modes at 60 and 173 cm$^{-1}$ are associated with Raman active $A_{1g}$ bulk phonon modes, the other two at 136 and 158 cm$^{-1}$ are associated with infrared active bulk phonons with $A_{2u}$ symmetry. The latter become Raman allowed due to reduction of crystalline symmetry from $D_{3d}$ in the bulk to $C_{3v}$ on the crystal surface. In particular, the 158 cm$^{-1}$ surface phonon mode shows a Fano lineshape under resonant excitation, suggesting interference in the presence of electron-phonon coupling of the surface excitations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Quantized Faraday and Kerr rotation and axion electrodynamics of a 3D topological insulator

Topological insulators have been proposed to be best characterized as bulk magnetoelectric materials that show response functions quantized in terms of fundamental physical constants. Here we lower the chemical potential of three-dimensional (3D) Bi$_2$Se$_3$ films to $\sim$ 30 meV above the Dirac point, and probe their low-energy electrodynamic response in the presence of magnetic fields with high-precision time-domain terahertz polarimetry. For fields higher than 5 T, we observed quantized Faraday and Kerr rotations, whereas the DC transport is still semi-classical. A non-trivial Berry phase offset to these values gives evidence for axion electrodynamics and the topological magnetoelectric effect. The time structure used in these measurements allows a direct measure of the fine structure constant based on a topological invariant of a solid-state system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Tuning and Stabilizing Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 in the Intrinsic Regime by Charge Extraction with Organic Overlayers

In this work, we use charge extraction via organic overlayer deposition to lower the chemical potential of topological insulator Bi2Se3 thin films into the intrinsic (bulk-insulating) regime. We demonstrate the tuning and stabilization of intrinsic topological insulators at high mobility with low-cost organic films. With the protection of the organic charge extraction layers tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane(F4TCNQ) or tris(acetylacetonato)cobalt(III) (Co(acac)3), the sample is stable in the atmosphere with chemical potential ~135 meV above the Dirac point (85 meV below the conduction band minimum, well within the topological insulator regime) after four months, which is an extraordinary level of environmental stability. The Co complex represents the first use of an organometallic for modulating TI charge density. The mobility of surface state electrons is enhanced as high as ~2000 cm2/Vs. Even at room temperature, a true topologically insulating state is realized and stabilized for months' exposure to the atmosphere.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

High-Resolution Faraday Rotation and Electron-Phonon Coupling in Surface States of the Bulk-Insulating Topological Insulator Cu$_{0.02}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$

We have utilized time-domain magneto-terahertz spectroscopy to investigate the low frequency optical response of topological insulator Cu$_{0.02}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ and Bi$_2$Se$_3$ films. With both field and frequency dependence, such experiments give sufficient information to measure the mobility and carrier density of multiple conduction channels simultaneously. We observe sharp cyclotron resonances (CRs) in both materials. The small amount of Cu incorporated into the Cu$_{0.02}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ induces a true bulk insulator with only a \textit{single} type of conduction with total sheet carrier density $\sim4.9\times10^{12}/$cm$^{2}$ and mobility as high as 4000 cm$^{2}/$V$\cdot$s. This is consistent with conduction from two virtually identical topological surface states (TSSs) on top and bottom of the film with a chemical potential $\sim$145 meV above the Dirac point and in the bulk gap. The CR broadens at high fields, an effect that we attribute to an electron-phonon interaction. This assignment is supported by an extended Drude model analysis of the zero field Drude conductance. In contrast, in normal Bi$_2$Se$_3$ films two conduction channels were observed and we developed a self-consistent analysis method to distinguish the dominant TSSs and coexisting trivial bulk/2DEG states. Our high-resolution Faraday rotation spectroscopy on Cu$_{0.02}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ paves the way for the observation of quantized Faraday rotation under experimentally achievable conditions to push chemical potential in the lowest Landau Level.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Towards the understanding of the origin of charge-current-induced spin voltage signals in the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$

Topological insulators provide a new platform for spintronics due to the spin texture of the surface states that are topologically robust against elastic backscattering. Here, we report on an investigation of the measured voltage obtained from efforts to electrically probe spin-momentum locking in the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ using ferromagnetic contacts. Upon inverting the magnetization of the ferromagnetic contacts, we find a reversal of the measured voltage. Extensive analysis of the bias and temperature dependence of this voltage was done, considering the orientation of the magnetization relative to the current. Our findings indicate that the measured voltage can arise due to fringe-field-induced Hall voltages, different from current-induced spin polarization of the surface state charge carriers, as reported recently. Understanding the nontrivial origin of the measured voltage is important for realizing spintronic devices with topological insulators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Observation of Dirac plasmons in a topological insulator

Plasmons are the quantized collective oscillations of electrons in metals and doped semiconductors. The plasmons of ordinary, massive electrons are since a long time basic ingredients of research in plasmonics and in optical metamaterials. Plasmons of massless Dirac electrons were instead recently observed in a purely two-dimensional electron system (2DEG)like graphene, and their properties are promising for new tunable plasmonic metamaterials in the terahertz and the mid-infrared frequency range. Dirac quasi-particles are known to exist also in the two-dimensional electron gas which forms at the surface of topological insulators due to a strong spin-orbit interaction. Therefore,one may look for their collective excitations by using infrared spectroscopy. Here we first report evidence of plasmonic excitations in a topological insulator (Bi2Se3), that was engineered in thin micro-ribbon arrays of different width W and period 2W to select suitable values of the plasmon wavevector k. Their lineshape was found to be extremely robust vs. temperature between 6 and 300 K, as one may expect for the excitations of topological carriers. Moreover, by changing W and measuring in the terahertz range the plasmonic frequency vP vs. k we could show, without using any fitting parameter, that the dispersion curve is in quantitative agreement with that predicted for Dirac plasmons.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗