Ultrafast Optical Excitation of a Persistent Surface-State Population in the Topological Insulator Bi2Se3

J. A. Sobota, S. Yang, J. G. Analytis, Y. L. Chen, I. R. Fisher, P. S. Kirchmann, and Z.-X. Shen
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 117403 – Published 14 March 2012
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Abstract

Using femtosecond time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we investigated the nonequilibrium dynamics of the topological insulator Bi2Se3. We studied p-type Bi2Se3, in which the metallic Dirac surface state and bulk conduction bands are unoccupied. Optical excitation leads to a metastable population at the bulk conduction band edge, which feeds a nonequilibrium population of the surface state persisting for >10ps. This unusually long-lived population of a metallic Dirac surface state with spin texture may present a channel in which to drive transient spin-polarized currents.

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  • Received 24 October 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.117403

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

J. A. Sobota1,2,3, S. Yang1,2,3, J. G. Analytis1,2, Y. L. Chen1,2,3, I. R. Fisher1,2, P. S. Kirchmann1,4,*, and Z.-X. Shen1,2,3,†

  • 1Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
  • 2Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
  • 4Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

  • *kirchmann@fhi-berlin.mpg.de
  • zxshen@stanford.edu

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 11 — 16 March 2012

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