TPS spectra 3000 used in topological insulators research at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Terahertz conductivity of topological surface states in Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2

Chi Sin Tang, Bin Xia, Xingquan Zou, Shi Chen, Hong-Wei Ou, Lan Wang, A. Rusydi, Jian-Xin Zhu& Elbert E. M. Chia

Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore,

NUSNNI-NanoCore, Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 117542, Singapore,

Theoretical Division and Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos NM87545, USA.

Scientific Reports 3, 3513 doi:10.1038/srep03513

Abstract

Topological insulators are electronic materials with an insulating bulk and conducting surface. However, due to free carriers in the bulk, the properties of the metallic surface are difficult to detect and characterize in most topological insulator materials. Recently, a new topological insulator Bi_1.5Sb_0.5Te_1.7Se_1.3 (BSTS) was found, showing high bulk resistivities of 1–10 Ω.cm and greater contrast between the bulk and surface resistivities compared to other Bi-based topological insulators. Using Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz-TDS), we present complex conductivity of BSTS single crystals, disentangling the surface and bulk contributions. We find that the Drude spectral weight is 1–2 orders of magnitude smaller than in other Bi-based topological insulators, and similar to that of Bi₂Se₃ thin films, suggesting a significant contribution of the topological surface states to the conductivity of the BSTS sample. Moreover, an impurity band is present about 30 meV below the Fermi level, and the surface and bulk carrier densities agree with those obtained from transport data. Furthermore, from the surface Drude contribution, we obtain a ~98% transmission through one surface layer — this is consistent with the transmission through single-layer or bilayer graphene, which shares a common Dirac-cone feature in the band structure.

For full paper see http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/131217/srep03513/pdf/srep03513.pdf

THz-TDS

THz transmission of the BSTS single crystal was measured using a conventional THz-TDS system (TeraView Spectra 3000) incorporated with a Janis ST-100-FTIR cryostat. The THz signal was generated and detected by photoconductive antennae fabricated on low temperature-grown GaAs films. The aperture diameter is 3.5 mm, allowing for an accurate measurement of the THz signal down to ~0.4 THz. The time-domain electric field of the THz pulse signal is transmitted through the BSTS sample  , while the reference signal  is transmitted through vacuum. 1800 THz traces were taken in 60 seconds for each reference or sample run. The sample holder was moved back and forth between the sample and reference positions by means of a vertical motorized stage with a resolution of 2.5 μm. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was then performed on the time-domain THz signal to obtain the amplitude and phase of the THz spectra. Since the THz-TDS detects both the amplitude and phase of the THz signal, there is no need to use the Kramers-Kronig transformation to extract the real and imaginary components of the material optical parameters.

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