Topological insulators (TIs) are a new quantum state of matter. Their surfaces and interfaces act as a topological boundary to generate massless Dirac fermions with spin-helical textures. Investigation of fermion dynamics near the Dirac point is crucial for the future development of spintronic devices incorporating topological insulators. However, research so far has been unsatisfactory because of a substantial overlap with the bulk valence band and a lack of a completely unoccupied Dirac point (DP). Here, we explore the surface Dirac fermion dynamics in the TI Sb2Te3 by time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TrARPES). Sb2Te3 has a DP located completely above the Fermi energy (EF) with an in-gap DP. The excited electrons in the upper Dirac cone stay longer than those below the Dirac point to form an inverted population. This was attributed to a reduced density of states (DOS) near the DP .
@article{arxiv.1507.03475,
title = {Ultrafast electron dynamics at the Dirac node of the topological insulator Sb$_2$Te$_3$},
author = {Siyuan Zhu and Yukiaki Ishida and Kenta Kuroda and Kazuki Sumida and Mao Ye and Jiajia Wang and Hong Pan and Masaki Taniguchi and Shan Qiao and Shik Shin and Akio Kimura},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1507.03475},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
10 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication (submission date: March 11, 2015)