English

Ultrafast {\mu}eV-Precision Bandgap Engineering in Low-Dimensional Topological Insulators

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2025-11-21 v1

Abstract

Precise and ultrafast control of electronic band structures is a central challenge for advancing quantum functional materials and devices. Conventional approaches--such as chemical doping, lattice strain, or external gating--offer robust stability but remain confined to the quasi-static regime, far from the intrinsic femto- to picosecond dynamics that govern many-body interactions. Here, using cryogenic transient reflectance spectroscopy, we realize dynamic bandgap engineering in the anisotropic topological insulator α\alpha-Bi4_4Br4_4 with unprecedented micro-electron-volt (μ\mueV) precision. The exceptional sensitivity arises from the cooperative action of long-lived topological carriers, stabilized by restricted bulk-to-edge scattering phase space, together with symmetry-resolved coherent phonons that modulate inter-chain hopping. These channels jointly modify Coulomb screening and interband transitions, enabling both gradual and oscillatory control of the electronic structure. Supported by first-principles and tight-binding theory, we further demonstrate a dual-pump coherent control strategy for continuous, mode-selective tuning of electronic energies with μ\mueV accuracy. This framework paves the way for ultrafast on-demand band-structure engineering, pointing toward new frontiers in quantum optoelectronics, precision measurement in molecular and biological systems, and attosecond control of matter.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.16165,
  title  = {Ultrafast {\mu}eV-Precision Bandgap Engineering in Low-Dimensional Topological Insulators},
  author = {Peng Tan and Yuantao Chen and Yuqi Zhang and Hanyan Cheng and Guoyu Xian and Ming Cheng and Minghong Sun and Jiaxin Yin and Feifan Wang and Yaxian Wang and Yanjun Liu and Mingyuan Huang and Zhiwei Wang and Yugui Yao and Sheng Meng and Li Huang and Yanan Dai},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.16165},
  year   = {2025}
}