Introducing a magnetic dopant into a topological insulator can give rise to ferromagnetic ordering which can break timereversal symmetry, realizing dissipationless electronic states in the absence of an external magnetic field. Assessment and control of the magnetic state can translate into novel future applications in quantum computing. We provide a detailed study of the magnetic state in Cr doped Sb2Te3 thin films using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and electrical transport. The temperature dependent behavior of the THz conductance of CrxSb2-xTe3 thin films with x = 0.15 exhibits a clear insulator-metal transition at 40 K, indicating the onset of ferromagnetic order in the CrxSb2-xTe3 at the TC (40 K). Moreover, the magneto-transport measurements showed anomalous Hall behavior below 40 K, demonstrating the consistency between the electrical and optical measurements. The direct correlation obtained between the carrier density and ferromagnetism in the magnetically doped topological insulators films, using the THz optical technique, strongly suggests a carrier-mediated RKKY coupling scenario. Our non-contact method of using THz radiation to investigate ferromagnetism and the consistency between optical and electrical measurements pave the way to realise exotic quantum states for spintronic and low energy magneto-electronic device applications.
Hybrid metamaterial/graphene amplitude and frequency modulators have been implemented as external optoelectronic mirrors in external cavity configurations with terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). These devices’ tunability is accomplished via the interplay between metamaterial resonant units, normally engineered in mm-size arrays, and graphene. The integration of these devices in external cavity QCLs offers unique emission features and realizes an unprecedented studied regime. The implementation of an external amplitude modulation allows the full switching of laser emission in single mode operation by electrostatically gating graphene. The introduction of more dispersive tunable architectures in frequency modulators yields additionally an all-electronic spectral laser bistability.
The surface of a topological insulator harbors exotic topological states, protected against backscattering from disorder by time reversal symmetry. The study of these exotic quantum states not only provides an opportunity to explore fundamental phenomena in condensed matter physics, such as the spin Hall effect, but also lays the foundation for applications from quantum computing to spintronics. Conventional electrical measurements suffer from substantial bulk interference, making it difficult to clearly distinguish topological surface states from bulk states. Employing terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, we study the temperature-dependent optical behavior of a 23-quintuple-thick film of bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) allowing for the deconvolution of the surface state response from the bulk. Our measurement of carrier dynamics give an optical mobility exceeding 2100 cm2/V•s at 4 K, indicative of a surface-dominated response, and a scattering lifetime of ~0.18 ps and a carrier density of 6×1012 cm-2 at 4 K for the Bi2Se3 film. The sample was further processed into a Hall bar device using two different etching techniques, a wet chemical etching and Ar+ ion milling, which resulting in a reduced Hall mobility. Even so, the magneto-conductance transport reveals weak antilocalization behavior in our Bi2Se3 sample, consistent with the presence of a single topological surface state mode.
We have measured the terahertz (THz) conductance of a 23 quintuple layer thick film of bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) and found signatures for topological surface states (TSSs) below 50 K. We provide evidence for a topological phase transition as a function of lattice temperature by optical means. In this work, we used THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) to measure the optical conductance of Bi2Se3, revealing metallic behavior at temperatures below 50 K. We measure the THz conductance of Bi2Se3 as 10 e2/h at 4 K, indicative of a surface dominated response. Furthermore, the THz conductance spectra reveal characteristic features at ~1.9 THz attributed to the optical phonon mode, which is weakly visible at low temperatures but which becomes more prominent with increasing temperature. These results present a first look at the temperature-dependent behavior of TSSs in Bi2Se3 and the capability to selectively identify and address them using THz spectroscopy.
David Jessop, Christian W. Sol, Long Xiao, Stephen Kindness, Philipp Braeuninger-Weimer, Hungyen Lin, Jonathan Griffiths, Yuan Ren, Varun Kamboj, Stephan Hofmann, J. Axel Zeitler, Harvey Beere, David Ritchie, Riccardo Degl'Innocenti
The growing interest in terahertz (THz) technologies in recent years has seen a wide range of demonstrated applications, spanning from security screening, non-destructive testing, gas sensing, to biomedical imaging and communication. Communication with THz radiation offers the advantage of much higher bandwidths than currently available, in an unallocated spectrum. For this to be realized, optoelectronic components capable of manipulating THz radiation at high speeds and high signal-to-noise ratios must be developed. In this work we demonstrate a room temperature frequency dependent optoelectronic amplitude modulator working at around 2 THz, which incorporates graphene as the tuning medium. The architecture of the modulator is an array of plasmonic dipole antennas surrounded by graphene. By electrostatically doping the graphene via a back gate electrode, the reflection characteristics of the modulator are modified. The modulator is electrically characterized to determine the graphene conductivity and optically characterization, by THz time-domain spectroscopy and a single-mode 2 THz quantum cascade laser, to determine the optical modulation depth and cut-off frequency. A maximum optical modulation depth of ~ 30% is estimated and is found to be most (least) sensitive when the electrical modulation is centered at the point of maximum (minimum) differential resistivity of the graphene. A 3 dB cut-off frequency > 5 MHz, limited only by the area of graphene on the device, is reported. The results agree well with theoretical calculations and numerical simulations, and demonstrate the first steps towards ultra-fast, graphene based THz optoelectronic devices.
Varun Kamboj, Philipp Braeuninger-Weimer, Piran Kidambi, David Jessop, Angadjit Singh, Juraj Sibik, Yuan Ren, Stephan Hofmann, J. Axel Zeitler, Harvey Beere, David Ritchie
We report the characterization of centimeter sized graphene field-effect transistors with ionic gating which enables active frequency and amplitude modulation of terahertz (THz) radiation. Chemical vapour deposited graphene with different grain sizes were studied using THz time-domain spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the plasmonic resonances intrinsic to graphene can be tuned over a wide range of THz frequencies by engineering the grain size of the graphene. Further frequency tuning of the resonance, up to ~65 GHz, is achieved by electrostatic doping via ionic gating. These results present the first demonstration of tuning the intrinsic plasmonic resonances in graphene.
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