Observation of Magnetoplasmons in Bi₂Se₃ Topological Insulator

Both the collective (plasmon) and the single particle (Drude) excitations of an electron gas can be controlled and modified by an external magnetic field <i>B</i>. At finite <i>B</i>, plasmon gives rise to a magnetoplasmon mode and the Drude term to a cyclotron resonance. These magnetic effects are expected to be extremely strong for Dirac electrons with a linear energy-momentum dispersion, like those present in graphene and topological insulators (TIs). Here, we investigate both the plasmon and the Drude response versus <i>B</i> in Bi₂Se₃ topological insulator. At low <i>B</i>, the cyclotron resonance is still well separated in energy from the magnetoplasmon mode; meanwhile, both excitations asymptotically converge at the same energy for increasing <i>B</i>, consistently with a dynamical mass for Dirac carriers of <i>m</i>_D^* = 0.18 ± 0.01 m_<i>e</i>. In TIs, one then achieves an excellent magnetic control of plasmonic excitations and this could open the way toward plasmon controlled terahertz magneto-optics

Superconductivity-Induced Transparency in Terahertz Metamaterials

A plasmonic analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency is activated and tuned in the terahertz (THz) range in asymmetric metamaterials fabricated from high critical temperature (<i>T</i>_c) superconductor thin films. The asymmetric design provides a near-field coupling between a superradiant and a subradiant plasmonic mode, which has been widely tuned through superconductivity and monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The sharp transparency window that appears in the extinction spectrum exhibits a relative modulation up to 50% activated by temperature change. The interplay between ohmic and radiative damping, which can be independently tuned and controlled, allows for engineering the electromagnetically induced transparency of the metamaterial far beyond the current state-of-the-art, which relies on standard metals or low-<i>T</i>_c superconductors