Dirac parameters and topological phase diagram of Pb1-xSnxSe from magneto-spectroscopy

Pb1-xSnxSe hosts 3D massive Dirac fermions across the entire composition range for which the crystal structure is cubic. In this work, we present a comprehensive experimental mapping of the 3D band structure parameters of Pb1-xSnxSe as a function of composition and temperature. We cover a parameter space spanning the band inversion that yields its topological crystalline insulator phase. A non-closure of the energy gap is evidenced in the vicinity of this phase transition. Using magnetooptical Landau level spectroscopy, we determine the energy gap, Dirac velocity, anisotropy factor and topological character of Pb1-xSnxSe epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on BaF2 (111). Our results are evidence that Pb1-xSnxSe is a model system to study topological phases and the nature of the phase transition.Comment: Submitte

Absence of nonlocal resistance in microstructures of PbTe quantum wells

We report on experiments allowing to set an upper limit on the magnitude of the spin Hall effect and the conductance by edge channels in quantum wells of PbTe embedded between PbEuTe barriers. We reexamine previous data obtained for epitaxial microstructures of n-type PbSe and PbTe, in which pronounced nonlocal effects and reproducible magnetoresistance oscillations were found. Here we show that these effects are brought about by a quasi-periodic network of threading dislocations adjacent to the BaF$_2$ substrate, which give rise to a p-type interfacial layer and an associated parasitic parallel conductance. We then present results of transport measurements on microstructures of modulation doped PbTe/(Pb,Eu)Te:Bi heterostructures for which the influence of parasitic parallel conductance is minimized, and for which quantum Hall transport had been observed, on similar samples, previously. These structures are of H-shaped geometry and they are patterned of 12 nm thick strained PbTe quantum wells embedded between Pb$_{0.92}$Eu$_{0.08}$Te barriers. The structures have different lateral sizes corresponding to both diffusive and ballistic electron transport in non-equivalent L valleys. For these structures no nonlocal resistance is detected confirming that PbTe is a trivial insulator. The magnitude of spin Hall angle gamma is estimated to be smaller than 0.02 for PbTe/PbEuTe microstructures in the diffusive regime.Comment: A substantially expanded paper, 11 pages and 11 figure

Disorder suppression and precise conductance quantization in constrictions of PbTe quantum wells

Conductance quantization was measured in submicron constrictions of PbTe, patterned into narrow,12 nm wide quantum wells deposited between Pb$_{0.92}$Eu$_{0.08}$Te barriers. Because the quantum confinement imposed by the barriers is much stronger than the lateral one, the one-dimensional electron energy level structure is very similar to that usually met in constrictions of AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures. However, in contrast to any other system studied so far, we observe precise conductance quantization in $2e^2/h$ units, {\it despite of significant amount of charged defects in the vicinity of the constriction}. We show that such extraordinary results is a consequence of the paraelectric properties of PbTe, namely, the suppression of long-range tails of the Coulomb potentials due to the huge dielectric constant.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

IV-VI resonant cavity enhanced photodetectors for the midinfrared

A resonant-cavity enhanced detector operating in the mid-infrared at a wavelength around 3.6 micron is demonstrated. The device is based on a narrow-gap lead salt heterostructure grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Below 140 K, the photovoltage clearly shows a single narrow cavity resonance, with a relative line width of only 2 % at 80 K.Comment: 2 figure

Massive and massless Dirac fermions in Pb1-xSnxTe topological crystalline insulator probed by magneto-optical absorption

Dirac fermions in condensed matter physics hold great promise for novel fundamental physics, quantum devices and data storage applications. IV-VI semiconductors, in the inverted regime, have been recently shown to exhibit massless topological surface Dirac fermions protected by crystalline symmetry, as well as massive bulk Dirac fermions. Under a strong magnetic field (B), both surface and bulk states are quantized into Landau levels that disperse as B^1/2, and are thus difficult to distinguish. In this work, magneto-optical absorption is used to probe the Landau levels of high mobility Bi-doped Pb0.54Sn0.46Te topological crystalline insulator (111)-oriented films. The high mobility achieved in these thin film structures allows us to probe and distinguish the Landau levels of both surface and bulk Dirac fermions and extract valuable quantitative information about their physical properties. This work paves the way for future magnetooptical and electronic transport experiments aimed at manipulating the band topology of such materials.Comment: supplementary material included, to appear in Scientific Report

Magnetic susceptibility of EuTe/PbTe Heisenberg superlattices: experimental and theoretical studies

We report results on the temperature dependence of the susceptibilities of a set of MBE-grown short-period EuTe/PbTe antiferromagnetic superlattices having different EuTe layer thicknesses. In-plane and orthogonal susceptibilities have been measured and display a strong anisotropy at low temperature, confirming the occurrence of a magnetic phase transition in the thicker samples, as seen also in neutron diffraction studies. We suggest that dipolar interactions stabilize antiferromagnetic long-range order in an otherwise isotropic system and we present numerical and analytical results for the low-temperature orthogonal susceptibility.Comment: 30 pages, 8 ps figures, RevTe

Photoemission of Bi2_2Se3_3 with Circularly Polarized Light: Probe of Spin Polarization or Means for Spin Manipulation?

Topological insulators are characterized by Dirac cone surface states with electron spins aligned in the surface plane and perpendicular to their momenta. Recent theoretical and experimental work implied that this specific spin texture should enable control of photoelectron spins by circularly polarized light. However, these reports questioned the so far accepted interpretation of spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We solve this puzzle and show that vacuum ultraviolet photons (50-70 eV) with linear or circular polarization probe indeed the initial state spin texture of Bi$_2$Se$_3$ while circularly polarized 6 eV low energy photons flip the electron spins out of plane and reverse their spin polarization. Our photoemission calculations, considering the interplay between the varying probing depth, dipole selection rules and spin-dependent scattering effects involving initial and final states explain these findings, and reveal proper conditions for light-induced spin manipulation. This paves the way for future applications of topological insulators in opto-spintronic devices.Comment: Submitted for publication (2013