nan Golden

Superconductivity in the doped topological insulator Cu x Bi 2 Se 3 under high pressure

We report a high-pressure single crystal study of the topological superconductor Cu{x}Bi{2}Se{3}. Resistivity measurements under pressure show superconductivity is depressed smoothly. At the same time the metallic behavior is gradually lost. The upper-critical field data B{c2}(T) under pressure collapse onto a universal curve. The absence of Pauli limiting and the comparison of B{c2}(T) to a polar-state function point to spin-triplet superconductivity, but an anisotropic spin-singlet state cannot be discarded completely.

Existence, character and origin of surface-related bands in the high temperature iron pnictide superconductor BaFe2-xCoxAs2

Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) experiments, LEED simulations, and finite slab density functional calculations are combined to study the cleavage surface of Co doped BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As2 (x = 0.1,0.17). We demonstrate that the energy dependence of the LEED data can only be understood from a terminating 1/2 Ba layer accompanied by distortions of the underlying As-Fe2-As block. As a result, surface-related Fe 3d states are present in the electronic structure, which we identify in angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments. The close proximity of the surface-related states to the bulk bands inevitably leads to broadening of the ARPES signals, which excludes the use of the BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As2 system for accurate determination of self-energies using ARPES.

High-resolution, hard x-ray photoemission investigation of BaFe2As2: Moderate influence of the surface and evidence for a low degree of Fe 3d-As 4p hybridization of electronic states near the Fermi energy

Photoemission data taken with hard x-ray radiation on cleaved single crystals of the barium parent compound of the MFe2As2 pnictide high-temperature superconductor family are presented. Making use of the increased bulk sensitivity upon hard x-ray excitation, and comparing the results to data taken at conventional vacuum ultraviolet photoemission excitation energies, it is shown that the BaFe2As2 cleavage surface provides an electrostatic environment that is slightly different to the bulk, most likely in the form of a modified Madelung potential. However, as the data argue against a different surface doping level, and the surface-related features in the spectra are by no means as dominating as seen in systems such as YBa2Cu3Ox, we can conclude that the itinerant, near-EF electronic states are almost unaffected by the existence of the cleavage surface. Furthermore, exploiting the strong changes in photoionization cross section between the Fe and As states across the wide photon energy range employed, it is shown that the degree of energetic overlap between the iron 3d and arsenic 4p valence bands is particularly small at the Fermi level, which can only mean a very low degree of hybridization between the Fe 3d and As 4p states near and at EF. Consequently, this means that the itinerancy of the charge carriers in this group of materials involves mainly the Fe 3d-Fe 3d overlap integrals with at best a minor role for the Fe 3d-As 4p hopping parameters and that the states which support superconductivity upon doping are essentially of Fe 3d character.

Dissimilarities between the electronic structure of chemically doped and chemically pressurized iron pnictides from an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study

We have studied the electronic structure of EuFe2As2-xPx using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Upon substituting As with the isovalent P, which leads to chemical pressure and to superconductivity, we observe a nonrigid-band-like change of the electronic structure along the center of the Brillouin zone (BZ) in the form of an orbital and kz-dependent increase or decrease in the size of the hole pockets near the Γ−Z line. The diameter of the Fermi surface cylinders at the BZ corner which form electron pockets, increases at K and changes in a nonmonotonous way at X. This is in stark contrast to p- and n-type doped iron pnictides where, on the basis of ARPES experiments, a more rigid-band-like behavior has been proposed. These findings indicate that there are different ways in which the nesting conditions can be reduced causing the destabilization of the antiferromagnetic order and the appearance of the superconducting dome.

Dirac states with knobs on: Interplay of external parameters and the surface electronic properties of three-dimensional topological insulators

Topological insulators are a novel materials platform with high applications potential in fields ranging from spintronics to quantum computation. In the ongoing scientific effort to demonstrate controlled manipulation of their electronic structure by external means, i. e., the provision of knobs with which to tune properties, stoichiometric variation and surface decoration are two effective approaches that have been followed. In angleresolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments, both approaches are seen to lead to electronic band-structure changes. Most importantly, such approaches result in variations of the energy position of bulk and surface-related features and the creation of two-dimensional electron gases. The data presented here demonstrate that a third manipulation handle is accessible by utilizing the amount of super-band-gap light a topological insulator surface has been exposed to under typical ARPES experimental conditions. Our results show that this third knob acts on an equal footing with stoichiometry and surface decoration as a modifier of the electronic band structure, and that it is in continuous and direct competition with the latter. The data clearly point towards surface photovoltage and photoinduced desorption as the physical phenomena behind modifications of the electronic band structure under exposure to high-flux photons. We show that the interplay of these phenomena can minimize and even eliminate the adsorbate-related surface band bending on typical binary, ternary, and quaternary Bi-based topological insulators. Including the influence of the sample temperature, these data set up a detailed framework for the external control of the electronic band structure in topological insulator compounds in an ARPES setting. Four external knobs are available: bulk stoichiometry, surface decoration, temperature, and photon exposure. These knobs can be used in conjunction to fine tune the band energies near the surface and consequently influence the topological properties of the relevant electronic states.

Insights from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the metallic states of YbB6(001): E(k) dispersion, temporal changes, and spatial variation

E. Frantzeskakis,1, ∗ N. de Jong,1 J. X. Zhang,2, 3 X. Zhang,2 Z. Li,3 C. L. Liang,2 Y. Wang,2 A. Varykhalov,4 Y. K. Huang,1 and M. S. Golden1, † Institute of Physics (IoP), University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan100, Chaoyang Districts, Beijing 100124, China Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Tunxi road 193, Anhui, Hefei 230009, China Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany

Angle-resolved and core-level photoemission study of interfacing the topological insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 with Ag, Nb, and Fe

Interfaces between a bulk-insulating topological insulator (TI) and metallic adatoms have been studied using high-resolution, angle-resolved, and core-level photoemission. Fe, Nb, and Ag were evaporated onto Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 (BSTS) surfaces both at room temperature and 38 K. The coverage and temperature dependence of the adsorption and interfacial formation process have been investigated, highlighting the effects of the overlayer growth on the occupied electronic structure of the TI. For all coverages at room temperature and for those equivalent to less than 0.2 monolayer at low temperature all three metals lead to a downward shift of the TI bands with respect to the Fermi level. At room temperature Ag appears to intercalate efficiently into the van der Waals gap of BSTS, accompanied by low-level substitution for the Te/Se atoms of the termination layer of the crystal. This Te/Se substitution with silver increases significantly for low temperature adsorption, and can even dominate the electrostatic environment of the Bi/Sb atoms in the BSTS near-surface region. On the other hand, Fe and Nb evaporants remain close to the termination layer of the crystal. On room temperature deposition, they initially substitute isoelectronically for Bi as a function of coverage, before substituting for Te/Se atoms. For low temperature deposition, Fe and Nb are too immobile for substitution processes and show a behavior consistent with clustering on the surface. For both Ag and Fe/Nb, these differing adsorption pathways still lead to the qualitatively similar and remarkable behavior for low temperature deposition that the chemical potential first moves downward (p-type dopant behavior) and then upward (n-type behavior) on increasing coverage.

Quasiparticles and anomalous temperature dependence of the low-lying states in the colossal magnetoresistence oxide La(2-2x)Sr (1+2x)Mn2O7 (x = 0.36) from angle-resolved photoemission.

After years of research into colossal magnetoresistant (CMR) manganites using bulk techniques, there has been a recent upsurge in experiments directly probing the electronic states at or near the surface of the bilayer CMR materials La2−2xSr1+2xMn2O7 using angle-resolved photoemission or scanning probe microscopy. Here we report new, temperature dependent, angle resolved photoemission data from single crystals with a doping level of x = 0.36. The first important result is that there is no sign of a pseudogap in the charge channel of this material for temperatures below the Curie temperature TC . The data show unprecedented sharp spectral features, enabling the unambiguous identification of clear, resolution-limited quasiparticle features from the bilayer split 3dx2−y2-derived Fermi surfaces both at the zone face and zone diagonal kF locations. The data show that these low temperature Fermi surfaces describe closed shapes in k||, centered at the (π/a,π/a) points in the 2D Brillouin zone, and are not open and arc-like in nature. The second important result concerns the temperature dependence of the electronic states. The spectra display strong incoherent intensity at high binding energies and a very strong temperature dependence, both characteristics reminiscent of polaronic systems. However, the clear and strong quasiparticle peaks at low temperatures are difficult to place within a polaronic scenario. Careful analysis of the temperature dependent changes in the Fermi surface spectra both at the zone face and zone diagonal regions in k-space indicate that the coherent quasiparticle weight disappears for temperatures significantly above TC , and that the k-dependence of the T-induced changes in the spectra invalidate an interpretation of these data in terms of the superposition of a ‘universal’ metallic spectrum and an insulating spectrum whose relative weight changes with temperature. In this sense, our data are not compatible with a phase separation scenario.

Trigger of the ubiquitous surface band bending in 3D topological insulators

The main scientific activity in the field of topological insulators (TIs) consists of determining their electronic structure by means of magneto-transport and electron spectroscopy with a view to devices based on topological transport. There is however a caveat in this approach. There are systematic experimental discrepancies on the electronic structure of the most pristine surfaces of TI single crystals as determined by Shubnikov de Haas (SdH) oscillations and by Angle Resolved PhotoElectron Spectroscopy (ARPES). We identify intense ultraviolet illumination -that is inherent to an ARPES experiment- as the source for these experimental differences. We explicitly show that illumination is the key parameter, or in other words the trigger, for energetic shifts of electronic bands near the surface of a TI crystal. This finding revisits the common belief that surface decoration is the principal cause of surface band bending and explains why band bending is not a prime issue in the illumination-free magneto-transport studies. Our study further clarifies the role of illumination on the electronic band structure of TIs by revealing its dual effect: downward band bending on very small timescales followed by band flattening at large timescales. Our results therefore allow us to present and predict the complete evolution of the band structure of TIs in a typical ARPES experiment. By virtue of our findings, we pinpoint two alternatives of how to approach flat band conditions by means of photon-based techniques and we suggest a microscopic mechanism that can explain the underlying phenomena.

Surface adatom conductance filtering in scanning tunneling spectroscopy of co-doped BaFe2As2 iron pnictide superconductors.

We establish in a combination of ab initio theory and experiments that the tunneling process in scanning tunneling microscopy or spectroscopy on the A-122 iron pnictide superconductors-in this case BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As(2)-involves a strong adatom filtering of the differential conductance from the near-E(F) Fe-3d states, which in turn originates from the topmost subsurface Fe layer of the crystal. The calculations show that the dominance of surface Ba-related tunneling pathways leaves fingerprints found in the experimental differential conductance data, including large particle-hole asymmetry and energy-dependent contrast inversion in conductance maps.