Ph. Bugnon

Giant Ambipolar Rashba Effect in the Semiconductor BiTeI

We observe a giant spin-orbit splitting in the bulk and surface states of the noncentrosymmetric semiconductor BiTeI. We show that the Fermi level can be placed in the valence or in the conduction band by controlling the surface termination. In both cases, it intersects spin-polarized bands, in the corresponding surface depletion and accumulation layers. The momentum splitting of these bands is not affected by adsorbate-induced changes in the surface potential. These findings demonstrate that two properties crucial for enabling semiconductor-based spin electronics-a large, robust spin splitting and ambipolar conduction-are present in this material.

Ultrafast photodoping and effective Fermi-Dirac distribution of the Dirac particles in Bi2Se3

We exploit time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to determine the evolution of the out-of-equilibrium electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi2Se3. The response of the Fermi-Dirac distribution to ultrashort IR laser pulses has been studied by modeling the dynamics of hot electrons after optical excitation. We disentangle a large increase in the effective temperature (T*) from a shift of the chemical potential (mu*), which is consequence of the ultrafast photodoping of the conduction band. The relaxation dynamics of T* and mu* are k independent and these two quantities uniquely define the evolution of the excited charge population. We observe that the energy dependence of the nonequilibrium charge population is solely determined by the analytical form of the effective Fermi-Dirac distribution.

Evidence of reduced surface electron-phonon scattering in the conduction band of Bi2Se3 by nonequilibrium ARPES

The nature of the Dirac quasiparticles in topological insulators calls for a direct investigation of the electron-phonon scattering at the surface. By comparing time-resolved ARPES measurements of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 with different probing depths, we show that the relaxation dynamics of the electronic temperature of the conduction band is much slower at the surface than in the bulk. This observation suggests that surface phonons are less effective in cooling the electron gas in the conduction band.

Ultrafast Optical Control of the Electronic Properties of ZrTe5

We report on the temperature dependence of the ZrTe(5) electronic properties, studied at equilibrium and out of equilibrium, by means of time and angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Our results unveil the dependence of the electronic band structure across the Fermi energy on the sample temperature. This finding is regarded as the dominant mechanism responsible for the anomalous resistivity observed at T*∼160  K along with the change of the charge carrier character from holelike to electronlike. Having addressed these long-lasting questions, we prove the possibility to control, at the ultrashort time scale, both the binding energy and the quasiparticle lifetime of the valence band. These experimental evidences pave the way for optically controlling the thermoelectric and magnetoelectric transport properties of ZrTe(5).

Momentum and photon energy dependence of the circular dichroic photoemission in the bulk Rashba semiconductors BiTeX (X = I, Br, Cl)

Bulk Rashba systems BiTeX (X = I, Br, Cl) are emerging as important candidates for developing spintronics devices because of the coexistence of spin-split bulk and surface states, along with the ambipolar character of the surface charge carriers. The need to study the spin texture of strongly spin-orbit-coupled materials has recently promoted circular dichroic angular resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (CD-ARPES) as an indirect tool to measure the spin and the angular degrees of freedom. Here we report a detailed photon-energy-dependent study of the CD-ARPES spectra in BiTeX (X = I, Br, Cl). Our work reveals a large variation in the magnitude and sign of the dichroism. Interestingly, we find that the dichroic signal modulates differently for the three compounds and for the different spin-split states. These findings show a momentum and photon-energy dependence for the CD-ARPES signals in the bulk Rashba semiconductor BiTeX (X = I, Br, Cl). Finally, the outcome of our experiment indicates the important relation between the modulation of the dichroism and the phase differences between the wave functions involved in the photoemission process. This phase difference can be due to initial- or final-state effects. In the former case the phase difference results in possible interference effects among the photoelectrons emitted from different atomic layers and characterized by entangled spin-orbital polarized bands. In the latter case the phase difference results from the relative phases of the expansion of the final state in different outgoing partial waves.

Atomic and electronic structure of a Rashba p-n junction at the BiTeI surface

The non-centro-symmetric semiconductor BiTeI exhibits two distinct surface terminations that support spin-split Rashba surface states. Their ambipolarity can be exploited for creating spin-polarized p-n junctions at the boundaries between domains with different surface terminations. We use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS) to locate such junctions and investigate their atomic and electronic properties. The Te- and I-terminated surfaces are identified owing to their distinct chemical reactivity and an apparent height mismatch of electronic origin. The Rashba surface states are revealed in the STS spectra by the onset of a van Hove singularity at the band edge. Eventually, an electronic depletion is found on interfacial Te atoms, consistent with the formation of a space-charge area in typical p-n junctions.

BiTeCl and BiTeBr: A comparative high-pressure optical study

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Electronic Phase Separation and Dramatic Inverse Band Renormalization in the Mixed-Valence Cuprate LiCu2O2

has recently been shown to realize in its low-temperature phase the type-II Weyl semimetal (WSM). We investigated by time- and angle- resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (tr-ARPES) the possible influence of the Weyl points in the electron dynamics above the Fermi level

Publisher’s Note: Electronic Phase Separation and Dramatic Inverse Band Renormalization in the Mixed-Valence Cuprate LiCu 2 O 2 [Phys. Rev. Lett. 118 , 176404 (2017)]

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