Multi-band magnetotransport in exfoliated thin films of Cu x Bi2Se3

We report magnetotransport studies in thin (<100 nm) exfoliated films of Cu _x Bi₂Se₃ and we detect an unusual electronic transition at low temperatures. Bulk crystals show weak superconductivity with [Formula: see text] K and a possible electronic phase transition around 200 K. Following exfoliation, superconductivity is supressed and a strongly temperature dependent multi-band conductivity is observed for T  <  30 K. This transition between competing conducting channels may be enhanced due to the presence of electronic ordering, and could be affected by the presence of an effective internal stress due to Cu intercalation. By fitting to the weak antilocalisation conductivity correction at low magnetic fields we confirm that the low temperature regime maintains a quantum phase coherence length [Formula: see text] nm indicating the presence of topologically protected surface states.

Strong interband Faraday rotation in 3D topological insulator Bi2Se3

The Faraday effect is a representative magneto-optical phenomenon, resulting from the transfer of angular momentum between interacting light and matter in which time-reversal symmetry has been broken by an externally applied magnetic field. Here we report on the Faraday rotation induced in the prominent 3D topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ due to bulk interband excitations. The origin of this non-resonant effect, extraordinarily strong among other non-magnetic materials, is traced back to the specific Dirac-type Hamiltonian for Bi₂Se₃, which implies that electrons and holes in this material closely resemble relativistic particles with a non-zero rest mass.

Magneto-optics of massive dirac fermions in bulk Bi2Se3

We report on magneto-optical studies of Bi2Se3, a representative member of the 3D topological insulator family. Its electronic states in bulk are shown to be well described by a simple Dirac-type Hamiltonian for massive particles with only two parameters: the fundamental band gap and the band velocity. In a magnetic field, this model implies a unique property-spin splitting equal to twice the cyclotron energy: Es=2Ec. This explains the extensive magnetotransport studies concluding a fortuitous degeneracy of the spin and orbital split Landau levels in this material. The Es=2Ec match differentiates the massive Dirac electrons in bulk Bi2Se3 from those in quantum electrodynamics, for which Es=Ec always holds.