Resonant magneto-optic Kerr effect in the magnetic topological insulator Cr:(Sb$_x$,Bi$_{1-x}$)$_2$Te$_3$

TL;DR

This study investigates the resonant magneto-optic Kerr effect in thin films of a magnetically doped topological insulator, revealing a resonance linked to spin-orbit interactions and a thickness-dependent magnetic transition at low temperatures.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of the Kerr effect across a range of photon energies in this material, highlighting a resonance linked to spin-orbit avoided crossings and thickness-dependent magnetic properties.

Findings

Resonant enhancement of Kerr effect near 1.6 eV photon energy.

Sharp magnetic transition at 6 K for films thinner than 8 quintuple layers.

Temperature and magnetic field dependence of Kerr angle in ultrathin films.

Abstract

We report measurements of the polar Kerr effect, proportional to the out-of-plane component of the magnetization, in thin films of the magnetically doped topological insulator $(\text{Cr}_{0.12}\text{Bi}_{0.26}\text{Sb}_{0.62})_2\text{Te}_3$. Measurements of the complex Kerr angle, $\Theta_K$, were performed as a function of photon energy in the range $0.8\text{ eV}<\hbar\omega<3.0\text{ eV}$. We observed a peak in the real part of $\Theta_K(\omega)$ and zero crossing in the imaginary part that we attribute to resonant interaction with a spin-orbit avoided crossing located $\approx$ 1.6 eV above the Fermi energy. The resonant enhancement allows measurement of the temperature and magnetic field dependence of $\Theta_K$ in the ultrathin film limit, $d\geq2$ quintuple layers. We find a sharp transition to zero remanent magnetization at 6 K for $d<8$~QL, consistent with theories of the dependence of impurity spin interactions on film thickness and their location relative to topological insulator surfaces.