Tunable Intrinsic Plasmons due to Band Inversion in Topological Materials

TL;DR

This paper investigates how band inversion in topological materials enhances and tunes intrinsic plasmon excitations, providing insights into their properties and potential applications in plasmonics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the impact of band inversion on plasmon excitations in topological insulator thin films, revealing tunable intrinsic plasmons and their use as phase probes.

Findings

Band inversion leads to strong intrinsic plasmon excitation.

Plasmon frequency can be tuned by external fields.

Electron-hole asymmetry causes double peaks in plasmon spectra.

Abstract

The band inversion has led to rich physical effects in both topological insulators and topological semimetals. It has been found that the inverted band structure with the Mexican-hat dispersion could enhance the interband correlation leading to a strong intrinsic plasmon excitation. Its frequency ranges from several $\mathrm{meV}$ to tens of $\mathrm{meV}$ and can be effectively tuned by the external fields. The electron-hole asymmetric term splits the peak of the plasmon excitation into double peaks. The fate and properties of this plasmon excitation can also act as a probe to characterize the topological phases even in the lightly doped systems. We numerically demonstrate the impact of the band inversion on plasmon excitations in magnetically doped thin films of three-dimensional strong topological insulators, V- or Cr-doped (Bi, Sb)$_2$Te$_3$, which support the quantum anomalous Hall states. Our work thus sheds some new light on the potential applications of topological materials in plasmonics.