Terahertz Photogalvanic Spectroscopy of Three Dimensional Topological Insulators

TL;DR

This paper reviews experimental and theoretical research on terahertz-induced photogalvanic effects in 3D topological insulators, highlighting recent advances, phenomenological models, and experimental findings.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in terahertz photogalvanic effects in topological insulators, including new theoretical insights and experimental results.

Findings

Photogalvanic effects observed in BiSbTe-based topological insulators

Phenomenological models based on symmetry arguments explain photocurrent origins

Recent experimental results demonstrate the potential for terahertz spectroscopy in topological materials

Abstract

The paper overviews experimental and theoretical studies of photogalvanic effects induced in BiSbTe- based three dimensional topological insulators by polarized terahertz radiation. We present the state-of-the-art of this subject, including most recent and well-established results. We discuss a phenomenological theory based on symmetry arguments and models illustrating the photocurrents origin. We give a brief glimpse of the underlying microscopic theory, as well as an overview of the main experimental results.