Carrier dynamics
in polycrystalline Bi2Se3 topological insulator
thin films were investigated by femtosecond
transient absorption spectroscopy (FTAS) at 77 K, by using an infrared
pump photon of 0.62 eV energy and a white supercontinuum probe ranging
from the near infrared to ultraviolet regions (0.9–3.5 eV).
The Bi2Se3 samples were grown by vapor solid
deposition, a quick, inexpensive, and easy-to-control growth technique
to obtain films of different thicknesses, endowed with topological
properties. FTAS spectra present several absorption bleaching signals,
which can be attributed to electronic transitions involving both bulk
and surface states present in the complex Bi2Se3 band structure. We observe clear differences in the rise times of
several bleaching signals, differences that can be attributed to different
band filling dynamics. Fast rise times are observed for transitions
only involving bulk states, while a delayed onset of the bleaching
signal has been observed for transitions involving surface topological
states, which are more efficiently populated by carrier–phonon
scattering of bulk electrons and holes, rather than by direct photoexcitation.
The observed features shed fresh insights into the properties that
allow these materials to be employed as innovative, low-cost, and
wide-range photodetectors.
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