Edge-induced excitations in Bi₂Te₃ from spatially-resolved electron energy-gain spectroscopy

Among the many potential applications of topological insulator materials, their broad potential for the development of novel tunable plasmonics at THz and mid-infrared frequencies for quantum computing, terahertz detectors, and spintronic devices is particularly attractive. The required understanding of the intricate relationship between...

Spectroscopic evidence for bulk-band inversion and three-dimensional massive Dirac fermions in ZrTe₅

Three-dimensional topological insulators (3D TIs) represent states of quantum matters in which surface states are protected by timereversal symmetry and an inversion occurs between bulk conduction and valence bands. However, the bulk-band inversion, which is intimately tied to the topologically nontrivial nature of 3D Tis, has rarely been...

Topology in two-dimensional systems

This thesis includes two research directions both aim to discover a building block for topological quantum computing. First, in Chapter 3, a novel setup is designed, built, and tested, that can electrostatically gate a material without endangering the materials pristine quality. The setup was designed with the goal to reveal non-Abelian...

Edge transport in the trivial phase of InAs/GaSb

We present transport and scanning SQUID measurements on InAs/GaSb double quantum wells, a system predicted to be a two-dimensional topological insulator. Top and back gates allow independent control of density and band offset, allowing tuning from the trivial to the topological regime. In the trivial regime, bulk conductivity is quenched but...

Adiabatic quantum pumping via Dirac fermions