Heralded as one of the key elements for next generation spintronics devices, topological insulators (TIs) are now step by step envisioned as nanodevices like charge-to-spin current conversion or as Dirac fermions based nanometer Schottky diode for example. However, reduced to few nanometers, TIs layers exhibit a profound modification of the electronic structure and the consequence of this quantum size effect on the fundamental carriers and phonons ultrafast dynamics has been poorly investigated so far. Here, thanks to a complete study of a set of high quality molecular beam epitaxy grown nanolayers, we report the existence of a critical thickness of around ~6 nm, below which a spectacular reduction of the carrier relaxation time by a factor of ten is found in comparison to bulk Bi2 Te3 In addition, we also evidence an A1g optical phonon mode softening together with the appearance of a thickness dependence of the photoinduced coherent acoustic phonons signals. This drastic evolution of the carriers and phonons dynamics might be due an important electron-phonon coupling evolution due to the quantum confinement. These properties have to be taken into account for future TIs-based spintronic devices.

Topological insulators (TI) are a class of materials gaining in importance due to their unique spin/electronic properties, which may allow for the generation of quasiparticles and electronic states which are not accessible in classical condensed-matter systems. Not surprisingly, TI are considered as promising materials for multiple applications in next generation electronic or spintronic devices, as well as for applications in energy conversion, such as thermo-electrics. In this study, we examined the practical challenges associated with the formation of a well-defined junction between a model 3D topological insulator, Bi2Te3, and a metal, Fe or Eu, from which spin injection could potentially be realized. The properties of multilayer systems grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), with Fe or Eu thin films sandwiched between two Bi2Te3 layers, were studied in-situ using electron diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy. Their magnetic properties were measured using a SQUID magnetometer, while the in-depth chemical structure was assessed using secondary ion mass spectroscopy. An examination of impact of Bi2Te3 structure on chemical stability of the junction area has been realized. For Fe, we found that despite room temperature growth, a reaction between the Fe film and Bi2Te3 takes place, leading to the formation of FeTe and also the precipitation of metallic Bi. For the Eu tri-layer, a reaction also occurs, but the Te chemical state remains intact.

The relation between surface morphology and local conductance was studied for single crystalline thin films of Bi2Te3 grown on mica. Atomic force microscopy and electron diffraction revealed the hexagonal order of the surface with quintuple layer steps and spiral islands. Furthermore, the experiments using contact mode AFM with conducting tip performed at room temperature revealed the high conductance of the surface, which was locally reduced due to changes in the local electronic structure at the defects (e.g. edges of the terraces). Contact current-voltage characteristics tested over the surface showed a linear behavior in every point, with the resistance significantly lower than the resistance of reference metallic samples (gold, platinum). We show that local conductivity AFM is a good technique to exploit the peculiar surface properties of topological insulators.

Ultrafast lattice dynamics of few quintuple layers of topological insulator (TI) Bi$_2$Te$_3$ is studied with time-resolved optical pump-probe spectroscopy. Both optical and acoustic phonons are photogenerated and detected. Here, in order to get new insights on the out-of-equilibrium electron-phonon coupling and phonons dynamics in confined TI, different nanostructures have been investigated (single or polycrystalline QLs assemblies and nano-crystallized islands). Contrary to previous literature claims, we show that even for nanostructures containing only 10 quintuple layers (QLs), the symmetric A1g(I) coherent optical phonon is efficiently photogenerated and no restriction due to the structural confinement appears. We also observe that whatever the arrangement of the nanostructures, the A1g(I) optical phonon features are similar (lifetime). We also report the observation of confined coherent acoustic phonons propagating from QLs to QLs whose spectrum is, this time, very sensitive to the atomic arrangement. In the case of the single crystalline ultrathin film, the time of flight analysis of these acoustic phonons provides direct estimate of the elastic properties of these nanostructures as well as some estimates of Van der Waals interactions between QLs.

Thin films of BixTey with various compositions have been grown on Si(100) substrates by thermal evaporation with the use of a Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) system. The growth was performed in the co-deposition mode. The effect of stoichiometry and growth conditions on the structural and electronic properties of the films was studied. Films with compositions corresponding to the compound Bi2Te3 and with compositions rich in Te and Bi were studied. Two different phases which crystallized in the hexagonal family were recognized: trigonal Bi2Te3 with the lattice parameters of a=4.44Å and c=30.47Å and hexagonal BiTe with the lattice parameters of a=4.39Å and c=24.02Å. The analysis of photoemission from the Bi and Te core levels confirmed the structural studies. The layered structure of BixTey films caused that the found crystal phases are accompanied by layers of pure elements Te or Bi depending on the stoichiometry. Angle dependent photoelectron spectroscopy studies showed the tendency of segregation direction – towards the surface for Te layers and opposite one for metallic Bi.