Prof Laura Herz FRS

Abstract:

Optical Pump Terahertz Probe (OPTP) spectroscopy is a well-established measurement technique with which charge-carrier dynamics of semiconductor nanowires (NW) can be extracted in a noncontact manner. Here in this work, we employ OPTP spectroscopy for measuring temperature-dependent photoconductivity spectra of 3D Dirac Cd 3 As 2 semi-metal nanowires, revealing a high Extrinsic carrier concentration of ∼2.0x1017cm−3 and ultrahigh carrier mobility of up to ∼13x103cm2V−1s−1 at a temperature of 5 K.

Abstract:

Topological insulator (TI) materials are emerging as novel materials for spintronic applications. Here, we demonstrate helicity-dependent THz emission from Dirac semi-metal Cd 3 As 2 nanowires and used scattering-type scanning optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to identify potential single nanowire candidates for device applications. The preliminary investigation data of a candidate nanowire shows a homogenous topography and constant dielectric function in the MIR range. Indicating high-quality crystalline growth ideal for topological characterization.