RESUMO
The transport properties of the surface charge carriers of a three dimensional topological insulator under a terahertz (THz) field along with a resonant double barrier structure is theoretically analyzed within the framework of Floquet theory to explore the possibility of using such a device for photodetection purposes. We show that due to the contribution of elastic and inelastic scattering processes in the resulting transmission, side-bands are formed in the conductance spectrum. This side band formation is similar to the side-bands formation in cavity transmission spectra in an optical cavity and this information can be used to detect the frequency of unknown THz radiation. The dependence of the conductance on the bias voltage, the effect of THz radiation on resonances and the influence of zero energy points on the transmission spectrum are also discussed.
RESUMO
The surface states of the three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators are described by a two-dimensional (2D) massless dirac equation. A gate-voltage-induced one-dimensional potential barrier on such surfaces creates a discrete bound state in the forbidden region outside the dirac cone. Even for a single barrier it is shown that such a bound state can create an electrostatic analogue of Shubnikov de Haas oscillation which can be experimentally observed for relatively smaller size samples. However, when these surface states are exposed to a periodic arrangement of such gate-voltage-induced potential barriers, the band structure of the same was significantly modified. This is expected to significantly alter the properties of the macroscopic system. We also suggest that, within suitable limits, the system may offer ways to control electron spin electrostatically, which may be practically useful.
