Observation and Manipulation of Visible Edge Plasmons in Bi₂Te₃ Nanoplates

Abstract

Noble metals, like Ag and Au, are the most intensively studied plasmonic materials in the visible range. Plasmons in semiconductors, however, are usually believed to be in the infrared wavelength region due to the intrinsic low carrier concentrations. Herein, we observe the edge plasmon modes of Bi₂Te₃, a narrow-band gap semiconductor, in the visible spectral range using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). The Bi₂Te₃ nanoplates excited by 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses exhibit strong photoemission intensities along the edges, which follow a cos⁴ dependence on the polarization state of incident beam. Because of the phase retardation effect, plasmonic response along different edges can be selectively exited. The thickness-dependent photoemission intensities exclude the spin-orbit induced surface states as the origin of these plasmonic modes. Instead, we propose that the interband transition-induced nonequilibrium carriers might play a key role. Our results not only experimentally demonstrate the possibility of visible plasmons in semiconducting materials but also open up a new avenue for exploring the optical properties of topological insulator materials using PEEM.