Persistent coherence and spin polarization of topological surface states on topological insulators

Abstract

Gapless surface states on topological insulators are protected from elastic scattering on non-magnetic impurities which makes them promising candidates for low-power electronic applications. However, for wide-spread applications, these states should remain coherent and significantly spin polarized at ambient temperatures. Here, we studied the coherence and spin-structure of the topological states on the surface of a model topological insulator, Bi2Se3, at elevated temperatures in spin and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We found an extremely weak broadening and essentially no decay of spin polarization of the topological surface state up to room temperature. Our results demonstrate that the topological states on surfaces of topological insulators could serve as a basis for room temperature electronic devices.