Surface terminations control charge transfer from bulk to surface states in topological insulators

Topological insulators (TI) hold significant potential for various electronic and optoelectronic devices that rely on the Dirac surface state (DSS), including spintronic and thermoelectric devices, as well as terahertz detectors. The behavior of electrons within the DSS plays a pivotal role in the performance of such devices. It is expected that DSS appear on a surface of three dimensional(3D) TI by mechanical exfoliation. However, it is not always the case that the surface terminating atomic configuration and corresponding band structures are homogeneous. In order to investigate the impact of surface terminating atomic configurations on electron dynamics, we meticulously examined the electron dynamics at the exfoliated surface of a crystalline 3D TI (Bi $$ Se $$ ) with time, space, and energy resolutions. Based on our comprehensive band structure calculations, we found that on one of the Se-terminated surfaces, DSS is located within the bulk band gap, with no other surface states manifesting within this region. On this particular surface, photoexcited electrons within the conduction band effectively relax towards DSS and tend to linger at the Dirac point for extended periods of time. It is worth emphasizing that these distinct characteristics of DSS are exclusively observed on this particular surface.