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Topological insulators

The surface surfaces

Circularly polarized light can isolate surface states from bulk states in topological insulators, allowing their unique properties to be probed.

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Figure 1: Owing to helicity, circularly polarized light can generate spin-polarized surface current in topological insulators.

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Correspondence to Judy J. Cha or Yi Cui.

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Cha, J., Cui, Y. The surface surfaces. Nature Nanotech 7, 85–86 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2012.9

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