Topological insulators and graphene present two unique classes of materials, which are characterized by spin-polarized (helical) and nonpolarized Dirac cone band structures, respectively. The importance of many-body interactions that renormalize the linear bands near Dirac point in graphene has been well recognized and attracted much recent attention. However, renormalization of the helical Dirac point has not been observed in topological insulators. Here, we report the experimental observation of the renormalized quasiparticle spectrum with a skewed Dirac cone in a single Bi bilayer grown on Bi2Te3 substrate from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. First-principles band calculations indicate that the quasiparticle spectra are likely associated with the hybridization between the extrinsic substrate-induced Dirac states of Bi bilayer and the intrinsic surface Dirac states of Bi2Te3 film at close energy proximity. Without such hybridization, only single-particle Dirac spectra are observed in a single Bi bilayer grown on Bi2Se3, where the extrinsic Dirac states Bi bilayer and the intrinsic Dirac states of Bi2Se3 are well separated in energy. The possible origins of many-body interactions are discussed. Our findings provide a means to manipulate topological surface states.

Semiconductor nanowire (NW) cavities with tailorable optical modes have been used to develop nanoscale oscillators and amplifiers in microlasers, sensors, and single photon emitters. The resonance modes of NW could be tuned by different boundary conditions. However, continuously and reversibly adjusting resonance modes and improving Q-factor of the cavity remain a great challenge. We report a method to modulate resonance modes continuously and reversibly and improve Q-factor based on surface plasmon-exciton interaction. By placing single Ag nanoparticle (NP) nearby a CdS NW, we show that the wavelength and relative intensity of the resonance modes in the NW cavity can systematically be tuned by adjusting the relative position of the Ag NP. We further demonstrate that a 56% enhancement of Q-factor and an equivalent π-phase shift of the resonance modes can be achieved when the Ag NP is located near the NW end. This hybrid cavity has potential applications in active plasmonic and photonic nanodevices.

The growth and characterization of single-crystalline thin films of topological insulators (TIs) is an important step towards their possible applications. Using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that moderately thick Sb2Te3 films grown layer-by-layer by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si(111) are atomically smooth, single-crystalline, and intrinsically insulating. Furthermore, these films were found to exhibit a robust TI electronic structure with their Fermi energy lying within the energy gap of the bulk that intersects only the Dirac cone of the surface states. Depositing Cs in situ moves the Fermi energy of the Sb2Te3 films without changing the electronic band structure, as predicted by theory. We found that the TI behavior is preserved in Sb2Te3 films down to five quintuple layers (QLs).