Inverse Edelstein effect of the surface states of a topological insulator

Abstract

The surface states of three-dimensional topological insulators posses the unique property of spin-momentum interlocking. This property gives rise to the interesting inverse Edelstein effect (IEE), in which an applied spin bias $\mu$ is converted to a measurable charge voltage difference $V$. We develop a semiclassical theory for the IEE of the surface states of $\text{Bi}_2\text{Se}_3$ thin films, which is applicable from the ballistic regime to diffusive regime. We find that the IEE efficiency ratio $\gamma=V/\mu$ exhibits universal dependence on sample size, and approaches $\pi/4$ in the ballistic limit and $1$ in the diffusive limit.