Optical response and activity of ultrathin films of topological insulators

We investigate the optical properties of ultrathin film of a topological insulator in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. We show that due to the combination of the overlap between the surface states of the two layers and the magnetic field, the optical conductivity can show strong anisotropy. This leads to the effective optical activity of the ultrathin film by influencing the circularly polarized incident light. Intriguingly, for a range of magnetic fields, the reflected and transmitted lights exhibit elliptic character. Even for certain values almost linear polarizations are obtained, indicating that the thin film can act as a polaroid in reflection. All these features are discussed in the context of the time-reversal symmetry breaking as one of the key ingredients for the optical activity.

optical conductivity, topological insulators, Kerr rotation, Faraday rotation