Temperature-induced inversion of the spin-photogalvanic effect in WTe${}_2$ and MoTe${}_2$

Abstract

We investigate the generation and temperature-induced evolution of optically-driven spin photocurrents in WTe${}_2$ and MoTe${}_2$. By correlating the scattering-plane dependence of the spin photocurrents with the symmetry analysis, we find that a sizeable spin photocurrent can be controllably driven along the chain direction by optically exciting the system in the high-symmetry $y$-$z$ plane. Temperature dependence measurements show that pronounced variations in the spin photocurrent emerge at temperatures that coincide with the onset of anomalies in their transport and optical properties. The decreasing trend in the temperature dependence starting below 150 K is attributed to the temperature-induced Lifshitz transition. The sign inversion of the spin photocurrent, observed around 50 K in WTe${}_2$ and around 120 K in MoTe${}_2$, may have its origin in an interaction that involves multiple kinds of carriers.

6 pages, 5 figures; 4 pages of supplemental material