Spin-orbit interaction effect in the electronic structure of BiTe observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The electronic structure of $p$-type doped BiTe is studied by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to experimentally confirm the mechanism responsible for the high thermoelectric figure of merit. Our ARPES study shows that the band edges are located off the $Gamma$-Z line in the Brillouin zone, which provides direct observation that the spin-orbit interaction is a key factor to understand the electronic structure and the corresponding thermoelectric properties of BiTe. Successive time dependent ARPES measurement also reveals that the electron-like bands crossing E$_F$ near the $underline{Gamma}$ point are formed in an hour after cleaving the crystals. We interpret these as surface states induced by surface band bending, possibly due to quintuple inter-layer distance change of BiTe.