Nanowerk  August 18, 2022 The phase transition between non-trivial and trivial topological states is important for next-generation technology, such as dissipation-free electronics. A team of researchers in the US (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Harvard University, the State University of New Jersey) has demonstrated that circularly polarized laser-field-driven high-harmonic generation is distinctly sensitive to the non-trivial and trivial topological phases in the prototypical three-dimensional topological insulator bismuth selenide. The phase transition is chemically initiated by reducing the spin–orbit interaction strength through the substitution of bismuth with indium atoms. The phase transition is chemically initiated by reducing the spin–orbit interaction […]