PbTe/PbSnTe heterostructures as analogs of topological insulators

Ryszard Buczko and Łukasz Cywiński
Phys. Rev. B 85, 205319 – Published 29 May 2012

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the PbTe/Pb1xSnxTe heterostructure grown in the [111] direction, specifically a quantum wall (potential step of width d) of PbTe embedded in Pb1xSnxTe. For x large enough to lead to band inversion and for large d, there are well-known gapless interface states associated with four L valleys. We show that for d10 nm, the three pairs of states from oblique valleys strongly couple and become gapped with a gap 10 meV. On the other hand, the interface states from the [111] valley are essentially uncoupled, and they retain their helical character, remaining analogous to states at surfaces of thin layers of three-dimensional topological insulators. This opens up a possibility of studying the physics of two-dimensional helical Dirac fermions in heterostuctures of already widely studied IV-VI semiconductors.

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  • Received 15 February 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.85.205319

©2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Ryszard Buczko and Łukasz Cywiński

  • Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotników 32/46, PL 02-668 Warszawa, Poland

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Issue

Vol. 85, Iss. 20 — 15 May 2012

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