Proximity-induced topological state in graphene

Igor Popov, Mauro Mantega, Awadhesh Narayan, and Stefano Sanvito
Phys. Rev. B 90, 035418 – Published 15 July 2014

Abstract

The appearance of topologically protected states at the surface of an ordinary insulator is a rare occurrence and to date only a handful of materials are known for having this property. An intriguing question concerns the possibility of forming topologically protected interfaces between different materials. Here we propose that a topological phase can be transferred to graphene by proximity with the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3. By using density functional and transport theory, we prove that, at the verge of the chemical bond formation, a hybrid state forms at the graphene/Bi2Se3 interface. The state has Dirac-cone-like dispersion at the Γ point and a well defined helical spin texture, indicating its topologically protected nature. This demonstrates that proximity can transfer the topological phase from Bi2Se3 to graphene.

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  • Received 19 August 2013
  • Revised 30 June 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.035418

©2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Igor Popov, Mauro Mantega, Awadhesh Narayan*, and Stefano Sanvito

  • School of Physics, AMBER and CRANN, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

  • *narayaa@tcd.ie

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Issue

Vol. 90, Iss. 3 — 15 July 2014

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