Theoretical paradigm for the quantum spin Hall effect at high temperatures

Gang Li, Werner Hanke, Ewelina M. Hankiewicz, Felix Reis, Jörg Schäfer, Ralph Claessen, Congjun Wu, and Ronny Thomale
Phys. Rev. B 98, 165146 – Published 29 October 2018

Abstract

The quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) has formed the seed for contemporary research on topological quantum states of matter. Since its discovery in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells and InAs/GaSb heterostructures, all such systems have so far been suffering from extremely low operating temperatures, rendering any technological application out of reach. We formulate a theoretical paradigm to accomplish the high temperature QSHE in monolayer-substrate heterostructures. Specifically, we explicate our proposal for hexagonal compounds formed by monolayers of heavy group-V elements (As, Sb, Bi) on a SiC substrate. We show how orbital filtering due to substrate hybridization, a tailored multiorbital density of states at low energies, and large spin-orbit coupling can conspire to yield QSH states with bulk gaps of several hundreds of meV. Combined with the successful realization of Bi/SiC (0001), with a measured bulk gap of 800 meV reported previously [F. Reis et al., Science 357, 287 (2017)], our paradigm elevates the QSHE from an intricate quantum phenomenon at low temperatures to a scalable effect amenable to device design and engineering.

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  • Received 25 July 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.165146

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Gang Li1,*, Werner Hanke2, Ewelina M. Hankiewicz2, Felix Reis3, Jörg Schäfer3, Ralph Claessen3, Congjun Wu4, and Ronny Thomale2,†

  • 1School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 200031, China
  • 2Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik,Universität Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 3Physikalisches Institut and Röntgen Center for Complex Material Systems, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 4Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, USA

  • *ligang@shanghaitech.edu.cn
  • rthomale@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 16 — 15 October 2018

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