No Arabic abstract
Large bulk band gap is critical for application of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator or two dimensional (2D) topological insulator (TI) in spintronic device operating at room temperature (RT). Based on the first-principles calculations, here we predict a group of 2D topological insulators BiX/SbX (X = H, F, Cl, and Br) monolayers with extraordinarily large bulk gaps from 0.32 to a record value of 1.08 eV. These giant-gaps are entirely due to the result of strong spin-orbit interaction related to px and py orbitals of Bi/Sb atoms around the two valley K and K of honeycomb lattice, which is different significantly from the one consisted of pz orbital just like in graphene/silicene. The topological characteristic of BiX/SbX monolayers is confirmed by the calculated nontrivial Z2 index and an explicit construction of the low energy effective Hamiltonian in these systems. We show that the honeycomb structures of BiX monolayers remain stable even at a temperature of 600 K. These features make the giant-gap TIs BiX/SbX monolayers an ideal platform to realize many exotic phenomena and fabricate new quantum devices operating at RT. Furthermore, biased BiX/SbX monolayers become a quantum valley Hall insulator, showing valley-selective circular dichroism.
Quantum Spin Hall (QSH) insulators with a large topologically nontrivial bulk gap are crucial for future applications of the QSH effect. Among these, group III-V monolayers and their halides with chair structure (regular hexagonal framework, RHF) were widely studied. Using first-principles calculations, we propose a new structure model for the functionalized group III-V monolayers, which consist of rectangular GaBi-X2 (X=I, Br, Cl) monolayers with a distorted hexagonal framework (DHF). These structures have a much lower energy than the GaBi-X2 monolayers with chair structure. Remarkably, the DHF GaBi-X2 monolayers are all QSH insulators, which exhibit sizeable nontrivial band gaps ranging from 0.17 eV to 0.39 eV. Those band gaps can be widely tuned by applying different spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strengths, resulting in a distorted Dirac cone.
The search of large-gap quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators and effective approaches to tune QSH states is important for both fundamental and practical interests. Based on first-principles calculations we find two-dimensional tin films are QSH insulators with sizable bulk gaps of 0.3 eV, sufficiently large for practical applications at room temperature. These QSH states can be effectively tuned by chemical functionalization and by external strain. The mechanism for the QSH effect in this system is band inversion at the Gamma point, similar to the case of HgTe quantum well. With surface doping of magnetic elements, the quantum anomalous Hall effect could also be realized.
A large bulk band gap is critical for the applications of quantum spin hall (QSH) insulators in spintronics at room temperature. Based on first-principles calculations, we predict that the methyl-functionalized III-Bi monolayers, namely III-Bi-(CH3)2 (III=Ga, In, Tl) thin films, own QSH states with band gap as large as 0.260, 0.304 and 0.843 eV, respectively, making them suitable for room-temperature applications. The topological characteristics are confirmed by s-px,y band inversion, topological invariant Z2, and the topologically protected edge states. Noticeably, for GaBi/InBi-(CH3)2 films, the s-px,y band inversion occurred in the progress of spin-orbital coupling (SOC), while for TlBi(CH3)2 film, the s-px,y band inversion happened in the progress of chemical bonding. Significantly, the QSH states in III-Bi-(CH3)2 films are robust against the mechanical strains and various methyl coverages, making these films particularly flexible to substrate choice for device applications. Besides, the h-BN substrate is an ideal substrate for III-Bi-(CH3)2 films to realize large gap nontrivial topological states.. These findings demonstrate that the methyl-functionalized III-Bi films may be good QSH effect platforms for topological electronic devices design and fabrication in spintronics.
Antiferromagnetic materials promise improved performance for spintronic applications, as they are robust against external magnetic field perturbations and allow for faster magnetization dynamics compared to ferromagnets. The direct observation of the antiferromagnetic state, however, is challenging due to the absence of a macroscopic magnetization. Here, we show that the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) is a versatile tool to probe the antiferromagnetic spin structure via simple electrical transport experiments by investigating the easy-plane antiferromagnetic insulators $alpha$-Fe2O3 (hematite) and NiO in bilayer heterostructures with a Pt heavy metal top electrode. While rotating an external magnetic field in three orthogonal planes, we record the longitudinal and the transverse resistivities of Pt and observe characteristic resistivity modulations consistent with the SMR effect. We analyze both their amplitude and phase and compare the data to the results from a prototypical collinear ferrimagnetic Y3Fe5O12/Pt bilayer. The observed magnetic field dependence is explained in a comprehensive model, based on two magnetic sublattices and taking into account magnetic field-induced modifications of the domain structure. Our results show that the SMR allows us to understand the spin configuration and to investigate magnetoelastic effects in antiferromagnetic multi-domain materials. Furthermore, in $alpha$-Fe2O3/Pt bilayers, we find an unexpectedly large SMR amplitude of $2.5 times 10^{-3}$, twice as high as for prototype Y3Fe5O12/Pt bilayers, making the system particularly interesting for room-temperature antiferromagnetic spintronic applications.
The coexistence of ferroelectric and topological orders in two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals allows non-volatile and switchable quantum spin Hall states. Here we offer a general design principle for 2D bilayer heterostructures that can host ferroelectricity and nontrivial band topology simultaneously using only topologically trivial building blocks. The built-in electric field arising from the out-of-plane polarization across the heterostrucuture enables a robust control of the band gap size and band inversion strength, which can be utilized to manipulate topological phase transitions. Using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate a series of bilayer heterostructures are 2D ferroelectric topological insulators (2DFETIs) characterized with a direct coupling between band topology and polarization state. We propose a few 2DFETI-based quantum electronics including domain-wall quantum circuits and topological memristor.