No Arabic abstract
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.
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.
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.
Two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator (TI) have been recognized as a new class of quantum state of matter. They are distinguished from normal 2D insulators with their nontrivial band-structure topology identified by the $Z_2$ number as protected by time-reversal symmetry (TRS). 2D TIs have intriguing spin-velocity locked conducting edge states and insulating properties in the bulk. In the edge states, the electrons with opposite spins propagate in opposite directions and the backscattering is fully prohibited when the TRS is conserved. This leads to quantized dissipationless two-lane highway for charge and spin transportation and promises potential applications. Up to now, only very few 2D systems have been discovered to possess this property. The lack of suitable material obstructs the further study and application. Here, by using first-principles calculations, we propose that the functionalized MXene with oxygen, M$_2$CO$_2$ (M=W, Mo and Cr), are 2D TIs with the largest gap of 0.194 eV in W case. They are dynamically stable and natively antioxidant. Most importantly, they are very likely to be easily synthesized by recent developed selective chemical etching of transition-metal carbides (MAX phase). This will pave the way to tremendous applications of 2D TIs, such as ideal conducting wire, multifunctional spintronic device, and the realization of topological superconductivity and Majorana modes for quantum computing.
We consider a buckled quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI), such as silicene, proximity-coupled to a conventional spin-singlet, s-wave superconductor. Even limiting the discussion to the disorder-robust s-wave pairing symmetry, we find both odd-frequency ($omega$), spin-singlet and spin-triplet pair amplitudes and where both preserve time-reversal symmetry. Our results show that there are two unrelated mechanisms generating these different odd-$omega$ pair amplitudes. The spin-singlet state is due to the strong inter-orbital processes present in the QSHI. It is exists generically at the edges of the QSHI, but also in the bulk in heavily doped regime if an electric field is applied. The spin-triplet state requires a finite gradient in the proximity-induced superconducting order along the edge, which we find is automatically generated at the atomic scale for armchair edges but not at zigzag edges. In combination these results make superconducting QSHIs a very exciting venue for investigating not only the existence of odd-$omega$ superconductivity, but also the interplay between different odd-$omega$ states.
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.