Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition
The 2007 discovery of quantized conductance in HgTe quantum wells delivered the field of topological insulators (TIs) its first experimental confirmation. While many three-dimensional TIs have since been identified, HgTe remains the only known two-dimensional system in this class. Difficulty fabrica...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2011-10-01
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| Series: | Physical Review X |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.1.021001 |
| _version_ | 1819117351335886848 |
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| author | Conan Weeks Jun Hu Jason Alicea Marcel Franz Ruqian Wu |
| author_facet | Conan Weeks Jun Hu Jason Alicea Marcel Franz Ruqian Wu |
| author_sort | Conan Weeks |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The 2007 discovery of quantized conductance in HgTe quantum wells delivered the field of topological insulators (TIs) its first experimental confirmation. While many three-dimensional TIs have since been identified, HgTe remains the only known two-dimensional system in this class. Difficulty fabricating HgTe quantum wells has, moreover, hampered their widespread use. With the goal of breaking this logjam, we provide a blueprint for stabilizing a robust TI state in a more readily available two-dimensional material—graphene. Using symmetry arguments, density functional theory, and tight-binding simulations, we predict that graphene endowed with certain heavy adatoms realizes a TI with substantial band gap. For indium and thallium, our most promising adatom candidates, a modest 6% coverage produces an estimated gap near 80 K and 240 K, respectively, which should be detectable in transport or spectroscopic measurements. Engineering such a robust topological phase in graphene could pave the way for a new generation of devices for spintronics, ultra-low-dissipation electronics, and quantum information processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:31:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4d1631fd53c44006a68877aeda21c885 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2160-3308 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:31:36Z |
| publishDate | 2011-10-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review X |
| spelling | doaj.art-4d1631fd53c44006a68877aeda21c8852022-12-21T18:37:27ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082011-10-011202100110.1103/PhysRevX.1.021001Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom DepositionConan WeeksJun HuJason AliceaMarcel FranzRuqian WuThe 2007 discovery of quantized conductance in HgTe quantum wells delivered the field of topological insulators (TIs) its first experimental confirmation. While many three-dimensional TIs have since been identified, HgTe remains the only known two-dimensional system in this class. Difficulty fabricating HgTe quantum wells has, moreover, hampered their widespread use. With the goal of breaking this logjam, we provide a blueprint for stabilizing a robust TI state in a more readily available two-dimensional material—graphene. Using symmetry arguments, density functional theory, and tight-binding simulations, we predict that graphene endowed with certain heavy adatoms realizes a TI with substantial band gap. For indium and thallium, our most promising adatom candidates, a modest 6% coverage produces an estimated gap near 80 K and 240 K, respectively, which should be detectable in transport or spectroscopic measurements. Engineering such a robust topological phase in graphene could pave the way for a new generation of devices for spintronics, ultra-low-dissipation electronics, and quantum information processing.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.1.021001 |
| spellingShingle | Conan Weeks Jun Hu Jason Alicea Marcel Franz Ruqian Wu Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition Physical Review X |
| title | Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition |
| title_full | Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition |
| title_fullStr | Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition |
| title_short | Engineering a Robust Quantum Spin Hall State in Graphene via Adatom Deposition |
| title_sort | engineering a robust quantum spin hall state in graphene via adatom deposition |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.1.021001 |
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