Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator
Three-dimensional topological crystalline insulators were recently predicted and observed in the SnTe class of IV–VI semiconductors, which host metallic surface states protected by crystal symmetries. In this work, we study thin films of these materials and expose their potential for device applicat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Nature Publishing Group
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/88495 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-7349 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2480-1211 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8187-7266 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2289-6007 |
| _version_ | 1826215376746184704 |
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| author | Liu, Junwei Hsieh, Timothy Hwa-wei Wei, Peng Duan, Wenhui Moodera, Jagadeesh Fu, Liang |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Liu, Junwei Hsieh, Timothy Hwa-wei Wei, Peng Duan, Wenhui Moodera, Jagadeesh Fu, Liang |
| author_sort | Liu, Junwei |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Three-dimensional topological crystalline insulators were recently predicted and observed in the SnTe class of IV–VI semiconductors, which host metallic surface states protected by crystal symmetries. In this work, we study thin films of these materials and expose their potential for device applications. We demonstrate that thin films of SnTe and Pb1−xSnxSe(Te) grown along the (001) direction are topologically non-trivial in a wide range of film thickness and carry conducting spin-filtered edge states that are protected by the (001) mirror symmetry through a topological invariant. Application of an electric field perpendicular to the film will break the mirror symmetry and generate a bandgap in these edge states. This functionality motivates us to propose a topological transistor device in which charge and spin transport are maximally entangled and simultaneously controlled by an electric field. The high on/off operation speed and coupling of spin and charge in such a device may lead to electronic and spintronic applications for topological crystalline insulators. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:26:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/88495 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:26:22Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/884952022-09-29T19:50:57Z Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator Liu, Junwei Hsieh, Timothy Hwa-wei Wei, Peng Duan, Wenhui Moodera, Jagadeesh Fu, Liang Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Liu, Junwei Hsieh, Timothy Hwa-wei Wei, Peng Moodera, Jagadeesh Fu, Liang Three-dimensional topological crystalline insulators were recently predicted and observed in the SnTe class of IV–VI semiconductors, which host metallic surface states protected by crystal symmetries. In this work, we study thin films of these materials and expose their potential for device applications. We demonstrate that thin films of SnTe and Pb1−xSnxSe(Te) grown along the (001) direction are topologically non-trivial in a wide range of film thickness and carry conducting spin-filtered edge states that are protected by the (001) mirror symmetry through a topological invariant. Application of an electric field perpendicular to the film will break the mirror symmetry and generate a bandgap in these edge states. This functionality motivates us to propose a topological transistor device in which charge and spin transport are maximally entangled and simultaneously controlled by an electric field. The high on/off operation speed and coupling of spin and charge in such a device may lead to electronic and spintronic applications for topological crystalline insulators. United States. Dept. of Energy (Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Award DE-SC0010526)0006423) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Graduate research fellowship No. 0645960) China. Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2011CB921901) China. Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2011CB606405) National Natural Science Foundation (China) (Grant No. 11074139) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (MIT MRSEC Program Award No. DMR-0819762) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF DMR grant 1207469) United States. Office of Naval Research (ONR grant N00014-13-1-0301) 2014-07-24T19:55:31Z 2014-07-24T19:55:31Z 2013-12 2013-09 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1476-1122 1476-4660 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/88495 Liu, Junwei, Timothy H. Hsieh, Peng Wei, Wenhui Duan, Jagadeesh Moodera, and Liang Fu. “Spin-Filtered Edge States with an Electrically Tunable Gap in a Two-Dimensional Topological Crystalline Insulator.” Nature Materials 13, no. 2 (December 22, 2013): 178–183. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-7349 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2480-1211 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8187-7266 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2289-6007 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat3828 Nature Materials Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Nature Publishing Group arXiv |
| spellingShingle | Liu, Junwei Hsieh, Timothy Hwa-wei Wei, Peng Duan, Wenhui Moodera, Jagadeesh Fu, Liang Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| title | Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| title_full | Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| title_fullStr | Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| title_short | Spin-filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| title_sort | spin filtered edge states with an electrically tunable gap in a two dimensional topological crystalline insulator |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/88495 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-7349 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2480-1211 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8187-7266 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2289-6007 |
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