Progress on 2D topological insulators and potential applications in electronic devices

Two-dimensional topological insulators(2DTIs)have attracted increasing attention during the past few years.New 2DTIs with increasing larger spin-orbit coupling(SOC)gaps have been predicted by theoretical calculations and some of them have been synthesized experimentally.In this review,the 2DTIs,ranging from single element graphene-like materials to bi-elemental transition metal chalcogenides(TMDs)and to multi-elemental materials,with different thicknesses,structures,and phases,have been summarized and discussed.The topological properties(especially the quantum spin Hall effect and Dirac fermion feature)and potential applications have been summarized.This review also points out the challenge and opportunities for future 2DTI study,especially on the device applications based on the topological properties.

Fractional Topological Insulators—A Bosonization Approach

A metallic disk with strong spin orbit interaction is investigated. The finite disk geometry introduces a confining potential. Due to the strong spin-orbit interaction and confining potential the metal disk is described by an effective one-dimensional model with a harmonic potential. The harmonic potential gives rise to classical turning points. As a result, open boundary conditions must be used. We bosonize the model and obtain chiral Bosons for each spin on the edge of the disk. When the filling fraction is reduced to the electron-electron interactions are studied by using the Jordan Wigner phase for composite fermions which give rise to a Luttinger liquid. When the metallic disk is in the proximity with a superconductor, a Fractional Topological Insulator is obtained. An experimental realization is proposed. We show that by tunning the chemical potential we control the classical turning points for which a Fractional Topological Insulator is realized.

Transport properties of topological insulators films and nanowires

The last several years have witnessed the rapid developments in the study and understanding of topological insulators. In this review, after a brief summary of the history of topological insulators, we focus on the recent progress made in transport experiments on topological insulator films and nanowires. Some quantum phenomena, including the weak antilocalization, the Aharonov-Bobm effect, and the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, observed in these nanostructures are described. In addition, the electronic transport evidence of the superconducting proximity effect as well as an anomalous resistance enhancement in topological insulator/superconductor hybrid structures is included.

Electrostatic field effects on three-dimensional topological insulators

Three-dimensional topological insulators are a new class of quantum matter which has interesting connections to nearly all main branches of condensed matter physics. In this article, we briefly review the advances in the field effect control of chemical potential in three-dimensional topological insulators. It is essential to the observation of many exotic quantum phenomena predicted to emerge from the topological insulators and their hybrid structures with other materials. We also describe various methods for probing the surface state transport. Some challenges in experimental study of electron transport in topological insulators will also be briefly discussed.

Elastic scattering of surface states on three-dimensional topological insulators

Topological insulators as a new type of quantum matter materials are characterized by a full insulating gap in the bulk and gapless edge/surface states protected by the time-reversal symmetry. We propose that the interference patterns caused by the elastic scattering of defects or impurities are dominated by the surface states at the extremal points on the constant energy contour. Within such a formalism, we summarize our recent theoretical investigations on the elastic scattering of topological surface states by various imperfections, including non-magnetic impurities, magnetic impurities, step edges, and various other defects, in comparison with the recent related experiments in typical topological materials such as BiSb alloys, Bi2Te3, and Bi2Se3 crystals.

Efficiency of electrical manipulation in two-dimensional topological insulators

We investigate the efficiency of electrical manipulation in a two-dimensional topological insulator by inspecting the electronic states of a lateral electrical potential superlattice in the system. The spatial distribution of the electron density in the system can be tuned by changing the strength of the externally applied lateral electrical superlattice potential. This provides us the information about how efficiently one can manipulate the electron motion inside a two-dimensional topo- logical insulator. Such information is important in designing electronic devices, e.g., an electric field effect transistor made of the topological insulator. The electronic states under various conditions are examined carefully. It is found that the dispersion of the mini-band and the electron distribution in the potential well region both display an oscillatory behavior as the potential strength of the lateral superlattice increases. The probability of finding an electron in the potential well region can be larger or smaller than the average as the potential strength varies. These features can be attributed to the coupled multiple-band nature of the topological insulator. In addition, it is also found that these behaviors are not sensitive to the gap parameter of the two-dimensional topological insulator model. Our study suggests that the electron density manipulation via electrical gating in a two-dimensional topological insulator is less effective and more delicate than that in a traditional single-band semiconductor.

On Mathematical Aspects of the Theory of Topological Insulators

This review is devoted to one of the most interesting and actively developing fields in condensed matter physics—theory of topological insulators.Apart from its importance for theoretical physics,this theory enjoys numerous connections with modern mathematics,in particular,with topology and homotopy theory,Clifford algebras,K-theory and non-commutative geometry.From the physical point of view topological invariance is equivalent to adiabatic stability.Topological insulators are characterized by the broad energy gap,stable under small deformations,which motivates application of topological methods.A key role in the study of topological ob jects in the solid state physics is played by their symmetry groups.There are three main types of symmetries—time reversion symmetry,preservation of the number of particles(charge symmetry)and PH-symmetry(particle-hole symmetry).Based on the study of symmetry groups and representation theory of Clifford algebras Kitaev proposed a classification of topological ob jects in solid state physics.In this review we pay special attention to the topological insulators invariant under time reversion.

Topological edge and corner states of valley photonic crystals with zipper-like boundary conditions

We present a stable valley photonic crystal(VPC)unit cell with C_(3v)symmetric quasi-ring-shaped dielectric columns and realize its topological phase transition by breaking mirror symmetry.Based on this unit cell structure,topological edge states(TESs)and topological corner states(TCSs)are realized.We obtain a new type of wave transmission mode based on photonic crystal zipper-like boundaries and apply it to a beam splitter assembled from rectangular photonic crystals(PCs).The constructed beam splitter structure is compact and possesses frequency separation functions.In addition,we construct a box-shaped triangular PC structures with zipper-like boundaries and discover phenomena of TCSs in the corners,comparing its corner states with those formed by other boundaries.Based on this,we explore the regularities of the electric field patterns of TESs and TCSs,explain the connection between the characteristic frequencies and locality of TCSs,which helps better control photons and ensures low power consumption of the system.

Three-Dirac-fermion approach to unexpected universal gapless surface states in van der Waals magnetic topological insulators

Layered van der Waals(vdW) topological materials, especially the recently discovered MnBi_(2)Te_(4)-family magnetic topological insulators(TIs), have aroused great attention. However, there has been a serious debate about whether the surface states are gapped or gapless for antiferromagnetic(AFM) TI MnBi_(2)Te_(4), which is crucial to the prospect of various magnetic topological phenomena. Here, a minimal three-Dirac-fermion approach is developed to generally describe topological surface states of nonmagnetic/magnetic vdW TIs under the modulation of the interlayer vdW gap. In particular, this approach is applied to address the controversial issues concerning the surface states of vdW AFM TIs. Remarkably, topologically protected gapless Dirac-cone surface states are found to arise due to a small expansion of the interlayer vdW gap on the surface, when the Chern number equals zero for the surface ferromagnetic layer;while the surface states remain gapped in all other cases. These results are further confirmed by our first-principles calculations on AFM TI MnBi_(2)Te_(4). The theorectically discovered gapless Dirac-cone states provide a unique mechanism for understanding the puzzle of the experimentally observed gapless surface states in MnBi_(2)Te_(4).This work also provides a promising way for experiments to realize the intrinsic magnetic quantum anomalous Hall efect in MnBi_(2)Te_(4) films with a large energy gap.

Bulk-boundary-transport correspondence of the second-order topological insulators

The bulk-boundary correspondence of the second-order topological insulator(SOTI)has been well established,but a universal transport signature for open systems is still absent.For a variety of SOTIs induced by applying in-plane magnetic fields in Z2-invariant first-order TIs,rotating this magnetic field features the spin pump mechanism while maintaining the SOTI phase.We demonstrate that,this spin pump can generate quantized pure spin current when tuning the magnetic field strength,which corresponds to the formation of topological corner states characterizing SOTI in two-dimensional(2D)systems.Quantized spin pump is discovered in various 2D and 3D SOTI models evolved from Z2-invariant TIs,which is robust against disorder and universally independent of system parameters including Fermi energy,system size,magnetic field strength,and pumping frequency.These findings suggest that this universal quantized spin pump can characterize the bulk-boundary-transport correspondence of SOTIs.Quantized spin pump can also be realized by combining pseudo spin such as the orbital degree of freedom with the rotating magnetic field,which could be achieved in higher-order photonic or acoustic topological systems.Such a quantized spin pump is promising as an accurate and stable single-spin source.

Valleytronic topological filters in silicene-like inner-edge systems

Inner edge state with spin and valley degrees of freedom is a promising candidate for designing a dissipationless device due to the topological protection. The central challenge for the application of the inner edge state is to generate and modulate the polarized currents. In this work, we discover a new mechanism to generate fully valley-and spin–valley-polarized current caused by the Bloch wavevector mismatch(BWM). Based on this mechanism, we design some serial-typed inner-edge filters. By using once of the BWM, the coincident states could be divided into transmitted and reflected modes, which can serve as a valley or spin–valley filter. In particular, while with twice of the BWM, the incident current is absolutely reflected to support an off state with a specified valley and spin, which is different from the gap effect.These findings give rise to a new platform for designing valleytronics and spin-valleytronics.

Optical study of magnetic topological insulator MnBi_(4)Te_7

We present an infrared spectroscopy study of the magnetic topological insulator MnBi_(4)Te_7 with antiferromagnetic(AFM) order below the Neel temperature TN= 13 K. Our investigation reveals that the low-frequency optical conductivity consists of two Drude peaks, indicating a response of free carriers involving multiple bands. Interestingly, the narrow Drude peak grows strongly as the temperature decreases, while the broad Drude peak remains relatively unchanged. The onset of interband transitions starts around 2000 cm^(-1), followed by two prominent absorption peaks around 10000 cm^(-1) and 20000 cm^(-1). Upon cooling, there is a notable transfer of spectral weight from the interband transitions to the Drude response. Below TN, the AFM transition gives rise to small anomalies of the charge response due to a band reconstruction.These findings provide valuable insights into the interplay between magnetism and the electronic properties in MnBi_(4)Te_7.

Optical manipulation of the topological phase in ZrTe_(5) revealed by time-and angle-resolved photoemission

High-resolution time-and angle-resolved photoemission measurements were conducted on the topological insulator ZrTe_(5).With strong femtosecond photoexcitation,a possible ultrafast phase transition from a weak to a strong topological insulating phase was experimentally realized by recovering the energy gap inversion in a time scale that was shorter than 0.15 ps.This photoinduced transient strong topological phase can last longer than 2 ps at the highest excitation fluence studied,and it cannot be attributed to the photoinduced heating of electrons or modification of the conduction band filling.Additionally,the measured unoccupied electronic states are consistent with the first-principles calculation based on experimental crystal lattice constants,which favor a strong topological insulating phase.These findings provide new insights into the longstanding controversy about the strong and weak topological properties in ZrTe_(5),and they suggest that many-body effects including electron–electron interactions must be taken into account to understand the equilibrium weak topological insulating phase in ZrTe_(5).

Higher-order topological Anderson insulator on the Sierpiński lattice

Disorder effects on topological materials in integer dimensions have been extensively explored in recent years. However, its influence on topological systems in fractional dimensions remains unclear. Here, we investigate the disorder effects on a fractal system constructed on the Sierpiński lattice in fractional dimensions. The system supports the second-order topological insulator phase characterized by a quantized quadrupole moment and the normal insulator phase. We find that the second-order topological insulator phase on the Sierpiński lattice is robust against weak disorder but suppressed by strong disorder. Most interestingly, we find that disorder can transform the normal insulator phase to the second-order topological insulator phase with an emergent quantized quadrupole moment. Finally, the disorder-induced phase is further confirmed by calculating the energy spectrum and the corresponding probability distributions.

Mode-locking of fiber lasers using novel two-dimensional nanomaterials: graphene and topological insulators [Invited]

The paper summarizes the recent achievements in the area of ultrafast fiber lasers mode-locked with so-called lowdimensional nanomaterials: graphene, topological insulators（Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3, Sb2Te3）, and transition metal sulfide semiconductors, like molybdenum disulfide（MoS2）. The most important experimental achievements are described and compared. Additionally, new original results on ultrashort pulse generation at 1.94 μm wavelength using graphene are presented. The designed Tm-doped fiber laser utilizes multilayer graphene as a saturable absorber and generates 654 fs pulses at 1940 nm wavelength, which are currently the shortest pulses generated from a Tm-doped fiber laser with a graphene-based saturable absorber.

A simple and efficient criterion for ready screening of potential topological insulators

Topological materials are a new and rapidly expanding class of quantum matter. To date, identification of the topological nature of a given compound material demands specific determination of the appropriate topological invariant through detailed electronic structure calculations. Here we present an efficient criterion that allows ready screening of potential topological materials, using topological insulators as prototypical examples. The criterion is inherently tied to the band inversion induced by spin-orbit coupling,and is uniquely defined by a minimal number of two elemental physical properties of the constituent elements: the atomic number and Pauling electronegativity. The validity and predictive power of the criterion is demonstrated by rationalizing many known topological insulators and potential candidates in the tetradymite and half-Heusler families, and the underlying design principle is naturally also extendable to predictive discoveries of other classes of topological materials.

Indentation fracture toughness of single-crystal Bi2Te3 topological insulators

Bismuth teUuride （Bi2Te3） is one of the most important commercial thermoelectric materials. In recent years, the discovery of topologically protected surface states in Bi chalcogenides has paved the way for their application in nanoelectronics. Determination of the fracture toughness plays a crucial role for the potential application of topological insulators in flexible electronics and nanoelectro- mechanical devices. Using depth-sensing nanoindentation tests, we investigated for the first time the fracture toughness of bulk single crystals of Bi2Te3 topological insulators, grown using the Bridgmantockbarger method. Our results highlight one of the possible pitfalls of the technology based on topological insulators.

Realization of quantum anomalous hall effect at tens of kelvin by n-p codoping of topological insulators

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,the research teams led by Prof.Xu Xiaohong（许小红）at the School of Chemistry and Materials Science,Shanxi Normal University and Prof.Zhang Zhenyu at ICQD,University of Science and Technology of China used vanadium-iodine（Ⅴ-Ⅰ）codoped Sb2Te3 to realize high-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect（QAHE）,which was

Magneto-optical Kerr and Faraday effects in bilayer antiferromagnetic insulators

Control and detection of antiferromagnetic topological materials are challenging since the total magnetization vanishes.Here we investigate the magneto-optical Kerr and Faraday effects in bilayer antiferromagnetic insulator Mn Bi2Te4.We find that by breaking the combined mirror symmetries with either perpendicular electric field or external magnetic moment,Kerr and Faraday effects occur.Under perpendicular electric field,antiferromagnetic topological insulators(AFMTI)show sharp peaks at the interband transition threshold,whereas trivial insulators show small adjacent positive and negative peaks.Gate voltage and Fermi energy can be tuned to reveal the differences between AFMTI and trivial insulators.We find that AFMTI with large antiferromagnetic order can be proposed as a pure magneto-optical rotator due to sizable Kerr(Faraday)angles and vanishing ellipticity.Under external magnetic moment,AFMTI and trivial insulators are significantly different in the magnitude of Kerr and Faraday angles and ellipticity.For the qualitative behaviors,AFMTI shows distinct features of Kerr and Faraday angles when the spin configurations of the system change.These phenomena provide new possibilities to optically detect and manipulate the layered topological antiferromagnets.

Studies on the electronic structures of three-dimensional topological insulators by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Three-dimensional （3D） topological insulators represent a new state of quantum matter with a bulk gap and odd number of relativistic Dirac fermions on the surface. The unusual surface states of topological insulators rise from the nontrivial topology of their electronic structures as a result of strong spin-orbital coupling. In this review, we will briefly introduce the concept of topological insu- lators and the experimental method that can directly probe their unique electronic structure： angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy （ARPES）. A few examples are then presented to demonstrate the unique band structures of different families of topological insulators and the unusual properties of the topological surface states. Finally, we will briefly discuss the future development of topological quantum materials.