Publication Date:
2017-03-07
Description:
Author(s): L. Tiemann, S. Mueller, Q.-S. Wu, T. Tschirky, K. Ensslin, W. Wegscheider, M. Troyer, A. A. Soluyanov, and T. Ihn Topological phenomena in two-dimensional materials are characterized by an electrical conductivity that is restricted to the edges of a sample. A heterostructure of the semiconductors indium arsenide and gallium antimonide, InAs/GaSb, can be a quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI), which exhibits spin-resolved channels at the edges but has an insulating bulk. The QSHI is linked to a nontrivial inverted band structure that emerges only for certain thicknesses of the InAs and GaSb layers. Here, the authors have exposed InAs/GaSb samples to variable compressive and tensile strain through piezo-electric elements. It is observed that the system’s electrical properties are very susceptible to even small values of such mechanical deformation. Band structure calculations reveal the impact of strain on the nontrivial electronic band structure and highlight the potential of strain-engineering for the observation of the quantum spin Hall insulating phase in this material system. [Phys. Rev. B 95, 115108] Published Mon Mar 06, 2017
Keywords:
Electronic structure and strongly correlated systems
Print ISSN:
1098-0121
Electronic ISSN:
1095-3795
Topics:
Physics
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