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Title: Proximity enhanced quantum spin Hall state in graphene

Journal Article · · Carbon
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [1];  [4]
  1. Univ. of Bremen, Bremen (Germany)
  2. Max Planck Inst. for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany); Max Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden (Germany)
  3. Max Planck Inst. for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany)
  4. Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Graphene is the first model system of two-dimensional topological insulator (TI), also known as quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator. The QSH effect in graphene, however, has eluded direct experimental detection because of its extremely small energy gap due to the weak spin–orbit coupling. Here we predict by ab initio calculations a giant (three orders of magnitude) proximity induced enhancement of the TI energy gap in the graphene layer that is sandwiched between thin slabs of Sb2Te3 (or MoTe2). This gap (1.5 meV) is accessible by existing experimental techniques, and it can be further enhanced by tuning the interlayer distance via compression. We reveal by a tight-binding study that the QSH state in graphene is driven by the Kane–Mele interaction in competition with Kekulé deformation and symmetry breaking. As a result, the present work identifies a new family of graphene-based TIs with an observable and controllable bulk energy gap in the graphene layer, thus opening a new avenue for direct verification and exploration of the long-sought QSH effect in graphene.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0001982
OSTI ID:
1332441
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1337524
Journal Information:
Carbon, Vol. 87, Issue C; ISSN 0008-6223
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 30 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (7)

Electronic and magnetic properties of H-terminated graphene nanoribbons deposited on the topological insulator Sb2Te3 journal July 2016
Hydrogenated borophene as a stable two-dimensional Dirac material with an ultrahigh Fermi velocity journal January 2016
Topological phases in two-dimensional materials: a review journal May 2016
Electronic and magnetic properties of H-terminated graphene nanoribbons deposited on the topological insulator Sb2Te3 text January 2016
Topological Phases in Two-Dimensional Materials: A Brief Review text January 2015
PAI-graphene: A new topological semimetallic two-dimensional carbon allotrope with highly tunable anisotropic Dirac cones journal December 2020
Topological insulators in ordered double transition metals M$'_2$M$"$C$_2$ (M$'$= Mo, W; M$"$= Ti, Zr, Hf) MXenes text January 2016

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE