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Title: Encapsulated silicene: A robust large-gap topological insulator

Journal Article · · ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [4]
  1. Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (Australia); UNLV
  2. Jacobs Univ. Bremen, Bremen (Germany)
  3. Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany)
  4. Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (Australia)
  5. Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)

The quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect predicted in silicene has raised exciting prospects of new device applications compatible with current microelectronic technology. Efforts to explore this novel phenomenon, however, have been impeded by fundamental challenges imposed by silicene’s small topologically nontrivial band gap and fragile electronic properties susceptible to environmental degradation effects. Here we propose a strategy to circumvent these challenges by encapsulating silicene between transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) layers. First-principles calculations show that such encapsulated silicene exhibit a two-orders-of-magnitude enhancement in its nontrivial band gap, which is driven by the strong spin–orbit coupling effect in TMDCs via the proximity effect. Moreover, the cladding TMDCs layers also shield silicene from environmental gases that are detrimental to the QSH state in free-standing silicene. In conclusion, the encapsulated silicene represents a novel two-dimensional topological insulator with a robust nontrivial band gap suitable for room-temperature applications, which has significant implications for innovative QSH device design and fabrication.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0001982
OSTI ID:
1332446
Journal Information:
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Journal Name: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Journal Issue: 34 Vol. 7; ISSN 1944-8244
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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  • IEEE Transactions on Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 14, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/33.76536
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Cited By (8)

Nonvolatile Memories Based on Graphene and Related 2D Materials journal January 2019
Strain induced quantum spin Hall insulator in monolayer β-BiSb from first-principles study journal January 2017
Using van der Waals heterostructures based on two-dimensional blue phosphorus and XC (X = Ge, Si) for water-splitting photocatalysis: a first-principles study journal January 2019
Two-dimensional topological insulators of Pb/Sb honeycombs on a Ge(111) semiconductor surface journal January 2018
Prediction of two-dimensional PC 6 as a promising anode material for potassium-ion batteries journal January 2019
A bird’s eye view on the flat and conic band world of the honeycomb and Kagome lattices: towards an understanding of 2D metal-organic frameworks electronic structure journal October 2017
Topological phase transition and tunable electronic properties of hydrogenated bismuthene: from single-layer to double-layer journal October 2019
Topological insulators in the ordered double transition metals M 2 ′ M ″ C 2 MXenes ( M ′ = Mo , W; M ″ = Ti , Zr, Hf) journal September 2016

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