Topological Crystalline Insulator Nanomembrane with Strain-Tunable Band Gap

Abstract

The ability to fine-tune band gap and band inversion in topological materials is highly desirable for the development of novel functional devices. Here we propose that the electronic properties of a free-standing nanomembrane of topological crystalline insulator (TCI) SnTe and Pb${}_{1-x}$Sn${}_x$(Se,Te) are highly tunable by engineering elastic strain and controlling membrane thickness, resulting in tunable band gap and giant piezoconductivity. Membrane thickness governs the hybridization of topological electronic states on opposite surfaces, while elastic strain can further modulate the hybridization strength by controlling the penetration length of surface states. We propose a frequency-resolved infrared photodetector using force-concentration induced inhomogeneous elastic strain in TCI nanomembrane with spatially varying width. The predicted tunable band gap accompanied by strong spin-textured electronic states will open up new avenues for fabricating piezoresistive devices, thermoelectrics, infrared detectors and energy-efficient electronic and optoelectronic devices based on TCI nanomembrane.

arXiv comment10 pages, 9 figures

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Cited by in corpus (14)

• Strain-induced partially flat band, helical snake states, and interface superconductivity in topological crystalline insulators
• Quantum Spin Hall Effect in IV-VI Topological Crystalline Insulators
• Electrically Tunable Quantum Spin Hall State in Topological Crystalline Insulator Thin films
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• Electronic properties of SnTe-class topological crystalline insulator materials
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• Dimensional crossover of transport characteristics in topological insulator nanofilms
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• Strain-induced two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator
• Entropy Driven Inductive Response of Topological Insulators
• Fermiology and transport properties of the proposed topological crystalline insulator SrAg4Sb2