Antiferroelectric topological insulators in orthorhombic $A$MgBi compounds ($A=$ Li, Na, K)

Abstract

We introduce antiferroelectric topological insulators as a new class of functional materials in which an electric field can be used to control topological order and induce topological phase transitions. Using first principles methods, we predict that several alkali-MgBi orthorhombic members of an $ABC$ family of compounds are antiferroelectric topological insulators. We also show that epitaxial strain and hydrostatic pressure can be used to tune the topological order and the band gap of these $ABC$ compounds. Antiferroelectric topological insulators could enable precise control of topology using electric fields, enhancing the applicability of topological materials in electronics and spintronics.

6 pages, 4 figures; includes supplemental material

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• Ferroelectric higher-order topological insulator in two dimensions
• Twist-resilient and robust ferroelectric quantum spin Hall insulators driven by van der Waals interactions
• Electrically switchable hidden spin polarization in antiferroelectric crystals
• Ferroelectrically tunable topological phase transition in In${}_2$Se${}_3$ thin films
• LaN Structural and Topological Transitions Driven by Temperature and Pressure
• Ferroelectrically Switchable Half-Quantized Hall Effect
• A first-principles investigation of Topological Phase Transition in face-centred cubic LiMgBi
• Ferroelectrically Controlled Chirality Switching of Weyl Quasiparticles