Current-induced breakdown of the quantum anomalous Hall effect

Abstract

The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) realizes dissipationless longitudinal resistivity and quantized Hall resistance without the need of an external magnetic field. However, when reducing the device dimensions or increasing the current density, an abrupt breakdown of the dissipationless state occurs with a relatively small critical current, limiting the applications of the QAHE. We investigate the mechanism of this breakdown by studying multi-terminal devices and identified that the electric field created between opposing chiral edge states lies at the origin. We propose that electric-field-driven percolation of two-dimensional charge puddles in the gapped surface states of compensated topological-insulator films is the most likely cause of the breakdown.

15 pages total; 5 pages of main text with 4 figures, 10 pages of supplementary material with 11 figures

References in corpus (14)

• Topological Field Theory of Time-Reversal Invariant Insulators
• Quantized Anomalous Hall Effect in Magnetic Topological Insulators
• High-precision realization of robust quantum anomalous Hall state in a hard ferromagnetic topological insulator
• Scale-Invariant Dissipationless Chiral Transport in Magnetic Topological Insulators beyond the Two-Dimensional Limit
• Precise quantization of anomalous Hall effect near zero magnetic field
• Imaging Dirac-Mass Disorder from Magnetic Dopant-Atoms in the Ferromagnetic Topological Insulator Cr${}_x$(Bi${}_{0.1}$Sb${}_{0.9}$)${}_{2-x}$Te${}_3$
• Why is the bulk resistivity of topological insulators so small?
• Current-driven instability of quantum anomalous Hall effect in ferromagnetic topological insulators
• Charge puddles in the bulk and on the surface of the topological insulator BiSbTeSe${}_2$ studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and optical spectroscopy
• Chiral transport along magnetic domain walls in the quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Quantum anomalous Hall edge channels survive up to the Curie temperature
• Theory of the random potential and conductivity at the surface of a topological insulator
• Anomalously small resistivity and thermopower of strongly compensated semiconductors and topological insulators
• Half-integer charge injection by a Josephson junction without excess noise

Cited by in corpus (21)

• Colloquium: Quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Confinement-Induced Chiral Edge Channel Interaction in Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulators
• Progress and prospects in the quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Induced superconducting correlations in the quantum anomalous Hall insulator
• Mesoscopic Transport of Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in Sub-Micron Size Regime
• Electrical Switching of the Edge Current Chirality in Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulators
• Balanced Quantum Hall Resistor
• Zero external magnetic field quantum standard of resistance at the 10-9 level
• Nonlinear transport due to magnetic-field-induced flat bands in the nodal-line semimetal ZrTe5
• Velocity and confinement of edge plasmons in HgTe-based 2D topological insulators
• A unified realization of electrical quantities from the quantum International System of Units
• Propagation, dissipation and breakdown in quantum anomalous Hall edge states probed by microwave edge plasmons
• Characterizing the chemical potential disorder in the topological insulator (Bi${}_{1-x}$Sb${}_x$)${}_2$Te${}_3$ thin films
• Three-Dimensional Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in Magnetic Topological Insulator Trilayers of Hundred-Nanometer Thickness
• Edge supercurrent in Josephson junctions based on topological materials
• Chiral edge state coupling theory of transport in quantum anomalous Hall insulators
• Anomalous Fraunhofer-like patterns in quantum anomalous Hall Josephson junction
• Effects of GaAs buffer layer on quantum anomalous Hall insulator Vy(BixSb1-x)2-yTe3
• Selective-Area Epitaxy of Bulk-Insulating (Bi${}_x$Sb${}_{1-x}$)${}_2$Te${}_3$ Films and Nanowires by Molecular Beam Epitaxy
• Distributed Current Injection into a One-Dimensional Ballistic Edge Channel
• Controlling the magneto-transport properties of magnetic topological insulator thin films from Cr${}_x$(Bi${}_y$Sb${}_{1-y}$)${}_{2-x}$Te${}_3$ via molecular beam epitaxy