High-Chern-number Quantum anomalous Hall insulators in mixing-stacked MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$ thin films

Abstract

Quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators are characterized by vanishing longitudinal resistance and quantized Hall resistance in the absence of an external magnetic field. Among them, high-Chern-number QAH insulators offer multiple nondissipative current channels, making them crucial for the development of low-power-consumption electronics. Using first-principles calculations, we propose that high-Chern-number ($C>1$) QAH insulators can be realized in MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$ (MBT) multilayer films through the combination of mixed stacking orders, eliminating the need for additional buffer layers. The underlying physical mechanism is validated by calculating real-space-resolved anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC). Local AHC is found to be predominantly located in regions with consecutive correct stacking orders, contributing to quasi-quantized AHC. Conversely, regions with consecutive incorrect stacking contribute minimally to the total AHC, which can be attributed to the varied interlayer coupling in different stacking configurations. Our work provides valuable insights into the design principle for achieving large Chern numbers, and highlights the role of stacking configurations in manipulating electronic and topological properties in MBT films and its derivatives.

7 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (10)

• Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Topological Phase Transition in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Trajectory of Anomalous Hall Effect toward the Quantized State in a Ferromagnetic Topological Insulator
• Quantum anomalous Hall effect from intertwined moiré bands
• Colloquium: Quantum anomalous Hall effect
• Crystal growth and magnetic structure of MnBi2Te4
• Large Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in Spin-Orbit Proximitized Rhombohedral Graphene
• Switchable anomalous Hall effects in polar-stacked 2D antiferromagnet MnBi2Te4
• Tunable dynamical magnetoelectric effect in antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$ films
• Three-Dirac-fermion approach to unexpected universal gapless surface states of van der Waals magnetic topological insulators
• Stacking-dependent Electronic and Topological Properties in van der Waals Antiferromagnet MnBi${}_2$Te${}_4$ Films

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Ferroelectric switching of quantum anomalous Hall effects in MnBi2Te4 films