Dual Topological Insulator Device with Disorder Robustness

Abstract

Two-dimensional Na3Bi is a dual topological insulator protected by time-reversal and mirror symmetry, resulting in a promising platform for device design. However, in reality, the design of topological devices is hindered by a sensitivity against disorder and temperature. We study the topological properties of Na3Bi in the presence of intrinsic defects, investigating the robustness of the edge states and the resulting transport properties. We apply a recursive Green’s function technique enabling the study of disordered systems with lengths comparable to experimentally synthesized materials, in the order of micrometers. We combine our findings to propose a topological insulator device, where intrinsic defects are used to filter the response of trivial bulk states. This results in a stable conductance throughout a large range of electronic temperatures, and controllable by a perpendicular electric field. Our proposal is general, enabling the design of various dual topological insulator devices.

Publication
Phys. Rev. B, (102), 4, pp. 045414, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.045414