Download Electron transport in 3D topological insulators

NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering
Research Project Write-up
Title of Project :
Electron transport in 3D topological insulators Name of Supervisor :
Mansoor Bin Abdul Jalil
Contact Details:
[email protected] Short Description
Topological insulators (TI) are new states of matter, where there exist topologically protected surface and edge states which exhibit spin‐momentum locking. Here, we investigate the theory of electron transport on the topological surface states of topological insulators. The technique used are quantum theory, non‐equilibrium Green’s function methods, and gauge theory [1]. In particular, we analyze the role of spin‐momentum locking in the spin transport in 3‐dimensional TI (3D‐TI), and in 3D‐
TI’s that are coupled to ferromagnetic (FM) layers. There is rich and intriguing physics involved – for instance the Berry phase in momentum space in FM‐coupled TI’s are directly related to the Hall conductivity of the system [2]. Due to the topological nature of FM‐coupled TI’s we obtain a quantum anomalous Hall effect, which can be utilized in TI‐based memory device. The spin‐momentum locking as well as hexagonal warping effects in 3D‐Tis also result in anomalous magnetoresistance behavior in composite TI‐FM devices [3]. References [1] T. Fujita, M. B. A. Jalil, S. G. Tan, and S. Murakami, Journal of Applied Physics 110, 121301 (2011). [2] T. Fujita, M. B. A. Jalil, and S. G. Tan, Applied Physics Express 4, 094201 (2011). [3] Z. B. Siu, M. B. A. Jalil, and S. G. Tan, Scientific Reports 4, 5062 (2014).