Prediction of high-temperature Chern insulator with half-metallic edge states in asymmetry-functionalized stanene

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 10; no. 43; pp. 20226 - 20233
• Main Authors: Zhang, Meng-Han, Zhang, Chang-Wen, Wang, Pei-Ji, Li, Sheng-Shi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 08.11.2018
• Subjects: Asymmetry; Carrier mobility; Compressive properties; Computer simulation; Curie temperature; First principles; Honeycomb construction; Insulators; Lattices; Magnetism; Predictions; Semiconductor devices; Transistors
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c8nr07503d

A great obstacle for the practical applications of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect is the lack of suitable two-dimensional (2D) materials with a sizable nontrivial band gap, high Curie temperature, and high carrier mobility. Based on first-principles calculations, here, we propose the realizations of these intriguing properties in asymmetry-functionalized 2D SnHN and SnOH lattices. Spin-polarized band structures reveal that SnOH monolayer exhibits a spin gapless semiconductor (SGS) feature, whereas SnNH is converted to SGS under compressive strain. The Curie temperature of SnOH reaches 266 K, as predicted by Monte Carlo simulation, and it is comparable to the room temperature. When the spin and orbital degrees of freedom are allowed to couple, both systems become large-gap QAH insulators with fully spin-polarized half-metallic edge states and higher Fermi velocity of 4.9 × 105 m s-1. These results pave a new way for designing topological field transistors in group-IV honeycomb lattices.