Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 63: Topological Insulators: Theory (organized by HL)

TT 63.3: Talk

Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 10:00–10:15, POT 151

ab-initio investigation of topological states and symmetry inversion in HgTe-CdTe Quantum wells — •Sebastian Kuefner, Juergen Furthmueller, and Friedhelm Bechstedt — Institut für Festkörpertheorie und -optik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, Germany

Topological insulators (TIs) recently attracted a high level of attention in solid state physics due to their unique physical properties. Generally, a TI is a material that is insulating in the bulk but exhibits metallic surface or edge states. These states are topologically protected which means that they are independent of surface orientation and passivation. The edge states usually have linear band dispersion forming Dirac cones.

The electromagnetic properties of the edge states might be used for the realisation of topological superconducting phases. In two dimensions the edge states build the quantum spin Hall state (QSH). In 2006, Bernevig et al. predicted the occurence of the QSH in HgTe-CdTe superlattices theoretically by an kp-approch which was later verified by König et al. experimentally.

However, these results have not yet been discussed in the framework of a reasonable electronic structure theory based on ab-initio methods but account for quasiparticle effects and spin-orbit coupling. Using density-functional theory together with the Tran-Blaha approximation we discuss the occurence of topological quantum-well states and investigate the topological transition in atomic structures.