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Axion insulator state in hundred-nanometer-thick magnetic topological insulator sandwich heterostructures

Author

Listed:
  • Deyi Zhuo

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Zi-Jie Yan

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Zi-Ting Sun

    (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay)

  • Ling-Jie Zhou

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Yi-Fan Zhao

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Ruoxi Zhang

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Ruobing Mei

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Hemian Yi

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Ke Wang

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Moses H. W. Chan

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Chao-Xing Liu

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • K. T. Law

    (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay)

  • Cui-Zu Chang

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract

An axion insulator is a three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator (TI), in which the bulk maintains the time-reversal symmetry or inversion symmetry but the surface states are gapped by surface magnetization. The axion insulator state has been observed in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown magnetically doped TI sandwiches and exfoliated intrinsic magnetic TI MnBi2Te4 flakes with an even number layer. All these samples have a thickness of ~ 10 nm, near the 2D-to-3D boundary. The coupling between the top and bottom surface states in thin samples may hinder the observation of quantized topological magnetoelectric response. Here, we employ MBE to synthesize magnetic TI sandwich heterostructures and find that the axion insulator state persists in a 3D sample with a thickness of ~ 106 nm. Our transport results show that the axion insulator state starts to emerge when the thickness of the middle undoped TI layer is greater than ~ 3 nm. The 3D hundred-nanometer-thick axion insulator provides a promising platform for the exploration of the topological magnetoelectric effect and other emergent magnetic topological states, such as the high-order TI phase.

Suggested Citation

  • Deyi Zhuo & Zi-Jie Yan & Zi-Ting Sun & Ling-Jie Zhou & Yi-Fan Zhao & Ruoxi Zhang & Ruobing Mei & Hemian Yi & Ke Wang & Moses H. W. Chan & Chao-Xing Liu & K. T. Law & Cui-Zu Chang, 2023. "Axion insulator state in hundred-nanometer-thick magnetic topological insulator sandwich heterostructures," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43474-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43474-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xinyu Wu & Di Xiao & Chui-Zhen Chen & Jian Sun & Ling Zhang & Moses H. W. Chan & Nitin Samarth & X. C. Xie & Xi Lin & Cui-Zu Chang, 2020. "Scaling behavior of the quantum phase transition from a quantum-anomalous-Hall insulator to an axion insulator," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-7, December.
    2. Mingqiang Gu & Jiayu Li & Hongyi Sun & Yufei Zhao & Chang Liu & Jianpeng Liu & Haizhou Lu & Qihang Liu, 2021. "Spectral signatures of the surface anomalous Hall effect in magnetic axion insulators," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Xufeng Kou & Lei Pan & Jing Wang & Yabin Fan & Eun Sang Choi & Wei-Li Lee & Tianxiao Nie & Koichi Murata & Qiming Shao & Shou-Cheng Zhang & Kang L. Wang, 2015. "Metal-to-insulator switching in quantum anomalous Hall states," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-8, December.
    4. Yi-Fan Zhao & Ruoxi Zhang & Ruobing Mei & Ling-Jie Zhou & Hemian Yi & Ya-Qi Zhang & Jiabin Yu & Run Xiao & Ke Wang & Nitin Samarth & Moses H. W. Chan & Chao-Xing Liu & Cui-Zu Chang, 2020. "Tuning the Chern number in quantum anomalous Hall insulators," Nature, Nature, vol. 588(7838), pages 419-423, December.
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