Competition of trivial and topological phases in graphene based hybrid systems
Zoltán Tajkov
PhD Student
Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös Loránd University





SZFI Szeminárium
11. February, 2020.



Graphene is ...
... a good template!

A. K. Geim, I. V. Grigorieva Nature 499, 419 (2013)
BiTeX: giant SOC

Ishizaka et al. Nature Materials 10, 521 (2011)



BiTeX monolayer
Fülöp et al. 2D Mater. 5, 031013 (2018)

BiTeX/graphene heterostructures

BiTeI sandwich: Kou et al. ACS Nano, 8 10448 (2014)
trivial
topological
Z. Tajkov et al. Nanoscale 11, 12704 (2019)




Mechanical distortions
in graphene
Weiss et al. Advanced Materials, 24 5782(2012)
Pressure→I, inplane strain →TI !?!

Z. Tajkov et al. Appl. Sci. 9, 4330 (2019)
BiTeBr
BiTeCl
BiTeI

BiTeI is different, why?
Why does BiTeI behave differently?
Z. Tajkov et al. Appl. Sci. 9, 4330 (2019)

BiTeCl / BiTeBr, graphene
BiTeI, graphene
\(E_\mathrm{F} \) for graphene
\(E_\mathrm{F} \) for BiTeX
WF are different!
- Graphene: 4.6 eV
- BiTeCl/Br: 4.7–4.5 eV
- BiTeI : 5.1 eV
Effective model and fit


TB model predicts phase transition well!

topological
trivial

Z. Tajkov et al. Nanoscale 11, 12704 (2019)
What did we learn from DFT?
The most important parameters
Kekulé
Kane-Mele

Strain promotes SOC \( \rightarrow \) TI
Technical details of the model
We have to deal with:
- Graphene
- Kekulé
- Kene-Male
- Strain
Divide et impera
Start with graphene + strain
Technical details of the model
Tight-binding model for pristine graphene
In real space:
Consider the Kekulé pattern as an ordered disorder
Technical details of the model
Kekulé perturbation operator
The periodicity is different!
In real space:
Technical details of the model
Kene-Male perturbation operator
The periodicity is different!
In real space:
Technical details of the model
The full tight-binding Hamiltonian:
Technical details of the model
Dispersion relation \( \rightarrow \) Fourier-transformation
Fourier-transformation is tricky...
Technical details of the model

Technical details of the model
After the FT
\( \boldsymbol{\Omega} \) and \( \boldsymbol{\Gamma} \) are ugly \( 3\times3 \) matrices.
Identify low-energy part:
Taylor expansion, momentum and strain are the small parameters
Technical details of the model
The low-energy Hamiltonian
Strain can close the gap at \(\boldsymbol{k}=\boldsymbol{0}\) if
Minimal model
Gamayun et al. New J. Phys. 20, 023016 (2018)
Andrade et al. Phys. Rev. B 99, 035411 (2019)
Strain kills Kekulé but KM gap is resilient!




The Team


László Oroszlány
János Koltai
József Cserti

Thanks!

Z. Tajkov et al. Nanoscale 11, 12704 (2019)
Z. Tajkov et al. Appl. Sci. 9, 4330 (2019)

Competition of trivial and topological phases in graphene based hybrid systems Wigner
By novidad21
Competition of trivial and topological phases in graphene based hybrid systems Wigner
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