Observation of the quantum spin Hall effect up to 100 kelvin in a monolayer crystal
Abstract
Taking practical advantage of the topologically protected conducting edge states of topological insulators (TIs) has proven difficult. Semiconductor systems that have been identified as two-dimensional TIs must be cooled down to near liquid helium temperatures to bring out their topological character. Wu et al. fabricated a heterostructure consisting of a monolayer of WTe 2 placed between two layers of hexagonal boron nitride and found that its topological properties persisted up to a relatively high temperature of 100 K. Engineering this so-called quantum spin Hall effect in a van der Waals heterostructure makes it possible to apply many established experimental tools and functionalities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 05, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aan6003
Entities
People
- Kenji Watanabe
- Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
- Quinn D. Gibson
- Robert Cava
- Sanfeng Wu
- Takashi Taniguchi
- Valla Fatemi
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Institute for Materials Science
- National Science Foundation
- Princeton University
- United States Department of Energy