Abstract
We theoretically study how magnetic modulation can be used to manipulate the transport properties of heterostructures formed by a thin film of a three-dimensional topological insulator sandwiched between slabs of a normal insulator. Employing the k ∙ p scheme, in the framework of a continual approach, we argue that electron states of the system are spin-polarized when ultrathin magnetic insertions are incorporated into the film. We demonstrate that (i) the spin-polarization magnitude depends strongly on the magnetic insertion position in the film and (ii) there is the optimal insertion position to realize quantum anomalous Hall effect, which is a function of the material parameters, the film thickness and the topological insulator/normal insulator interface potential. For the heterostructure with a pair of symmetrically placed magnetic insertions, we calculate a phase diagram that shows a series of transitions between distinct quantum regimes of transverse conductivity. We provide consistent interpretation of recent experimental findings in the context of our results.
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Published in Russian in Pis’ma v Zhurnal Eksperimental’noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, 2016, Vol. 104, No. 7, pp. 480–487.
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Men’shov, V.N., Tugushev, V.V. & Chulkov, E.V. Quantum anomalous Hall effect in magnetically modulated topological insulator/normal insulator heterostructures. Jetp Lett. 104, 453–459 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0021364016190012
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0021364016190012