Quantum edge transport in topological insulators
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In the quantum Hall effect, electrons circulate in one direction around the edge of a 2D sample. The robustness of these states is protected by the topology of the band structure and scattering is only possible if thermally-activated 2D conduction provides a path across the bulk. However, the environmental conditions required for the effect (large magnetic fields and, usually, low temperatures) make it unsuitable for most practical applications. This dissertation discusses the implementation of two similar topological transport phenomena, in the absence of magnetic fields, using the class of materials known as topological insulators. First, it reports on investigations into the quantum spin Hall effect, a time-reversal-symmetric state with counterpropagating, spin-polarized edge channels. Mean free paths in this case are limited to only a few micrometers due to a scattering mechanism under investigation. Second, it reports on recent results on the quantum anomalous Hall effect demonstrating part-per-10,000 conductance quantization, arising from nearly perfect transport through one-way edge channels, in magnetically-doped thin films of 3D topological insulators. It shows that dissipation only occurs due to thermally-activated states that can be nearly eliminated via an unexpected magnetocaloric effect.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Bestwick, Andrew J |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Physics. |
| Primary advisor | Goldhaber-Gordon, David, 1972- |
| Thesis advisor | Goldhaber-Gordon, David, 1972- |
| Thesis advisor | Cui, Yi, 1976- |
| Thesis advisor | Moler, Kathryn A |
| Advisor | Cui, Yi, 1976- |
| Advisor | Moler, Kathryn A |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Andrew J. Bestwick. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Physics. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Andrew Bestwick
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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