文摘
Currently, known topological insulators (TIs) are limited to narrow gap compounds incorporating heavy elements, thus severely limiting the material pool available for such applications. It is shown via first-principle calculations that a heterovalent superlattice made of common semiconductor building blocks can transform its non-TI components into a topological nanostructure, illustrated by III–V/II–VI superlattice InSb/CdTe. The heterovalent nature of such interfaces sets up, in the absence of interfacial atomic exchange, a natural internal electric field that along with the quantum confinement leads to band inversion, transforming these semiconductors into a topological phase while also forming a giant Rashba spin splitting. The relationship between the interfacial stability and the topological transition is revealed, finding a “window of opportunity” where both conditions can be optimized. Once a critical InSb layer thickness above ≈1.5 nm is reached, both [111] and [100] superlattices have a relative energy of 1.7–9.5 meV Å–2, higher than that of the atomically exchanged interface and an excitation gap up to ≈150 meV, affording room-temperature quantum spin Hall effect in semiconductor superlattices. The understanding gained from this study could broaden the current, rather restricted repertoire of functionalities available from individual compounds by creating next-generation superstructured functional materials.