Topological phase transition in a narrow bandgap semiconductor nanolayer

Abstract

Narrow bandgap semiconductor nanostructures have been explored for realization of topological superconducting quantum devices in which Majorana states can be created and employed for constructing topological qubits. However, a prerequisite to achieve the topological phase transition in these nanostructures is application of a magnetic field, which could complicate the technology development towards topological quantum computing. Here we demonstrate that a topological phase transition can be achieved in a narrow bandgap semiconductor nanolayer under application of a perpendicular electric field. Based on full band structure calculations, it is shown that the topological phase transition occurs at an electric-field induced band inversion and is accompanied by a sharp change of the $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ invariant at the critical field. We also demonstrate that the nontrivial topological phase is manifested by the quantum spin Hall edge states in a band-inverted nanolayer Hall-bar structure. We present the phase diagram of the nanolayer in the space of layer thickness and electric field strength, and discuss the optimal conditions to achieve a large topological bandgap in the electric-field induced topological phase of a semiconductor nanolayer.