arXiv subjects

Nezhat Pournaghavi

Publications and source records attributed to Nezhat Pournaghavi.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Chiral edge transport along domain walls in magnetic topological insulator nanoribbons

Quantum anomalous Hall insulators are topologically characterized by non-zero integer Chern numbers, the sign of which depends on the direction of the exchange field that breaks time-reversal symmetry. This feature allows the manipulation of the conducting chiral edge states present at the interface of two magnetic domains with opposite magnetization and opposite Chern numbers. Motivated by this broad understanding, the present study investigates the quantum transport properties of a magnetized $Bi_2Se_3$ topological insulator nanoribbon with a domain wall oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the transport direction. Employing an atomistic tight-binding model and a non-equilibrium Green's function formalism, we calculate the quantum conductance and explore the nature of the edge states. We elucidate the conditions leading to exact conductance quantization and identify the origin of deviations from this behavior. Our analysis shows that although the conductance is quantized in the presence of the horizontal domain wall, the quantization is absent in the perpendicular domain wall case. Furthermore, the investigation of the spin character of the edge modes confirms that the conductance in the horizontal domain wall configuration is spin polarized. This finding underscores the potential of our system as a simple three dimensional spin-filter device.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Spin transport properties in a topological insulator sandwiched between two-dimensional magnetic layers

Nontrivial band topology along with magnetism leads to different novel quantum phases. When time-reversal-symmetry is broken in three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) by applying high enough magnetic field or proximity effect, different phases such as quantum Hall or quantum anomalous Hall(QAH) emerge and display interesting transport properties for spintronic applications. The QAH phase displays sidewall chiral edge states which leads to the QAH effect. In a finite slab, contribution of the surface states depends on both the cross-section and thickness of the system. Having a small cross-section and a thin thickness leads to direct coupling of the surfaces, on the other hand, a thicker slab results in a higher contribution of the non-trivial sidewall states which connect top and bottom surfaces. In this regard, we have considered a heterostructure consisting of a TI, namely Bi2Se3, which is sandwiched between two-dimensional magnetic monolayers of CrI3 to study its topological and transport properties. Combining DFT and tight-binding calculations along with non-equilibrium Green's function formalism, we show that a well-defined exchange gap appears in the band structure in which spin polarised edge states flow. We also study the width and finite-size effect on the transmission and topological properties of this magnetised TI nanoribbon.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Carbosilicene and germasilicene: Two 2D materials with excellent structural, electronic and optical properties

Using first principle calculations, we study the structural, optical and electronic properties of two-dimensional silicene-like structures of CSi7 (carbosilicene) and GeSi7 (germasilicene) monolayers. We show that both CSi7 and GeSi7 monolayers have different buckling that promises a new way to control the buckling in silicene-like structures. Carbon impurity decreases the silicene buckling, whereas germanium impurity increases it. The CSi7 has semiconducting properties with 0.25 eV indirect band gap, but GeSi7 is a semimetal. Also, under uniaxial tensile strain, the semiconducting properties of CSi7 convert to metallic properties which shows that CSi7 can be used in straintronic devices such as strain sensor and strain switch. There is no important response for GeSi7 under strain. The GeSi7 has higher dielectric constant relative to CSi7, silicene and graphene and it can be used as a 2D-material in high performance capacitors. Calculation of cohesive and formation energies show that CSi7 is more stable than GeSi7. Furthermore, we investigate the optical properties of these new materials and we show that CSi7 and GeSi7 can significantly increase the light absorption of silicene. The obtained results can pave a new route for tuning the electronic and optical properties of silicene like structures for different applications in nanoelectronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Non-local sidewall response and deviation from exact quantization of the topological magnetoelectric effect in axion-insulator thin films

Topological insulator (TI) thin films with surface magnetism are expected to exhibit a quantized anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) when the magnetizations on the top and bottom surfaces are parallel, and a quantized topological magnetoelectric (QTME) response when the magnetizations have opposing orientations (axion insulator phase) and the films are sufficiently thick. We present a unified picture of both effects that associates deviations from exact quantization of the QTME caused by finite thickness with non-locality in the side-wall current response function. Using realistic tight-binding model calculations, we show that in $Bi_2Se_3$ TI thin films deviations from quantization in the axion insulator-phase are reduced in size when the exchange coupling of tight-binding model basis states to the local magnetization near the surface is strengthened. Stronger exchange coupling also reduces the effect of potential disorder, which is unimportant for the QAHE but detrimental for the QTME, which requires that the Fermi energy lie inside the gap at all positions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Quantum transport by spin-polarized edge states in graphene nanoribbons in the quantum spin Hall and quantum anomalous Hall regimes

Using the non-equilibrium Green\noindent 's function method and the Keldysh formalism, we study the effects of spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry breaking exchange fields on non-equilibrium quantum transport in graphene armchair nanoribbons. We identify signatures of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) and the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) phases in non-equilibrium edge transport by calculating the spin-resolved real space charge density and local currents at the nanoribbon edges. We find that the QSH phase, which is realized in a system with intrinsic spin-orbit coupling, is characterized by chiral counter-propagating local spin currents summing up to a net charge flow with opposite spin polarization at the edges. In the QAH phase, emerging in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and a ferromagnetic exchange field, two chiral edge channels with opposite spins propagate in the same direction at each edge, generating an unpolarized charge current and a quantized Hall conductance $G = 2 e^2/h$. Increasing the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling causes a transition from the QAH to the QSH phase, evinced by characteristic changes in the non-equilibrium edge transport. In contrast, an antiferromagnetic exchange field can coexist with a QSH phase, but can never induce a QAH phase due to a symmetry that combines time-reversal and sublattice translational symmetry.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗