Substrate-supported large-band-gap quantum spin Hall insulator based on III-V bismuth layers

Abstract

We show that III-V bismuth-based two-dimensional (2D) materials grown on an anion-terminated SrTe (111) substrate are 2D topological insulators. The III-Bi layers exhibit large nontrivial band gaps, ranging from 0.15 to 0.72 eV, depending on the passivation on the top surface, i.e., using hydrogen or halogens. We find that $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$-centered Dirac helical states, protected by time-reversal symmetry, appear at the edges of nanoribbon structures made of III-Bi layers on the SrTe substrate. The nontrivial character of the band gap is also determined by calculations of the ${\mathrm{Z}}_{2}$ invariant. We also find that the topological phase is maintained in the ultrathin quantum well heterostructures SrTe/III-Bi/SrTe, i.e., when the 2D materials are sandwiched between SrTe along the [111] direction, opening a new route for the fabrication of nanostructured devices based on 2D quantum spin Hall insulators.