Abstract
We propose a simple approach to realize a topological phase transition using a spatial periodic potential. As an example, we examine the electronic structures of HgTe/CdTe quantum wells, and demonstrate that their band structures can be effectively manipulated by the periodic potential. At a critical potential, we find that a conventional band insulator undergoes a topological phase transition into a quantum spin Hall system, which is characterized by an abrupt change of the spin Chern number and emerging edge states. Our proposal provides an interesting way to dynamically turn on or off topologically protected edge states for application in switching devices.
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