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QUANTUM MATERIALS

Marriage of topology and magnetism

Nature Materials volume 19, pages 484–485 (2020)Cite this article

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A monolayer topological insulator is magnetized by proximity to a layered antiferromagnetic insulator.

Topology provides a new organizing principle of quantum phenomena in condensed matter physics1. This insight played a key role in the discovery of topological insulators (TIs), in which the interior is insulating but electrons can travel through conducting surface/edge channels. The blossoming of TI materials over the past dozen years has radically changed the research landscape of condensed matter physics. Unlike the hundreds of available three-dimensional TIs, the two-dimensional (2D) TI phase (that is, the quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator) to date has been unambiguously demonstrated in only three materials systems: HgTe quantum well2, InAs/GaSb quantum well3 and monolayer WTe2 (ref. 4). A 2D TI harbours helical edge states, which are protected by the time-reversal symmetry. When magnetic order is introduced into a 2D TI, time-reversal symmetry is broken and new quantum phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect, emerge5.

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Fig. 1: Proximity induced magnetic order in monolayer WTe2.
Fig. 2: Topological LEGO.

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  1. Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Cui-Zu Chang

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  1. Cui-Zu Chang
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Correspondence to Cui-Zu Chang.

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Chang, CZ. Marriage of topology and magnetism. Nat. Mater. 19, 484–485 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-0632-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-0632-9

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