Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2024
Abstract
Despite the explosion of interest in topological materials over the last decades, their applications remain limited due to challenges in growth and incorporation with today’s microelectronics. As a potential bridge to close this gap, we investigate the group-IV alloy Ge1–xPbx, in the Ge-rich condition using density functional theory and show that relatively low concentrations of Pb (~9.4%) can lead to a topological phase transition. Furthermore, the calculation of the Z2 invariant for both the random alloy and the alloy with short-range order (SRO) indicate that the topological phase of the material can be directly modified by the degree of SRO. These findings are understood in terms of local structural relaxation, which decreases the bandgap in the random alloy. However, in the SRO case, the mutual avoidance of Pb leads to minimal structural relaxation, alleviating strain. Our findings not only highlight the emerging importance of SRO in alloy properties but also indicate the possibility of constructing topological interfaces between materials of identical composition (and nominally identical structure). Moreover, they uncover a viable avenue toward the monolithic integration of quantum materials with today’s semiconductor industry.
Citation
Liang, Y., Chen, S., Jin, X., West, D., Yu, S., Li, T., & Zhang, S. (2024). Group IV Topological Quantum Alloy and the Role of Short-range Order: The Case of Ge-rich Ge1–xPbx. Computational Materials, 10, 82. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-024-01271-0
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Microelectronics
Included in
Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons, Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons, Materials Chemistry Commons
