Disorder and magnetic-field-induced breakdown of helical edge conduction in an inverted electron-hole bilayer

Journal article (2014)
Department
QN/Quantum Nanoscience (AS) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2014 American Physical Society
DOI: https://doi.org/doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.89.161403
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Published Date

04-04-2014

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Source:

Physical Review B, 89, 2014

Faculty

Applied Sciences

Department

QN/Quantum Nanoscience

Abstract

We calculate the conductance of a two-dimensional bilayer with inverted electron-hole bands to study the sensitivity of the quantum spin Hall insulator (with helical edge conduction) to the combination of electrostatic disorder and a perpendicular magnetic field. The characteristic breakdown field for helical edge conduction splits into two fields with increasing disorder, a field Bc for the transition into a quantum Hall insulator (supporting chiral edge conduction) and a smaller field B?c for the transition to bulk conduction in a quasimetallic regime. The spatial separation of the inverted bands, typical for broken-gap InAs/GaSb quantum wells, is essential for the magnetic-field-induced bulk conduction—there is no such regime in HgTe quantum wells.

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