Emergent quantum Hall effects below 50 mT in a two-dimensional topological insulator.

The realization of the quantum spin Hall effect in HgTe quantum wells has led to the development of topological materials, which, in combination with magnetism and superconductivity, are predicted to host chiral Majorana fermions. However, the large magnetization in conventional quantum anomalous Hall systems makes it challenging to induce superconductivity. Here, we report two different emergent quantum Hall effects in (Hg,Mn)Te quantum wells.

Approaching Quantization in Macroscopic Quantum Spin Hall Devices through Gate Training.

Quantum spin Hall edge channels hold great promise as dissipationless one-dimensional conductors. However, the ideal quantized conductance of 2e^{2}/h is only found in very short channels-in contradiction with the expected protection against backscattering of the topological insulator state. In this Letter we show that enhancing the band gap does not improve quantization.

Hexagonal silicon grown from higher order silanes.

We demonstrate the merits of an unexplored precursor, tetrasilane (SiH), as compared to disilane (SiH) for the growth of defect-free, epitaxial hexagonal silicon (Si). We investigate the growth kinetics of hexagonal Si shells epitaxially around defect-free wurtzite gallium phosphide (GaP) nanowires. Two temperature regimes are identified, representing two different surface reaction mechanisms for both types of precursors.

Bottom-Up Grown 2D InSb Nanostructures.

Low-dimensional high-quality InSb materials are promising candidates for next-generation quantum devices due to the high carrier mobility, low effective mass, and large g-factor of the heavy element compound InSb. Various quantum phenomena are demonstrated in InSb 2D electron gases and nanowires. A combination of the best features of these two systems (pristine nanoscale and flexible design) is desirable to realize, e.

High Mobility HgTe Microstructures for Quantum Spin Hall Studies.

The topic of two-dimensional topological insulators has blossomed after the first observation of the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect in HgTe quantum wells. However, studies have been hindered by the relative fragility of the edge states. Their stability has been a subject of both theoretical and experimental investigation in the past decade.

Publisher's Note: Strain Engineering of the Band Gap of HgTe Quantum Wells Using Superlattice Virtual Substrates [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 086403 (2016)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.

Gapless Andreev bound states in the quantum spin Hall insulator HgTe.

In recent years, Majorana physics has attracted considerable attention because of exotic new phenomena and its prospects for fault-tolerant topological quantum computation. To this end, one needs to engineer the interplay between superconductivity and electronic properties in a topological insulator, but experimental work remains scarce and ambiguous. Here, we report experimental evidence for topological superconductivity induced in a HgTe quantum well, a 2D topological insulator that exhibits the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect.

Strain Engineering of the Band Gap of HgTe Quantum Wells Using Superlattice Virtual Substrates.

The HgTe quantum well (QW) is a well-characterized two-dimensional topological insulator (2D TI). Its band gap is relatively small (typically on the order of 10 meV), which restricts the observation of purely topological conductance to low temperatures. Here, we utilize the strain dependence of the band structure of HgTe QWs to address this limitation.

Unexpected edge conduction in mercury telluride quantum wells under broken time-reversal symmetry.

The realization of quantum spin Hall effect in HgTe quantum wells is considered a milestone in the discovery of topological insulators. Quantum spin Hall states are predicted to allow current flow at the edges of an insulating bulk, as demonstrated in various experiments. A key prediction yet to be experimentally verified is the breakdown of the edge conduction under broken time-reversal symmetry.

Imaging currents in HgTe quantum wells in the quantum spin Hall regime.

The quantum spin Hall (QSH) state is a state of matter characterized by a non-trivial topology of its band structure, and associated conducting edge channels. The QSH state was predicted and experimentally demonstrated to be realized in HgTe quantum wells. The existence of the edge channels has been inferred from local and non-local transport measurements in sufficiently small devices.