Quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators exhibit chiral dissipationless edge states without an external magnetic field, making them a promising material for quantum metrology and microwave applications. However, the breakdown of the zero-resistance state at low currents hinders progress. We investigate and characterize this breakdown under microwave fields (1-25 GHz) by measuring the increase of longitudinal resistance in RF Hall bars and RF Corbino devices made from V-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3 films. Our results point to the role of heating of electron-hole puddles under microwave irradiation, thereby fostering hopping transport. Our work offers insights critical for GHz-range QAH applications.
@article{arxiv.2505.23156,
title = {Breakdown of the quantum anomalous Hall effect under microwave drives},
author = {Torsten Röper and Daniel Rosenbach and Achim Rosch and Alexey A. Taskin and Yoichi Ando and Erwann Bocquillon},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.23156},
year = {2025}
}