We propose that a quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI) can be realized in a nanopatterned two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with a small in-plane magnetic field and a high carrier density. The Berry curvatures originating from the in-plane magnetic field and Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling, in combination with a nanoscale honeycomb lattice potential modulation, lead to topologically nontrivial insulating states in the 2DEG without Landau levels. In the bulk insulating gaps, the anomalous Hall conductivity is quantized −e2/h, corresponding to a finite Chern number -1. There exists one gapless chiral edge state on each edge of a finite size 2DEG.
@article{arxiv.1009.1200,
title = {Quantized Anomalous Hall Insulator in a Nanopatterned Two-Dimensional Electron Gas},
author = {Yongping Zhang and Chuanwei Zhang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1009.1200},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B