What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine whether the quantum spin Hall effect can be experimentally realized in mercury telluride quantum wells at zero external magnetic field.

September 20, 2007ScienceOpen Access

Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells

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Authors

MKMarkus KönigSoutheast University SWS. WiedmannRadboud University Nijmegen CBC. BrünePhysikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

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Implication

Experimental study demonstrates a quantum spin Hall insulator state in mercury telluride quantum wells, indicating dissipationless edge state transport at zero magnetic field.

Key Points

To determine whether the quantum spin Hall effect can be experimentally realized in mercury telluride quantum wells at zero external magnetic field.
Fabricated low-density, high-mobility HgTe/(Hg,Cd)Te quantum wells with thicknesses above and below a critical width of 6.3 nanometers.
Applied an external gate voltage to tune carrier conduction from n-type to p-type through an insulating regime across varying temperatures and magnetic fields.
Thin quantum wells (d < 6.3 nanometers) showed conventional vanishing conductance at low temperatures within the insulating regime.
Thick quantum wells (d > 6.3 nanometers) exhibited a residual conductance plateau close to 2e²/h that remained independent of sample width.
The residual conductance was destroyed by a weak external magnetic field, confirming edge-state transport and a critical phase boundary at 6.3 nanometers.

Cite This Study

König et al. (2007) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/696f155a50a360e9ca1198f1 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1148047

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Implication

Experimental study demonstrates a quantum spin Hall insulator state in mercury telluride quantum wells, indicating dissipationless edge state transport at zero magnetic field.

Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells

Discussion

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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