Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4
Abstract The Dissipationless chiral edge state (CES) stands as a pivotal feature in quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators. The dissipationless nature and chirality give rise to unique transport properties and provide insights into future electronics and spintronics. In recent years, a new van der...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59160-z |
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| author | Chusheng Zhang Xiufang Lu Naizhou Wang Tianye Huang Hanxiang Zhang Ning Cao Aifeng Wang Xiaoyuan Zhou Kenji Watanabe Takashi Taniguchi Su-Yang Xu Weibo Gao |
| author_facet | Chusheng Zhang Xiufang Lu Naizhou Wang Tianye Huang Hanxiang Zhang Ning Cao Aifeng Wang Xiaoyuan Zhou Kenji Watanabe Takashi Taniguchi Su-Yang Xu Weibo Gao |
| author_sort | Chusheng Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Dissipationless chiral edge state (CES) stands as a pivotal feature in quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators. The dissipationless nature and chirality give rise to unique transport properties and provide insights into future electronics and spintronics. In recent years, a new van der Waals intrinsic magnetic topological insulator, MnBi2Te4 (MBT), has attracted significant research interests. The quantum anomalous Hall effect has been successfully achieved in odd-layer MBT. However, few studies can reproduce the zero-field quantization due to poor sample quality, and as a result, the transport properties of CES have rarely been explored in a well quantized MBT sample at zero magnetic field. Here, we report an electrical transport study of CES in a 5-septuple layer (SL) MBT sample, in which zero-field quantization is successfully achieved. The four-terminal and three-terminal measurements provide unambiguous evidence for the presence of zero-field CES in the sample. The nonreciprocal resistance transport demonstrates the dominance of CES at charge neutrality point, as well as the strong interplay between CES and bulk conduction channels at band edge. Our research enriches the fundamental understanding of chiral edge states in MBT and paves the way for future dissipationless electronics applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96d07f903a584037a7089ad02ce1445f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-96d07f903a584037a7089ad02ce1445f2025-08-20T04:01:35ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-011611710.1038/s41467-025-59160-zZero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4Chusheng Zhang0Xiufang Lu1Naizhou Wang2Tianye Huang3Hanxiang Zhang4Ning Cao5Aifeng Wang6Xiaoyuan Zhou7Kenji Watanabe8Takashi Taniguchi9Su-Yang Xu10Weibo Gao11Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDepartment of Physics, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake UniversityDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityLow Temperature Physics Laboratory, College of Physics and Center of Quantum Materials and Devices, Chongqing UniversityLow Temperature Physics Laboratory, College of Physics and Center of Quantum Materials and Devices, Chongqing UniversityLow Temperature Physics Laboratory, College of Physics and Center of Quantum Materials and Devices, Chongqing UniversityResearch Center for Functional Materials, National Institute for Materials ScienceInternational Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials ScienceDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityAbstract The Dissipationless chiral edge state (CES) stands as a pivotal feature in quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators. The dissipationless nature and chirality give rise to unique transport properties and provide insights into future electronics and spintronics. In recent years, a new van der Waals intrinsic magnetic topological insulator, MnBi2Te4 (MBT), has attracted significant research interests. The quantum anomalous Hall effect has been successfully achieved in odd-layer MBT. However, few studies can reproduce the zero-field quantization due to poor sample quality, and as a result, the transport properties of CES have rarely been explored in a well quantized MBT sample at zero magnetic field. Here, we report an electrical transport study of CES in a 5-septuple layer (SL) MBT sample, in which zero-field quantization is successfully achieved. The four-terminal and three-terminal measurements provide unambiguous evidence for the presence of zero-field CES in the sample. The nonreciprocal resistance transport demonstrates the dominance of CES at charge neutrality point, as well as the strong interplay between CES and bulk conduction channels at band edge. Our research enriches the fundamental understanding of chiral edge states in MBT and paves the way for future dissipationless electronics applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59160-z |
| spellingShingle | Chusheng Zhang Xiufang Lu Naizhou Wang Tianye Huang Hanxiang Zhang Ning Cao Aifeng Wang Xiaoyuan Zhou Kenji Watanabe Takashi Taniguchi Su-Yang Xu Weibo Gao Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 Nature Communications |
| title | Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 |
| title_full | Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 |
| title_fullStr | Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 |
| title_short | Zero-field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 |
| title_sort | zero field chiral edge transport in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator mnbi2te4 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59160-z |
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