The antiferromagnetic ordering that MnBi2Te4 shows makes it invariant with respect to the combination of the time-reversal and primitive-lattice translation symmetries, giving rise to its topologically nontrivial nature and a number of fundamental phenomena. At the same time, the possibility to control the electronic and magnetic properties of this system can provide new effective ways for its application in devices. One of the approaches to manipulate MnBi2Te4 properties is the partial substitution of magnetic atoms in the compound with atoms of non-magnetic elements, which inevitably affect the interplay of magnetism and band topology in the system. In this work, we have carried out theoretical modelling of changes in the electronic structure that occur as a result of increasing the concentration of Sn atoms at Mn positions in the (Mn1−xSnx)Bi2Te4 compound both using Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker (KKR) Green’s function method as well as the widespread approach of using supercells with impurity in DFT methods. The calculated band structures were also compared with those experimentally measured by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) for samples with x values of 0, 0.19, 0.36, 0.52 and 0.86. We assume that the complex hybridization of Te-pz and Bi-pz orbitals with Sn and Mn ones leads to a non-linear dependence of band gap on Sn content in Mn positions, which is characterized by a plateau with a zero energy gap at some concentration values, suggesting possible topological phase transitions in the system.
Recently discovered intrinsic magnetic topological insulators
(IMTIs)
constitute a unique class of quantum materials that combine magnetism
and nontrivial topology. One of the most promising applications of
these materials is Majorana fermion creation; Majorana fermions are
expected to arise when a superconductor is in contact with the surface
of an IMTI. Here we study the adsorption of Pb ultrathin films on
top of IMTIs of various stoichiometries. By means of XPS we figure
out the formation of the Pb wetting layer coupled to the surface atoms
for low coverages and overlayer growth on top upon further deposition.
Investigation of the adsorbed surfaces by means of ARPES shows the
Dirac cone survival, its shift in a binding energy, and the Pb electronic
states appearance. The obtained results allow the Pb/IMTI interfaces
to be constructed for the understanding of the proximity effect and
provide an important step toward quantum device engineering based
on IMTIs.
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