# Possibility of Realizing Quantum Spin Hall Effect at Room Temperature in Stanene/Al2O3(0001)

## TL;DR

This study demonstrates that stanene on Al2O3(0001) substrate can host a sizable quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature, due to its topologically nontrivial band gap and stable decoupled structure, promising for future electronic devices.

## Contribution

The paper shows that stanene on Al2O3(0001) can realize a large band gap QSH insulator at room temperature, a significant advancement over previous materials.

## Key findings

- Stanene on Al2O3(0001) has a ~0.25 eV topologically nontrivial band gap.
- Stanene remains structurally stable and electronically decoupled from the substrate.
- The physical mechanism is general, opening new avenues for room temperature QSH devices.

## Abstract

Two-dimensional quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulators with reasonably wide band gaps are imperative for the development of various innovative technologies. Through systematic density functional calculations and tight-binding simulations, we found that stanene on {\alpha}-alumina surface may possess a sizeable topologically nontrivial band gap (~0.25 eV) at the {\Gamma} point. Furthermore, stanene is atomically bonded to but electronically decoupled from the substrate, providing high structural stability and isolated QSH states to a large extent. The underlying physical mechanism is rather general, and this finding may lead to the opening of a new vista for the exploration of QSH insulators for room temperature device applications.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1701.07526