Subband structure of a cylindrical HgTe nanowire: transition from normal type to inverted type

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates the subband structure of cylindrical HgTe nanowires, revealing a topological phase transition from normal to inverted regime as the wire radius varies, similar to quantum well behavior.

Contribution

It provides an analytical derivation of subband energies in HgTe nanowires and identifies a topological transition related to the nanowire radius.

Findings

Existence of a topological band transition in HgTe nanowires.

Identification of a critical radius (~3.2 nm) for the transition.

Observation of a gap-closing-and-reopening in the subband structure.

Abstract

Based on the $6\times6$ Kane model in the spherical approximation, both the electron and the hole subband dispersions in a cylindrical HgTe nanowire are calculated using analytical method. The transcendental equations determining the subband energies in the nanowire are analytically derived by utilizing both the total angular momentum conservation and the hard wall boundary condition. We show there exists topological band transition in the HgTe nanowire, very similar to that demonstrated in a HgTe quantum well. Via tuning the radius of the nanowire, we find there is a gap-closing-and-reopening transition in the subband structure. When the radius is larger than the critical radius $R_{\rm c}\approx3.2$ nm, the HgTe nanowire is in the inverted regime.