Ferroelectrically Switchable Half-Quantized Hall Effect

TL;DR

This paper proposes a multiferroic heterostructure combining antiferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, and topological transport to achieve switchable half-quantized Hall effect, enabling electric control of quantum states.

Contribution

It introduces a novel heterostructure design that enables ferroelectric switching of the half-quantized Hall effect in an antiferromagnetic topological material.

Findings

The heterostructure exhibits a stable half-quantized Hall conductivity of e^2/2h.

Applying interlayer sliding reverses the electric polarization and the Hall conductivity.

The approach provides a new method to control topological transport via ferroelectricity.

Abstract

Integrating ferroelectricity, antiferromagnetism, and topological quantum transport within a single material is rare, but crucial for developing next-generation quantum devices. Here, we propose a multiferroic heterostructure consisting of an antiferromagnetic MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ bilayer and an Sb$_2$Te$_3$ film is able to harbor the half-quantized Hall (HQH) effect with a ferroelectrically switchable Hall conductivity of $e^2/2h$. We first show that, in the energetically stable configuration, the antiferromagnetic MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ bilayer opens a gap in the top surface bands of Sb$_2$Te$_3$ through proximity effect, while its bottom surface bands remain gapless; consequently, HQH conductivity of $e^2/2h$ can be sustained clockwise or counterclockwise depending on antiferromagnetic configuration of the MnBi$_2$Te$_4$. Remarkably, when applying interlayer sliding within the MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ bilayer, its electric polarization direction associated with parity-time reversal symmetry breaking is reversed, accompanied by a reversal of the HQH conductivity. The proposed approach offers a powerful route to control topological quantum transport in antiferromagnetic materials by ferroelectricity.