Realizing a topological-insulator field-effect transistor using iodostannanane

Abstract

Monolayer hexagonal tin (stannanane) is a topological insulator and upon functionalization with halogens, such as iodine, a gap exceeding 300 meV is obtained. In a stannanane ribbon the topologically protected edge states lead to very high conductivities and mobilities; moreover the conductivity is strongly dependent on the Fermi level. We show how this property can be exploited to make a topological-insulator field-effect transistor (TIFET). We simulate the input and output characteristics of the TIFET using a drift-diffusion-like approximation and obtain promising transistor characteristics with a high on-current which exceeds the off-current by over three orders of magnitude.