Interface engineering of quantum Hall effects in digital transition metal oxide heterostructures

Abstract

Topological insulators (TIs) are characterized by a non-trivial band topology driven by the spin-orbit coupling. To fully explore the fundamental science and application of TIs, material realization is indispensable. Here we predict, based on tight-binding modeling and first-principles calculations, that bilayers of perovskite-type transition-metal oxides grown along the [111] crystallographic axis are potential candidates for two-dimensional TIs. The topological band structure of these materials can be fine-tuned by changing dopant ions, substrates and external gate voltages. We predict that LaAuO$_3$ bilayers have a topologically non-trivial energy gap of about 0.15~eV, which is sufficiently large to realize the quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature. Intriguing phenomena, such as fractional quantum Hall effect, associated with the nearly flat topologically non-trivial bands found in $e_g$ systems are also discussed.