title: Imaging currents in HgTe quantum wells in the quantum spin Hall regime.
abstract: The quantum spin Hall (QSH) state is a state of matter characterized by a non-trivial topology of its band structure, and associated conducting edge channels. The QSH state was predicted and experimentally demonstrated to be realized in HgTe quantum wells. The existence of the edge channels has been inferred from local and non-local transport measurements in sufficiently small devices. Here we directly confirm the existence of the edge channels by imaging the magnetic fields produced by current flowing in large Hall bars made from HgTe quantum wells. These images distinguish between current that passes through each edge and the bulk. On tuning the bulk conductivity by gating or raising the temperature, we observe a regime in which the edge channels clearly coexist with the conducting bulk, providing input to the question of how ballistic transport may be limited in the edge channels. Our results represent a versatile method for characterization of new QSH materials systems.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA [2] Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
authors.forename: Katja C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Nowack
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Spanton
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baenninger
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kirtley
authors.forename: Beena
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kalisky
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ames
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leubner
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brüne
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Buhmann
authors.forename: Laurens W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Molenkamp
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldhaber-Gordon
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Moler
mesh_terms: D004560:Electricity; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013691:Tellurium / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury; D013691:Tellurium