title: Chern insulators from heavy atoms on magnetic substrates.
abstract: We propose searching for Chern insulators by depositing atomic layers of elements with large spin-orbit coupling (e.g., Bi) on the surface of a magnetic insulator. We argue that such systems will typically have isolated surface bands with nonzero Chern numbers. If these overlap in energy, a metallic surface with large anomalous Hall conductivity will result; if not, a Chern-insulator state will typically occur. Thus, our search strategy reduces to looking for examples having the Fermi level in a global gap extending across the entire Brillouin zone. We verify this search strategy and identify several candidate systems by using first-principles calculations to compute the Chern number and anomalous Hall conductivity of a large number of such systems on MnTe, MnSe, and EuS surfaces. Our search reveals several promising Chern insulators with gaps of up to 140 meV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Garrity
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vanderbilt