Proposal of a realistic topological p-n junction

What is it about?

Bi2Se3 is a well known three-dimensional topological insulator. This kind of materials are very promising for low power consumption electronics and for the emerging field of spintronics. We propose and calculate the electronic properties of a topological p-n junction based on Bi2Se3. The n- and p-type doping required for a p-n junction is induced by a type of planar stacking defect named twin boundary, which induces electric dipoles in the system.

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Why is it important?

p-n junctions are at the heart of every modern-day electronic device. The realisation of a topological p-n junction could strongly decrease the power consumption of electronic devices. Furthermore, since the electron spin is coupled to the electron momentum, the spin degree of freedom could be employed as an additional information channel in these kind of systems, which is the goal of the emerging field of spintronics.