Dumbbell silicene: a strain-induced room temperature quantum spin Hall insulator

By the generalized gradient approximation in the framework of density functional theory, we find a new silicon allotrope (called dumbbell silicene) with high stability, which can turn a quantum spin Hall insulator with an inverted band gap through tuning external compression strain, just like in previous silicene. However, the obtained maximum topological nontrivial band gap about 12 meV under isotropic strain is much larger than that for previous silicene, and can be further improved to 36 meV by tuning extra anisotropic strain, which is sufficiently large to realize quantum spin Hall effect even at room-temperature, and thus is beneficial to the fabrication of high-speed spintronics devices. Furthermore, we confirm that the boron nitride sheet is an ideal substrate for the experimental realization of the dumbbell silicene under external strain, maintaining its nontrivial topology. These properties make the two-dimensional dumbbell silicene a good platform to study novel quantum states of matter, showing great potential for future applications in modern silicon-based microelectronics industry.