Magnetic proximity induced valley-contrasting quantum anomalous Hall effect in a graphene-CrBr3 van der Waals heterostructure

The magnetic proximity effect is an imperative tool to comprehend the valley contrasting quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure. The introduction of magnetic exchange and spin orbit interaction together enables to realize topological phases, with a particular emphasis on an interface can be envisioned towards dissipationless electronics. Herein, the proximity coupled valley contrasting QAH effect is predicted in vdW heterostructure consisting of graphene and a ferromagnetic (FM) semiconductor CrBr3 with the implication of relativistic effect, from the ab initio density functional theory (DFT) simulation. The valley contrasting QAH effect is observed with a nonzero Chern number at a high-symmetry point stemming from Berry curvature and Wannier charge center (WCC), leading to a topologically nontrivial state. The occurrence of strong magnetic proximity coupling between graphene and CrBr3 monolayer is realized intrinsically, from shifting of Hall coefficient value near Fermi level. The opening of the global band gap (178 meV) is observed with the inclusion of spin orbit coupling (SOC). The anomalous Hall conductivity (AHC) demonstrates the presence of two maxima peaked at valley K' and K. The observation of AHC is mainly dominated by nonzero surface charge and localized potential at the heterointerface due to proximity interaction. The Fermi level is found to be located exactly inside the nontrivial global band gap, which can be tuned effectively by applying the external electric field or by introducing a staggered sublattice potential. This robustness makes experimental fabrication highly favorable for developing a valley contrasting QAH device prototype.

Automated summary

Through computational simulation, this study predicts the occurrence of valley contrasting quantum anomalous Hall effect in graphene and CrBr3 heterostructure, primarily due to the magnetic proximity coupling between the two materials.