Quantum anomalous Hall effect in intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi ₂ Te ₄

Abstract

In a magnetic topological insulator, nontrivial band topology combines with magnetic order to produce exotic states of matter, such as quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators and axion insulators. In this work, we probe quantum transport in MnBi₂Te₄ thin flakes-a topological insulator with intrinsic magnetic order. In this layered van der Waals crystal, the ferromagnetic layers couple antiparallel to each other; atomically thin MnBi₂Te₄, however, becomes ferromagnetic when the sample has an odd number of septuple layers. We observe a zero-field QAH effect in a five-septuple-layer specimen at 1.4 kelvin, and an external magnetic field further raises the quantization temperature to 6.5 kelvin by aligning all layers ferromagnetically. The results establish MnBi₂Te₄ as an ideal arena for further exploring various topological phenomena with a spontaneously broken time-reversal symmetry.