Electric-field-induced Z2 topological phase transition in strained single bilayer Bi(111)

Abstract

For controlling the critical electric fields of the topological phase transition in single bilayer Bi(111), we investigated topological phases in a strained system through first-principles calculations. We found a quadratic band touching semimetallic state at tensile strain $\epsilon=0.5$%. Around this strain, the topological phase can be switched to a trivial insulator by an infinitesimal electric field. The positions at which Dirac cones appear in the electric-field-induced topological phase transition changed for the strain $\epsilon>0.5$% and $\epsilon<0.5$%. Our results indicate that this topological phase transition could be applied to novel spintronic devices.