Abstract
A topological insulator is a completely new phase of matter with an insulating interior and conduction only at the edges [1]. Perhaps its most impressing feature is that the conducting electron states at the edges do not experience scattering in case of defects or disorder due to the Kramers degeneracy, which disallows coupling to the counterpopagating state. This provides a robustness which is otherwise only known from superconductors. The fact that topological insulators exist at room temperature and without an external magnetic field means that they are promising candidates for a variety of applications as in spintronics and exotic new phases therein may have application for robust quantum computing.
Original language | English (US) |
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DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2013 |
Event | 2013 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and International Quantum Electronics Conference, CLEO/Europe-IQEC 2013 - Munich, Germany Duration: May 12 2013 → May 16 2013 |
Other
Other | 2013 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and International Quantum Electronics Conference, CLEO/Europe-IQEC 2013 |
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Country | Germany |
City | Munich |
Period | 5/12/13 → 5/16/13 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering