Stability of topological properties of bismuth (1 1 1) bilayer

We investigate the electronic and transport properties of the bismuth (1 1 1) bilayer in the context of the stability of its topological properties against different perturbations. The effects of spin–orbit coupling variations, geometry relaxation and interaction with a substrate are considered. The transport properties are studied in the presence of Anderson disorder. Band structure calculations are performed within the multi-orbital tight-binding model and density functional theory methods. A band inversion process in the bismuth (1 1 1) infinite bilayer and an evolution of the edge state dispersion in ribbons as a function of spin–orbit coupling strength are analyzed. A significant change in the orbital composition of the conduction and valence bands is observed during a topological phase transition. The topological edge states are shown to be weakly affected by the effect of ribbon geometry relaxation. The interaction with a substrate is considered for narrow ribbons on top of another bismuth (1 1 1) bilayer. This corresponds to a weakly interacting case and the effect is similar to an external perpendicular electric field. Robust quantized conductance is observed when the Fermi energy lies within the energy gap, where only two counter-propagating edge states are present. For energies where the Fermi level crosses more in-gap states, scattering is possible between the channels lying close in the k -space. When the energy of the edge states overlaps the valence states, no topological protection is observed. (paper)