Quantum anomalous Hall effect in time-reversal-symmetry breaking topological insulators

The quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE), the last member of Hall family, was predicted to exhibit quantized Hall conductivity e2/h without any external magnetic field. The QAHE shares a similar physical phenomenon with the integer quantum Hall effect (QHE), whereas its physical origin relies on the intrinsic topological inverted band structure and ferromagnetism. Since the QAHE does not require external energy input in the form of magnetic field, it is believed that this effect has unique potential for applications in future electronic devices with low-power consumption. More recently, the QAHE has been experimentally observed in thin films of the time-reversal symmetry breaking ferromagnetic (FM) topological insulators (TI), Cr- and V- doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3. In this Topical Review, we review the history of TI based QAHE, the route to the experimental observation of the QAHE in the above two systems, the current status of the research of the QAHE, and finally the prospects for future studies.