Edge States and Strain-Driven Topological Phase Transitions in Quantum Dots in Topological Insulators

We present here a theory of the electronic properties of quasi two-dimensional quantum dots made of topological insulators. The topological insulator is described by either eight band k→·p→ Hamiltonian or by a four-band k→·p→ Bernevig–Hughes–Zhang (BHZ) Hamiltonian. The trivial versus topological properties of the BHZ Hamiltonian are characterized by the different topologies that arise when mapping the in-plane wavevectors through the BHZ Hamiltonian onto a Bloch sphere. In the topologically nontrivial case, edge states are formed in the disc and square geometries of the quantum dot. We account for the effects of compressive strain in topological insulator quantum dots by means of the Bir–Pikus Hamiltonian. Tuning strain allows topological phase transitions between topological and trivial phases, which results in the vanishing of edge states from the energy gap. This may enable the design of a quantum strain sensor based on strain-driven transitions in HgTe topological insulator square quantum dots.