Atomistic designing of 2D quantum materials heterostructures CdF/CrI₃for Berry curvature driven tunable intrinsic...

The coupling between topology and magnetism can explore rich physics with fundamental interest. Passing through the phase of Bismuth-based topological insulators magnetized by the 3d/4ftransition metal doping, currently the fabrication of quantum heterostructures by suitable new-generation 2D materials, has emerged as a prospective alternative. Following the current trends, the present investigation deals with the atomistic designing and investigation of the quantum heterostructures of the newly predicted massive Dirac semimetal CdF and well-known layered ferromagnetic insulator CrI₃using the first-principles density functional theory calculations supplemented by the low energy tight-binding model Hamiltonian. The designed strategy ensures the lattice mismatch should be within the permissible range. We have addressed the physical characteristics of heterostructures in terms of the non-trivial topological band inversion between Cd-5sand I-2porbitals. Proximity effect induces magnetic interactions, breaks the time-reversal symmetry at the interface, and leads to Berry curvature-driven tunable intrinsic anomalous Hall conductance (AHC) at the Fermi energy. Our analysis reveals the electrons with high Fermi velocity (≈10⁶ m s^-1) in the heterostructures and the band topology at the Fermi level can be tuned effectively using very small external gate voltage or homogeneous electric field. Our investigation can open up new avenues for designing new topological phases in the heterostructure community and possible tailoring routes of the intrinsic AHC in moderate temperature.