After more than 100 years of condensed matter physics that brought about the commercially important band insulator and the Mott-insulator, recently, the concept of a third kind of insulator, the topological insulator (TI), was discovered – a class of materials in two- (2D) and three dimensions (3D) with fascinating properties: while the inside of a film or solid is a non-metallic electrical insulators, fundamental symmetry considerations require the edges of finite sized films or surfaces of bulk TI to be metallic. These conducting states realizing the metallic surfaces or edges are topologically protected in the sense, that electron propagation is dissipationless because the backscattering of charge carriers is forbidden as long as the topological properties are intact. This is the starting point of a world wide very timely pursued research topic. Our institute has a strong track record in this field, which we would like to extend by offering following

Master Thesis topics:

• Calculational investigation of nanoribbons of Bi₂Se₃ and Bi₂Te₃
• Exploration of topological robustness: Ag and Mn point and line defects at the surface and edge states of Bi₂Se₃ and Bi₂Te₃
• Investigation of edge states in vicinal Bi(111) and Bi₂Te₃(0001) surfaces
• Simulation of the interface of a 2D and 3D topological insulator: Bi nanoribbons on Bi₂Se₃
• On the search for Chern Insulators: Rare Earth atoms on Graphene

Your Profile:
The candidate should have a

• good motivation to enjoy research in an excellent environment, and
• it is expected to have a solid background in solid state physics, and to have motivation to dive into computational physics

What We Offer:

• Excellent guidance and mentoring.
• Research in a friendly, multitopical and international setting
• as well as a cooperative work environment in a dynamical institute.
• A fantastic research and computational infrastructure

Contact:
Prof. Stefan Blügel
Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI) &
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
D-52425 Jülich,
Germany

tel: +49-2461-61-4249
email: s.bluegel@fz-juelich.de

For further information please contact Prof. Blügel or visit our website at http://www.fz-juelich.de/pgi/pgi-1.