Light-engineered multichannel quantum anomalous Hall effect in higher-order topological plumbene
Phys. Rev. B 113, 075120 – Published 9 February, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/n995-g5z6
Abstract
Floquet engineering serves as a forceful technique for uncovering high Chern numbers of quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) states with feasible tunability in high-order topologically insulating plumbene, which is readily accessible for experimental investigations. Under the irradiation of right-handed circularly polarized light, we predict a three-stage topological phase transition in plumbene, whether it is in a free-standing form or grown on h-BN. Initially, a metallic state evolves into a )-valley-based QAH state with a Chern number of −8, which then decreases to −6 after the valley gap closes. Finally, a band inversion occurs at the point, resulting in a multichannel QAH state with . The trigonal warping model accounts for both )-valley-based and -point-based QAH states. Additionally, growing plumbene on a non–van der Waals substrate eliminates the )-valley-based topology, leaving only the -point-based QAH state with . Our findings propose the tunability of various high Chern numbers derived from high-order topological insulators, aiming to advance the next-generation dissipationless electronic devices.