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Amorphization-induced topological and insulator-metal transitions in bidimensional BixSb1−x alloys

A. J. Uría-Álvarez and J. J. Palacios*

  • Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC), and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera (INC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco 28049, Spain

  • *Contact author: juanjose.palacios@uam.es
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043263 – Published 8 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/z5tm-cvgn

Abstract

Bismuth has been shown to be topological in its different allotropes and compounds, with one of the most notable examples being the Bi-Sb alloy, the first 3D topological insulator ever discovered. In this paper, we explore two-dimensional alloys of Bi and Sb, both crystalline and amorphous, to determine the critical concentrations that render the alloys topological. For the amorphous alloy, we determine the effect of structural disorder on its topological properties, remarkably observing a trivial to topological transition as disorder increases. The alloys are modeled using a Slater-Koster tight-binding model and the topological behavior is assessed through the entanglement spectrum together with artificial neural networks. Additionally, we perform electronic transport calculations with results compatible with those of the entanglement spectrum, which, furthermore, reveal an insulator to metal transition in the highly disordered regime.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043263– Published 8 December, 2025
  • Received 27 January 2025
  • Accepted 7 November 2025
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