Influence of an in-plane magnetic field on the electronic structure of an inverted InAs/GaSb quantum well

The electronic structure of an inverted InAs/GaSb quantum well embedded in AlSb barriers is studied theoretically. The influence of an in-plane magnetic field is examined within the 14-band k.p approach. The spin-dependent subband energy dispersion curves are strongly modified by the in-plane magnetic field and by the conduction-valence band hybridization. The dispersion curves in the direction parallel to the magnetic field become quite different from that in the perpendicular direction. At strong magnetic fields, one observes the interplay between the confinement induced by the magnetic field and the confinement due to the quantum well, and the interplay between the strong intrinsic spin-orbit interaction and the spin alignment induced by the magnetic field. The well-known two-dimensional topological insulator model is generalized to take into account the influence of the in-plane magnetic field. The bulk-like state conduction channels become available in addition to the edge state conduction channels for a moderate magnetic field. Published by AIP Publishing.