Landauer-based study of transport in Chern insulator heterostructures

Abstract

We study charge transport through a trivial-topological-trivial junction described by the continuous Qi-Wu-Zhang model, which realizes a two-dimensional Chern-insulating phase. The central region is tuned into the topological regime, while the adjoining leads remain trivial, and an electrostatic barrier of tunable height and width is applied exclusively to the topological slab. By matching wave functions across the interfaces, we obtain the angle- and energy-resolved transmission probability and demonstrate the occurrence of Klein tunneling despite the presence of a bulk spectral gap. Within the continuum Dirac description, this perfect transmission originates from the inversion of the Dirac mass across the junction, which reflects the band inversion of the central layer relative to the trivial leads. In the Qi-Wu-Zhang model considered here, this mass inversion coincides with the transition between trivial and Chern-insulating phases and is accompanied by finite Berry curvature that governs the nonlinear transport response. The resulting transmission function is then incorporated into a Landauer-Büttiker framework to analyze both linear and nonlinear transport. Closed-form expressions for the linear and nonlinear conductances are derived at zero and finite temperatures. In addition, we investigate the role of dephasing, showing how partial loss of coherence suppresses Fabry-Pérot oscillations while leaving the overall transport trends intact. Finally, we map out the interplay between barrier height, slab thickness, and topological mass parameter, identifying optimal regimes that yield enhanced rectification in the nonlinear response.