Field-controlled quantum anomalous Hall effect in electron-doped CrSiTe_3 monolayer

We report Chern insulating phases emerging from a single layer of layered chalcogenide CrSiTe_3, a transition metal trichacogenides (TMTC) material, in the presence of charge doping. Due to strong hybridization with Te p orbitals, the spin-orbit coupling effect opens a finite band gap, leading to a nontrivial topology of the Cr e _g conduction band manifold with higher Chern numbers. Our calculations show that quantum anomalous Hall effects can be realized by adding one electron in a formula unit cell of Cr_2Si_2Te_6, equivalent to electron doping by 2.36 × 10^14 cm^−2 carrier density. Furthermore, the doping-induced anomalous Hall conductivity can be controlled by an external magnetic field via spin-orientation-dependent tuning of the spin-orbit coupling. In addition, we find distinct quantum anomalous Hall phases employing tight-binding model analysis, suggesting that CrSiTe_3 can be a fascinating platform to realize Chern insulating systems with higher Chern numbers.