Disorder effects in InAs/GaSb topological insulator candidates

We report the theoretical investigation of the disorder effects on the bulk states of inverted InAs/GaSb quantum wells. As disorder sources we consider the interface roughness and donors/acceptors supplied by intentional doping. We use a k·p approach combined with a numerical diagonalization of the disordered Hamiltonian to get a full insight of the disordered eigenenergies and eigenfunctions of the electronic system. While interface roughness slightly perturbs the carrier motion, we show that dopants strongly bind and localize the bulk states of the structure. Moreover, both types of scatterers strengthen the intrinsic hybridization between holes and electrons in the structure.