Quantized Hall conductance without an external magnetic field, known as the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE), may have important applications in dissipationless spintronics, yet to date, it has only been realized in magnetically doped topological insulators and at very low temperatures. Here we design a physically realistic system for realizing QAHE by expanding the recently discovered two-dimensional ferromagnetic insulators as a new class of candidate materials. Based on first-principles calculations, we predict that a ${\mathrm{CrMnI}}_6$ monolayer is energetically stable and can be readily exfoliated. This system is further shown to be a ferromagnetic insulator, with a transition temperature of $\sim 87\mathrm{K}$, higher than that of ${\mathrm{CrI}}_3$. Most strikingly, such a monolayer is characterized as an intrinsic QAHE system with a high Chern number of $C$ = 2, and the underlying mechanism for the nontrivial topology is attributed to the two inequivalent subset sites of the Cr and Mn atoms. The present study thus provides an ideal platform for realizing high-temperature QAHE beyond the prevailing materials class of magnetically doped topological insulators.

• Received 2 February 2020
• Accepted 30 March 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.115413