Topological charge pump by surface acoustic waves

Quantized electron pumping by the surface acoustic wave across barriers created by a sequence of split metal gates is interpreted from the viewpoint of topology. The surface acoustic wave serves as a one-dimensional periodical potential whose energy spectrum possesses the Bloch band structure. The time-dependent phase plays the role of an adiabatic parameter of the Hamiltonian which induces a geometrical phase. The pumping currents are related to the Chern numbers of the filled bands below the Fermi energy. Based on this understanding, we predict a novel effect of quantized but non-monotonous current plateaus simultaneously pumped by two homodromous surface acoustic waves.