Evidence for large Rashba splitting in PtPb4 from Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

Abstract

We studied the electronic structure of PtPb${}_4$ using laser angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES) and density functional theory(DFT) calculations. This material is closely related to PtSn${}_4$, which exhibits exotic topological properties such as Dirac node arcs. Fermi surface(FS) of PtPb${}_4$ consists of two electron pockets at the center of the Brillouin zone(BZ) and several hole pockets around the zone boundaries. Our ARPES data reveals significant Rashba splitting at the $\hat{I}“$ point in agreement with DFT calculations. The presence of Rashba splitting may render this material of potential interest for spintronic applications.