Prediction of giant and ideal Rashba-type splitting in ordered alloy monolayers grown on a polar surface

Abstract

A large and ideal Rashba-type spin-orbit splitting is desired for the applications of materials in spintronic devices and the detection of Majorana Fermions in solids. Here, we propose an approach to achieve giant and ideal spin-orbit splittings through a combination of ordered surface alloying and interface engineering, that is, growing alloy monolayers on an insulating polar surface. We illustrate this unique strategy by means of first-principles calculations of buckled hexagonal monolayers of SbBi and PbBi supported on Al${}_2$O${}_3$(0001). Both systems display ideal Rashba-type states with giant SO splittings, characterized with energy offsets over 600 meV and momentum offsets over 0.3 ${\mathring{A}}^{-1}$, respectively. Our study thus points to an effective way of tuning spin-orbit splitting in low-dimensional materials to draw immediate experimental interest.

Accepted for publication in National Science Review

References in corpus (5)

• Strong spin-orbit splitting on Bi surfaces
• Quantum Spin Hall Effect and Enhanced Magnetic Response by Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Strongly spin-orbit coupled two-dimensional electron gas emerging near the surface of polar semiconductors
• A band structure scenario for the giant spin-orbit splitting observed at the Bi/Si(111) interface
• Giant switchable Rashba effect in oxide heterostructures

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Spin and orbital Edelstein effect in a bilayer system with Rashba interaction
• Large-gap quantum anomalous Hall states induced by functionalizing buckled Bi-III monolayer/Al${}_2$O${}_3$