Rashba-like spin splitting along three momentum directions in trigonal layered PtBi2

Ya Feng; Qi Jiang; Baojie Feng; Meng Yang; Tao Xu; Wenjing Liu; Xiufu Yang; Masashi Arita; Eike F Schwier; Kenya Shimada; Harald O Jeschke; Ronny Thomale; Youguo Shi; Xianxin Wu; Shaozhu Xiao; Shan Qiao; Shaolong He

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12805-2

Rashba-like spin splitting along three momentum directions in trigonal layered PtBi₂

Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 18;10(1):4765. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12805-2.

Authors

Ya Feng^{1

2}, Qi Jiang³, Baojie Feng^{4

5}, Meng Yang⁴, Tao Xu^{3

6}, Wenjing Liu³, Xiufu Yang¹, Masashi Arita², Eike F Schwier², Kenya Shimada², Harald O Jeschke⁷, Ronny Thomale⁸, Youguo Shi⁴, Xianxin Wu⁹, Shaozhu Xiao¹⁰, Shan Qiao^{3

6}, Shaolong He^{11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 315201, Ningbo, China.
² Hiroshima Synchrotron Radiation Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 739-0046, Japan.
³ State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics and CAS Center for Excellence in Superconducting Electronics (CENSE), Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200050, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China.
⁵ School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
⁶ School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 200031, Shanghai, China.
⁷ Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan.
⁸ Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Julius-Maximilians University of Wurzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074, Wurzburg, Germany.
⁹ Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Julius-Maximilians University of Wurzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074, Wurzburg, Germany. xianxinwu@gmail.com.
¹⁰ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 315201, Ningbo, China. xiaoshaozhu@nimte.ac.cn.
¹¹ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 315201, Ningbo, China. shaolonghe@nimte.ac.cn.
¹² Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China. shaolonghe@nimte.ac.cn.

Abstract

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) has gained much attention for its rich physical phenomena and highly promising applications in spintronic devices. The Rashba-type SOC in systems with inversion symmetry breaking is particularly attractive for spintronics applications since it allows for flexible manipulation of spin current by external electric fields. Here, we report the discovery of a giant anisotropic Rashba-like spin splitting along three momentum directions (3D Rashba-like spin splitting) with a helical spin polarization around the M points in the Brillouin zone of trigonal layered PtBi₂. Due to its inversion asymmetry and reduced symmetry at the M point, Rashba-type as well as Dresselhaus-type SOC cooperatively yield a 3D spin splitting with α_R ≈ 4.36 eV Å in PtBi₂. The experimental realization of 3D Rashba-like spin splitting not only has fundamental interests but also paves the way to the future exploration of a new class of material with unprecedented functionalities for spintronics applications.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Anisotropy*
Bismuth / chemistry*
Computer Simulation
Crystallography, X-Ray
Electricity
Electronics / methods*
Models, Chemical
Models, Molecular
Nanostructures / chemistry
Platinum / chemistry*
Platinum Compounds / chemical synthesis
Platinum Compounds / chemistry*

Substances

Platinum Compounds
Platinum
Bismuth