No Arabic abstract
In transition metal perovskites (ABO3) most physical properties are tunable by structural parameters such as the rotation of the BO6 octahedra. Examples include the Neel temperature of orthoferrites, the conductivity of mixed-valence manganites, or the band gap of rare-earth scandates. Since oxides often host large internal electric dipoles and can accommodate heavy elements, they also emerge as prime candidates to display Rashba spin-orbit coupling, through which charge and spin currents may be efficiently interconverted. However, despite a few experimental reports in SrTiO3-based interface systems, the Rashba interaction has been little studied in these materials, and its interplay with structural distortions remain unknown. In this Letter, we identify a bismuth-based perovskite with a giant, electrically-switchable Rashba interaction whose amplitude can be controlled by both the ferroelectric polarization and the breathing mode of oxygen octahedra. This particular structural parameter arises from the strongly covalent nature of the Bi-O bonds, reminiscent of the situation in perovskite nickelates. Our results not only provide novel strategies to craft agile spin-charge converters but also highlight the relevance of covalence as a powerful handle to design emerging properties in complex oxides.
Ferroelectric Rashba semiconductors (FERSC), in which Rashba spin-splitting can be controlled and reversed by an electric field, have recently emerged as a new class of functional materials useful for spintronic applications. The development of concrete devices based on such materials is, however, still hampered by the lack of robust FERSC compounds. Here, we show that the coexistence of large spontaneous polarisation and sizeable spin-orbit coupling is not sufficient to have strong Rashba effects and clarify why simple ferroelectric oxide perovskites with transition metal at the B-site are typically not suitable FERSC candidates. By rationalizing how this limitation can be by-passed through band engineering of the electronic structure in layered perovskites, we identify the Bi$_2$WO$_6$ Aurivillius crystal as the first robust ferroelectric with large and reversible Rashba spin-splitting, that can even be substantially doped without losing its ferroelectric properties. Importantly, we highlight that a unidirectional spin-orbit field arises in layered Bi$_2$WO$_6$, resulting in a protection against spin-decoherence.We highlight moreover that a unidirectional spin-orbit field arises in Bi$_2$WO$_6$, in which the spin-texture is so protected against spin-decoherence.
The strong spin-orbit interaction in the organic-inorganic perovskites tied to the incorporation of heavy elements (textit{e.g.} Pb, I) makes these materials interesting for applications in spintronics. Due to a lack of inversion symmetry associated with distortions of the metal-halide octahedra, the Rashba effect (used textit{e.g.} in spin field-effect transistors and spin filters) has been predicted to be much larger in these materials than in traditional III-V semiconductors such as GaAs, supported by the recent observation of a near record Rashba spin splitting in CH$_3$NH$_3$PbBr$_3$ using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). More experimental studies are needed to confirm and quantify the presence of Rashba effects in the organic-inorganic perovskite family of materials. Here we apply time-resolved circular dichroism techniques to the study of carrier spin dynamics in a 2D perovskite thin film [(BA)$_2$MAPb$_2$I$_7$; BA = CH$_3$(CH$_2$)$_3$NH$_3$, MA = CH$_3$NH$_3$]. Our findings confirm the presence of a Rashba spin splitting via the dominance of precessional spin relaxation induced by the Rashba effective magnetic field. The size of the Rashba spin splitting in our system was extracted from simulations of the measured spin dynamics incorporating LO-phonon and electron-electron scattering, yielding a value of 10 meV at an electron energy of 50 meV above the band gap, representing a 20 times larger value than in GaAs quantum wells.
Owing to the versatility in their chemical and physical properties, transition metal perovskite oxides have emerged as a new category of highly efficient photocatalysts for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Here, to understand the underlying mechanism for the enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting in mixed perovskites, we explore ideal epitaxial thin films of the BiFeO3-SrTiO3 system. The electronic struture and carrier dynamics are determined from both experiment and density-functional theory calculations. The intrinsic phenomena are measured in this ideal sytem, contrasting to commonly studied polycrstalline solid solutions where extrinsic structural features obscure the intrinsic phenomena. We determined that when SrTiO3 is added to BiFeO3 the conduction band minimum position is raised and an exponential tail of trap states from hybridized Ti 3d and Fe 3d orbitals emerges near the conduction band edge. The presence of these trap states strongly suppresses the fast electron-hole recombination and improves the photocurrent density in the visible-light region, up to 16 times at 0 VRHE compared to the pure end member compositions. Our work provides a new design approach for optimising the photoelectrochemical performance in mixed perovksite oxides.
We report the observation of Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations in single crystals of the Rashba spin-splitting compound BiTeI, from both longitudinal ($R_{xx}(B)$) and Hall ($R_{xy}(B)$) magnetoresistance. Under magnetic field up to 65 T, we resolved unambiguously only one frequency $F = 284.3pm 1.3$ T, corresponding to a Fermi momentum $k_{F} = 0.093pm 0.002$AA$^{-1}$.The amplitude of oscillations is strongly suppressed by tilting magnetic field, suggesting a highly two-dimensional Fermi surface. Combining with optical spectroscopy, we show that quantum oscillations may be consistent with a bulk conduction band having a Rashba splitting momentum $k_{R}=0.046pm$AA$^{-1}$.
One of the most fundamental phenomena and a reminder of the electrons relativistic nature is the Rashba spin splitting for broken inversion symmetry. Usually this splitting is a tiny relativistic correction, hardly discernible in experiment. Interfacing a ferroelectric, BaTiO$_3$, and a heavy 5$d$ metal with a large spin-orbit coupling, Ba(Os,Ir)O$_3$, we show that giant Rashba spin splittings are indeed possible and even fully controllable by an external electric field. Based on density functional theory and a microscopic tight binding understanding, we conclude that the electric field is amplified and stored as a ferroelectric Ti-O distortion which, through the network of oxygen octahedra, also induces a large Os-O distortion. The BaTiO$_3$/BaOsO$_3$ heterostructure is hence the ideal test station for studying the fundamentals of the Rashba effect. It allows intriguing application such as the Datta-Das transistor to operate at room temperature.