Spin-orbit coupled spin-polarised hole gas at the CrSe2-terminated surface of AgCrSe2
Abstract
In half-metallic systems, electronic conduction is mediated by a single spin species, offering enormous potential for spintronic devices. Here, using microscopic-area angle-resolved photoemission, we show that a spin-polarised two-dimensional hole gas is naturally realised in the polar magnetic semiconductor AgCrSe2 by an intrinsic self-doping at its CrSe2-terminated surface. Through comparison with first-principles calculations, we unveil a striking role of spin-orbit coupling for the surface hole gas, unlocked by both bulk and surface inversion symmetry breaking, suggesting routes for stabilising complex magnetic textures in the surface layer of AgCrSe2.
Citation
Siemann , G-R , Kim , S-J , Abarca Morales , E , Murgatroyd , P , Zivanovic , A , Edwards , B M , Markovic , I , Mazzola , F , Trzaska , L , Clark , O J , Bigi , C , Zhang , H , Achinuq , B , Hesjedal , T , Watson , M D , Kim , T K , Bencok , P , van der Laan , G , Polley , C M , Leandersson , M , Fedderwitz , H , Ali , K , Thiagarajan , B , Schmidt , M , Baenitz , M , Rosner , H & King , P 2023 , ' Spin-orbit coupled spin-polarised hole gas at the CrSe 2 -terminated surface of AgCrSe 2 ' , npj Quantum Materials , vol. 8 , 61 . https://doi.org/10.1038/S41535-023-00593-4
Publication
npj Quantum Materials
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2397-4648Type
Journal article
Description
Funding: We gratefully acknowledge support from the European Research Council (through the QUESTDO project, 714193), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant No. EP/T02108X/1), and the Leverhulme Trust (Grant No. RL-2016-006). S.-J.K., E.A.M., A.Z., and I.M. gratefully acknowledge studentship support from the International Max-Planck Research School for Chemistry and Physics of Quantum Materials. The research leading to this result has been supported by the project CALIPSOplus under the Grant Agreement 730872 from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020.Collections
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