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Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities
Published on: July 24, 2015
Giant Rashba splitting in graphene due to hybridization with gold.
D Marchenko1, A Varykhalov, M R Scholz
1Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Elektronenspeicherring BESSY II, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany. marchenko.dmitry@gmail.com
Nature Communications
|November 29, 2012
Summary
Gold intercalation at the graphene-nickel interface induces significant spin-orbit splitting in graphene. This discovery enables graphene
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Spintronics
Background:
- Graphene's weak intrinsic spin-orbit coupling limits its use in spintronic devices.
- Externally induced spin-orbit coupling is crucial for active spintronic elements like spin field-effect transistors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of gold (Au) intercalation at the graphene-nickel (Ni) interface on graphene's spin-orbit coupling.
- To explore the potential of engineered graphene interfaces for advanced spintronic applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing photoelectron spectroscopy to probe the electronic structure of the graphene-Ni interface with Au intercalation.
- Employing ab initio modeling to understand the origin and nature of the observed spin-orbit splitting.
Main Results:
- A giant spin-orbit splitting of approximately 100 meV was observed in the graphene Dirac cone up to the Fermi energy.
- Hybridization between graphene π electrons and Au 5d states was identified as the source of this significant splitting.
- Ab initio calculations confirmed a Rashba-split spectrum around the Dirac point, with enhanced splitting attributed to Au atoms in hollow positions.
Conclusions:
- Gold intercalation dramatically enhances spin-orbit coupling in graphene at the Ni interface, overcoming its intrinsic limitations.
- This engineered interface provides a pathway for utilizing graphene in active spintronic components.
- The findings pave the way for novel graphene-based spintronic devices with tunable spin properties.
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