Enhanced valleytronic properties in germanene by direct proximity to heavy metal layer

Germanene, though with Dirac valleys, is not deemed as a good valleytronic material due to its minute band gap, negligible spin-orbit coupling and spatial inversion symmetry. In comparison of interfacing germanene with MoS₂, we proposed that forming heterostructure with Tl₂S, an anti-MoS₂ material with two outer heavy metal layers, could be more effective in raising spin-orbit coupling and band gap in germanene due to the direct Ge-metal contact. By carrying out first-principles calculations, we studied the valleytronic properties of germanene enhanced by monolayer Tl₂S. It is found that the Ge-Tl direct interaction is strong to a proper extent so that the valleys of germanene still persist and simultaneously the valley gap is drastically increased from 23 to 370 meV. The valley spin splitting, being zero in pristine germanene, become 45 meV, which is opposite at inequivalent valleys owing to the time reversal symmetry. The inversion symmetry of germanene is broken by Tl₂S, resulting in large Berry curvature near the valleys and hence laying the ground for Berry phase physics in germanene, e.g., valley spin Hall effect and valley-spin locking, as revealed in our study. The calculations found a perfect valley-selective circular dichroism, by which the valley and spin degrees of freedom can be manipulated selectively and correlatively.