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Emergent Rashba spin-orbit coupling in bulk gold with buried network of nanoscale interfaces
Shreya Kumbhakar1, Banashree Debnath1, Tuhin Kumar Maji1
1Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
Science Advances
|October 10, 2025
Summary
Researchers engineered the Rashba effect in bulk metals by embedding silver nanoparticles in gold. This breakthrough enables new possibilities for spintronics applications in inversion-symmetric solids.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Spintronics
Background:
- The Rashba effect is vital for materials physics and spintronics.
- It has been engineered in various systems but not in bulk metals preserving bulk inversion symmetry (BIS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and tune Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in inversion-symmetric solids.
- To achieve unprecedented magnitudes of Rashba SOI in bulk metals.
Main Methods:
- Incorporating ultrasmall silver (Ag) nanoparticles into bulk gold (Au).
- Utilizing the near-identical lattice constants of Ag and Au for dense hetero-interfaces.
- Varying the density of embedded nanoparticles.
Main Results:
- Successfully generated Rashba SOI in a bulk metal while preserving global BIS.
- Achieved a Rashba SOI coupling strength of ~15 meV∙Å, exceeding known BIS-preserving systems.
- Observed up to a 20-fold increase in the spin-orbit scattering rate.
Conclusions:
- Embedding Ag nanoparticles in Au provides a novel strategy for engineering Rashba SOI in bulk metals.
- The enhanced SOI is attributed to charge transfer and polaronic localization at Ag/Au interfaces.
- This method opens avenues for advanced spintronics applications in inversion-symmetric materials.
