Spin-orbit coupled spin-polarised hole gas at the CrSe2-terminated surface of AgCrSe2

DOI: 10.1038/s41535-023-00593-4

Authors: Gesa-R. Siemann (University of St Andrews) , Seo-Jin Kim (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Edgar Abarca Morales (University of St Andrews; Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Philip A. E. Murgatroyd (University of St Andrews) , Andela Zivanovic (University of St Andrews; Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Brendan Edwards (University of St Andrews) , Igor Markovic (University of St Andrews; Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Federico Mazzola (University of St Andrews) , Liam Trzaska (University of St Andrews) , Oliver J. Clark (University of St Andrews) , Chiara Bigi (University of St Andrews) , Haijing Zhang (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Barat Achinuq (University of Oxford) , Thorsten Hesjedal (University of Oxford; Diamond Light Source) , Matthew D. Watson (Diamond Light Source) , Timur K. Kim (Diamond Light Source) , Peter Bencok (Diamond Light Source) , Gerrit Van Der Laan (Diamond Light Source) , Craig M. Polley (MAX IV Laboratory) , Mats Leandersson (MAX IV Laboratory) , Hanna Fedderwitz (MAX IV Laboratory) , Khadiza Ali (MAX IV Laboratory; Chalmers University of Technology) , Thiagarajan Balasubramanian (MAX IV Laboratory) , Marcus Schmidt (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Michael Baenitz (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Helge Rosner (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids) , Phil D. C. King (University of St Andrews)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Npj Quantum Materials , VOL 8

State: Published (Approved)
Published: October 2023
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 28412 , 31035

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.

Diamond Keywords: Spintronics

Subject Areas: Physics, Materials


Instruments: I05-ARPES , I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism - scattering

Other Facilities: Bloch at MAX IV

Added On: 24/10/2023 14:43

Documents:
s41535-023-00593-4.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Quantum Materials Physics Electronics Magnetism Materials Science

Technical Tags:

Spectroscopy Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES) Circular Dichroism (CD) X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD)