Modifying the Surface of a Rashba-Split Pb-Ag Alloy Using Tailored Metal-Organic Bonds

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.096805

Authors: Benjamin Stadtmueller (University of Kaiserslautern; Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz) , Johannes Seidel (University of Kaiserslautern) , Norman Haag (University of Kaiserslautern) , Lisa Grad (University of Kaiserslautern) , Christian Tusche (Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik) , Gerben Van Straaten (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH; Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)—Fundamentals of Future Information Technology) , Markus Franke (Peter Grunberg Institut (PGI-3); Julich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) - Fundamentals of Future Information Technology) , Jürgen Kirschner (Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik) , Christian Kumpf (Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich; Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)—Fundamentals of Future Information Technology) , Mirko Cinchetti (University of Kaiserslautern) , Martin Aeschlimann (University of Kaiserslautern)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Physical Review Letters , VOL 117 , PAGES 096805

State: Published (Approved)
Published: August 2016
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 10370 , 11915

Abstract: Hybridization-related modifications of the first metal layer of a metal-organic interface are difficult to access experimentally and have been largely neglected so far. Here, we study the influence of specific chemical bonds (as formed by the organic molecules CuPc and PTCDA) on a Pb-Ag surface alloy.We find that delocalized van der Waals or weak chemical π-type bonds are not strong enough to alter the alloy, while localized σ-type bonds lead to a vertical displacement of the Pb surface atoms and to changes in the alloy’s surface band structure. Our results provide an exciting platform for tuning the Rashba-type spin texture of surface alloys using organic molecules.

Subject Areas: Physics, Materials


Instruments: I09-Surface and Interface Structural Analysis