Fermi nesting between atomic wires with strong spin-orbit coupling

Purely one-dimensional bands with a giant spin-orbit splitting: Pb nanoribbons on Si(553) surface

We report on a giant Rashba type splitting of metallic bands observed in one-dimensional structures prepared on a vicinal silicon substrate. A single layer of Pb on Si(553) orders this vicinal surface making perfectly regular distribution of monatomic steps. Although there is only one layer of Pb, the system reveals very strong metallic and purely one-dimensional character, which manifests itself in multiple surface state bands crossing the Fermi level in the direction parallel to the step edges and a small band gap in the perpendicular direction. As shown by spin-polarized photoemission and density functional theory calculations these surface state bands are spin-polarized and completely decoupled from the rest of the system. The experimentally observed spin splitting of 0.6 eV at room temperature is the largest found to now in the silicon-based metallic nanostructures, which makes the considered system a promising candidate for application in spintronic devices.

Tuning directional dependent metal-insulator transitions in quasi-1D quantum wires with spin-orbit density wave instability

We study directional dependent band gap evolutions and metal-insulator transitions (MITs) in model quantum wire systems within the spin-orbit density wave (SODW) model. The evolution of MIT is studied as a function of varying anisotropy between the intra-wire hopping ([Formula: see text]) and inter-wire hopping ([Formula: see text]) with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We find that as long as the anisotropy ratio ([Formula: see text]) remains below 0.5, and the Fermi surface nesting is tuned to [Formula: see text], an exotic SODW induced MIT easily develops, with its critical interaction strength increasing with increasing anisotropy. As [Formula: see text] (2D system), the nesting vector switches to [Formula: see text], making this state again suitable for an isotropic MIT. Finally, we discuss various physical consequences and possible applications of the directional dependent MIT.

Metal-to-Insulator Transition in Au Chains on Si(111)-5×2-Au by Band Filling: Infrared Plasmonic Signal and Ab Initio Band Structure Calculation

The Si(111)-5×2-Au surface is increasingly of interest because it is one of the rare atomic chain systems with quasi-one-dimensional properties. For the deposition of 0.7 monolayers of Au, these chains are metallic. Upon the evaporation of an additional submonolayer amount of gold, the surface becomes insulating but keeps the 5×2 symmetry. This metal-to-insulator transition was in situ monitored based on the infrared plasmonic signal change with coverage. The phase transition is theoretically explained by total-energy and band-structure calculations. Accordingly, it can be understood in terms of the occupation of the originally half-filled one-dimensional band at the Fermi level. By annealing the system, the additional gold is removed from the surface and the plasmonic signal is recovered, which underlines the stability of the metallic structure. So, recent results on the infrared plasmonic signals of the Si(111)-5 × 2-Au surface are supported. The understanding of potential one-dimensional electrical interconnects is improved.

Observation of correlated spin-orbit order in a strongly anisotropic quantum wire system

Quantum wires with spin-orbit coupling provide a unique opportunity to simultaneously control the coupling strength and the screened Coulomb interactions where new exotic phases of matter can be explored. Here we report on the observation of an exotic spin-orbit density wave in Pb-atomic wires on Si(557) surfaces by mapping out the evolution of the modulated spin-texture at various conditions with spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The results are independently quantified by surface transport measurements. The spin polarization, coherence length, spin dephasing rate and the associated quasiparticle gap decrease simultaneously as the screened Coulomb interaction decreases with increasing excess coverage, providing a new mechanism for generating and manipulating a spin-orbit entanglement effect via electronic interaction. Despite clear evidence of spontaneous spin-rotation symmetry breaking and modulation of spin-momentum structure as a function of excess coverage, the average spin polarization over the Brillouin zone vanishes, indicating that time-reversal symmetry is intact as theoretically predicted.

Scattering of charge carriers by Cr impurities in magnetotransport on a Bi(1 1 1) ultra-thin film

In this investigation we tested the role of Cr impurities on the strongly spin-polarized surface states of ultra-thin epitaxially grown Bi(1 1 1) films by measuring surface magnetoconductance and the Hall effect in conjunction with low-energy electron diffraction at a low temperature (10 K). Compared with Fe and Co, investigated recently, Cr atoms turned out to have scattering cross-sections that are about a factor of three higher than the former atoms. Nevertheless, only a small electron donation (0.03 e/atom) was found for Cr. It also exhibits strong spin-orbit scattering, as judged from quantitative analysis of weak localization effects. As a result, all spin-dependent selection rules are gradually relaxed with increasing Cr concentration, so that the initially observed weak anti-localization shifts towards weak localization. The non-monotonic decrease of conductance as a function of Cr concentration, even at 10 K, indicates high diffusivity and activated adsorption into its final optimal adsorption site.

Excitation of coherent phonons in the one-dimensional Bi(114) surface

We present time-resolved photoemission experiments from a peculiar bismuth surface, Bi(114). The strong one-dimensional character of this surface is reflected in the Fermi surface, which consists of spin-polarized straight lines. Our results show that the depletion of the surface state and the population of the bulk conduction band after the initial optical excitation persist for very long times. The disequilibrium within the hot electron gas along with strong electron-phonon coupling cause a displacive excitation of coherent phonons, which in turn are reflected in coherent modulations of the electronic states. Beside the well-known A(1g) bulk phonon mode at 2.76 THz, the time-resolved photoelectron spectra reveal a second mode at 0.72 THz which can be attributed to an optical surface phonon mode along the atomic rows of the Bi(114) surface.