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Nano Research 2017, 10(2): 491-502 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1308-2
Research Article | Issue | Published: 10 November 2016

Tunable Rashba spin splitting in quantum-spin Hall-insulator AsF bilayers

Show Author's Information Jun Zhao1,3,  Wanlin Guo2,  Jing Ma1( )
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Institute of Nano Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China
Keywords:
electric field, topological insulator, Rashba spin splitting, bilayer AsF, tensile strain
Cite this article:
Zhao J, Guo W, Ma J. Tunable Rashba spin splitting in quantum-spin Hall-insulator AsF bilayers. Nano Research, 2017, 10(2): 491-502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1308-2
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Rashba spin splitting (RSS) in quantum-spin Hall (QSH) insulators is of special importance for fabricating spintronic devices. By changing the stacking order, a unique bilayered fluorinated arsenene (AsF) system is demonstrated to simultaneously possess RSS and non-trivial topological electronic states. We show by first-principle calculations that tunable RSS can be realized in bilayered AsF. Intrinsic RSS of 25 meV is obtained in the AA-stacked AsF bilayer by considering the spin-orbit coupling effect. The RSS can be tuned in the range of 0 to 50 meV by applying biaxial strains and can be significantly enhanced up to 186 meV in the presence of an external electric field. The AB-stacked AsF bilayer is shown to be a two-dimensional topological insulator with a sizable bulk bandgap of 140 meV (up to 240 meV), which originates from the spin-orbit coupling within the px, y–pz band inversion. Surprisingly, RSS up to 295 meV can be induced in the AB-stacked AsF bilayer by applying an external electric field, while the robust topology property without RSS can be retained under the applied strains. The AsF bilayers with tunable RSS and a nontrivial bandgap with AA- and AB-stacking orders can pave the way for designing spin field-effect transistors and new QSH devices.


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About this article

Tunable Rashba spin splitting in quantum-spin Hall-insulator AsF bilayers

Show Author's information Jun Zhao1,3, Wanlin Guo2, Jing Ma1( )
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Institute of Nano Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China

Abstract

Rashba spin splitting (RSS) in quantum-spin Hall (QSH) insulators is of special importance for fabricating spintronic devices. By changing the stacking order, a unique bilayered fluorinated arsenene (AsF) system is demonstrated to simultaneously possess RSS and non-trivial topological electronic states. We show by first-principle calculations that tunable RSS can be realized in bilayered AsF. Intrinsic RSS of 25 meV is obtained in the AA-stacked AsF bilayer by considering the spin-orbit coupling effect. The RSS can be tuned in the range of 0 to 50 meV by applying biaxial strains and can be significantly enhanced up to 186 meV in the presence of an external electric field. The AB-stacked AsF bilayer is shown to be a two-dimensional topological insulator with a sizable bulk bandgap of 140 meV (up to 240 meV), which originates from the spin-orbit coupling within the px, y–pz band inversion. Surprisingly, RSS up to 295 meV can be induced in the AB-stacked AsF bilayer by applying an external electric field, while the robust topology property without RSS can be retained under the applied strains. The AsF bilayers with tunable RSS and a nontrivial bandgap with AA- and AB-stacking orders can pave the way for designing spin field-effect transistors and new QSH devices.

Keywords: electric field, topological insulator, Rashba spin splitting, bilayer AsF, tensile strain

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 10 July 2016
Revised: 26 September 2016
Accepted: 04 October 2016
Published: 10 November 2016
Issue date: February 2017

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21273102, 51535005, 21290192, 21673111, 11304022 and 11404037) and National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2013CB932604). We are grateful to the High Performance Computing Centre of Nanjing University for providing the Blade cluster system.

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