Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 23: Spinelectronics/ Spininjection in Heterostructures

MA 23.5: Talk

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 17:45–18:00, H 1028

Spin-polarized spin-orbit-split quantum-well states in a metal film — •Andrei Varykhalov¹, Jaime Sánchez-Barriga¹, Alexander M. Shikin², Wolfgang Gudat¹, Wolfgang Eberhardt¹, and Oliver Rader¹ — ¹BESSY Berlin — ²St. Petersburg State University

Elements with high atomic number Z lead to a large spin-orbit coupling. Such materials can be used to create spin-polarized electronic states without the presence of a ferromagnet or an external magnetic field if the solid exhibits an inversion asymmetry. We create large spin-orbit splittings using a tungsten crystal as substrate and break the structural inversion symmetry through deposition of a gold quantum film. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, it is demonstrated that quantum-well states forming in the gold film are spin-orbit split and spin polarized up to a thickness of at least 10 atomic layers. This is a considerable progress as compared to the current literature which reports spin-orbit split states at metal surfaces which are either pure or covered by at most a monoatomic layer of adsorbates.