Large spin splitting of metallic surface-state bands at adsorbate-modified gold/silicon surfaces

Finding appropriate systems with a large spin splitting of metallic surface-state band which can be fabricated on silicon using routine technique is an essential step in combining Rashba-effect based spintronics with silicon technology. We have found that originally poor structural and electronic properties of the Au/Si(111)root 3 x root 3 surface can be substantially improved by adsorbing small amounts of suitable species (e. g., Tl, In, Na, Cs). The resultant surfaces exhibit a highly-ordered atomic structure and spin-split metallic surface-state band with a momentum splitting of up to 0.052 angstrom(-1) and an energy splitting of up to 190 meV at the Fermi level. The family of adsorbate-modified Au/Si(111)root 3 x root 3 surfaces, on the one hand, is thought to be a fascinating playground for exploring spin-splitting effects in the metal monolayers on a semiconductor and, on the other hand, expands greatly the list of material systems prospective for spintronics applications.