Large Tunable Spin-to-Charge Conversion Induced by Hybrid Rashba and Dirac Surface States in Topological Insulator Heterostructures.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31137933.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01151.
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Abstract
Topological insulators (TIs) have emerged as some of the most efficient spin-to-charge convertors because of their correlated spin-momentum locking at helical Dirac surface states. While endeavors have been made to pursue large "charge-to-spin" conversions in novel TI materials using spin-torque-transfer geometries, the reciprocal process "spin-to-charge" conversion, characterized by the inverse Edelstein effect length (λ<sub>IEE</sub>) in the prototypical TI material (Bi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>), remains moderate. Here, we demonstrate that, by incorporating a "second" spin-splitting band, namely, a Rashba interface formed by inserting a bismuth interlayer between the ferromagnet and the Bi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> (i.e., ferromagnet/Bi/Bi<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> heterostructure), λ<sub>IEE</sub> shows a pronounced increase (up to 280 pm) compared with that in pure TIs. We found that λ<sub>IEE</sub> alters as a function of bismuth interlayer thickness, suggesting a new degree of freedom to manipulate λ<sub>IEE</sub> by engineering the interplay of Rashba and Dirac surface states. Our finding launches a new route for designing TI- and Rashba-type quantum materials for next-generation spintronic applications.