Spin-orbit splitting of the Shockley surface state on Cu(111)

TL;DR

This study uses advanced photoemission techniques to detect and measure a surprisingly large Rashba spin splitting in the Shockley surface state on Cu(111), revealing new insights into surface electronic properties.

Contribution

First detection of Rashba spin splitting in Cu(111) surface state using high-resolution laser photoemission, with results aligning with first principles calculations.

Findings

Large spin-splitting magnitude (~0.006 Å^-1) exceeds predictions for Ag(111)

Detection of a dispersion kink attributed to electron-phonon coupling

High momentum resolution enabled the first observation of this effect

Abstract

We present angle-resolved photoemission data from Cu(111). Using a focused 6 eV continuous wave laser for photo-excitation, we achieve a high effective momentum resolution enabling the first detection of the Rashba spin splitting in the Shockley surface state on Cu(111). The magnitude of the spin-splitting of Delta k ~ 0.006 A^-1 is surprisingly large and exceeds values predicted for the analogous surface state on Ag(111) but is reproduced by first principles calculations. We further resolve a kink in the dispersion which we attribute to electron-phonon coupling.