Large electrically and chemically tunable Rashba-Dresselhaus effects in Ferroelectric CsGeX$_3$ (X=Cl, Br, I) perovskites

TL;DR

This study reveals that ferroelectric CsGeX3 (X=Cl, Br, I) perovskites exhibit large, tunable Rashba-Dresselhaus effects, with potential for spintronic applications and electric field control, offering a non-toxic alternative to traditional materials.

Contribution

First-principles simulations demonstrate large, chemically and electrically tunable Rashba-Dresselhaus effects in lead-free CsGeX3 perovskites, highlighting their potential for spintronics.

Findings

Spin splitting up to 171 meV in CsGeI3

Chemical tuning reduces spin splitting by up to 70%

Electric field induces structural changes affecting spin splitting

Abstract

Rashba-Dresselhaus effects, which originate from spin-orbit coupling and allow for spin manipulations, are actively explored in materials following the pursuit of spintronics and quantum computing. However, materials that possess practically significant Rashba-Dresselhaus effects often contain toxic elements and offer little opportunity for tunability of the effects. We used first-principles simulations to reveal that the recently discovered halide ferroelectrics in the CsGeX$_3$ (X=Cl, Br, I) family possess large and tunable Rashba-Dresselhaus effects. In particular, they give origin to the spin splitting of up to 171meV in valence band of CsGeI$_3$. The value is chemically tunable and can decrease by 25% and 70% for CsGeBr$_3$ and CsGeCl$_3$, respectively. Such chemical tunability could result in engineering of desired values through solid solution technique. Application of electric field was found to result in structural changes that could both decrease and increase spin splitting leading to electrical tunability of the effect. In the vicinity of conduction and valence band extrema, the spin textures are mostly of Rashba type which is promising for spin-to-charge conversion applications. The spin directions are coupled with the polarization direction leading to Rashba-ferroelectricity co-functionality. Our work identifies lead-free perovskite halides as excellent candidates for spin-based applications and is likely to stimulate further research in this direction.