Emergence of polar monoclinic phase in heterohalogen substituted CsGeX$_3$

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations to reveal that heterohalogen substitution in CsGeX3 induces a polar monoclinic phase with enhanced polarization and spin-splitting, making it promising for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of a polar monoclinic phase in CsGeX3 due to heterohalogen substitution and analyzes its electronic and spin properties using first-principles methods.

Findings

Heterohalogen substitution induces a polar monoclinic phase at room temperature.

Polarization increases by 10-15% compared to pristine CsGeX3.

Spin-splitting energies range from 9 to 250 meV, with Rashba and spin textures observed.

Abstract

The occurrence of ferroelectricity in inorganic germanium-based halide perovskites has provided an alternative to oxide counterparts. Using first-principles methods, we have studied CsGeX$_3$ materials with heterohalogen substitution at the X site in a 2:1 configuration. Structurally, such variation alters the octahedral environment more strongly than in pristine materials, giving rise to a polar monoclinic phase at room temperature. The occurrence of the monoclinic phase is also confirmed through the energetics of structures generated by the displacements of atoms in accordance with soft mode eigenvectors of the dynamical matrix along various directions. In the chemically tuned phase, the polarization is along [101] and increases by 10-15\% compared to pristine ones. The electronic structure analysis reveals that spin-splitting energy ranges from 25 to 250 meV in the valence band and from 9 to 80 meV in the conduction band in chemically tuned structures. In addition, these structures exhibit Rashba and persistent spin textures, which are coupled to the polarization direction. The parameters of the symmetry-dependent \textbf{k.p } Hamiltonian provide insights into the strength of spin-splitting and the nature of spin-texture. The semiconducting and spin-polarized nature of CsGeX$_3$ materials makes them strong candidates for Datta-Das spin transistors.