Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 066802 (2010) [4 pages]Quantum-Well-Induced Giant Spin-Orbit SplittingReceived 30 September 2009; published 8 February 2010 We report on the observation of a giant spin-orbit splitting of quantum-well states in the unoccupied electronic structure of a Bi monolayer on Cu(111). Up to now, Rashba-type splittings of this size have been reported exclusively for surface states in a partial band gap. With these quantum-well states we have experimentally identified a second class of states that show a huge spin-orbit splitting. First-principles electronic structure calculations show that the origin of the spin-orbit splitting is due to the perpendicular potential at the surface and interface of the ultrathin Bi film. This finding allows for the direct possibility to tailor spin-orbit splitting by means of thin-film nanofabrication. © 2010 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.066802
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.066802
PACS:
73.21.Fg, 71.70.Ej, 79.60.Dp
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