Giant Rashba splitting in PtTe/PtTe2 heterostructure

Achieving a large spin splitting is highly desirable for spintronic devices, which often requires breaking of the inversion symmetry. However, many atomically thin films are centrosymmetric, making them unsuitable for spintronic applications. In this talk, I will introduce a strategy to achieve inversion symmetry breaking in centrosymmetric transitional metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) film, leading a pronounced Rashba effect. Specifically, the thermal annealing of bilayer PtTe2 turns one layer sample into TMMC PtTe through Te extraction, thus forming PtTe/PtTe2 heterostructure with inversion symmetry breaking. In the naturally-formed PtTe/PtTe2 heterostructure, a giant Rashba spin splitting is revealed by spin-ARPES. Our results demonstrate a convenient and effective pathway for achieving pronounced Rashba splitting in centrosymmetric TMDC thin films by creating TMDC/TMMC heterostructure, thereby extending their potential applications to spintronics.