Substrate-induced spin-orbit splitting of quantum-well and interface states in Au, Ag, and Cu layers of different thicknesses on W(110) and Mo(110) surfaces

Abstract

The substrate-induced spin-orbit splitting of interface and quantum-well states formed in Au, Ag, and Cu layers on W(110) and Mo(110) surfaces has been revealed using angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been shown that the magnitude of the splitting depends noticeably on the atomic number of the substrate material and is markedly larger for layers of these metals on W(110), i.e., on the surface of a metal with a larger atomic number (Z W = 74), than on the surface of Mo(110), i.e., an element with a smaller atomic number (Z Mo = 42), while depending only weakly on the atomic number of the adsorbed metal. Measurements of the dispersion of the formed quantum-well states have shown that the substrate-induced spin-orbit splitting increases with increasing parallel component of the photoelectron momentum (which correlates with the Rashba model) for all thicknesses of deposited films (up to 10 ML). The magnitude of induced spin-orbit splitting of the interface states evolving in monolayer Au, Ag, and Cu coatings on W(110) and Mo(110) decreases with increasing parallel component of the excited photoelectron momentum.