The Rashba-split surface state of Sb2Te3(0 0 0 1) and its interaction with bulk states

Abstract

The electronic structure of the Sb2Te3(0001) surface exhibits a spin–orbit split surface state in a local energy gap of the projected bulk valence band continuum. We investigate this surface state by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), spin-resolved ARPES and relativistic one-step photoemission calculations. At low wave vectors the dispersion and spin splitting are well-captured by the predictions of the Rashba model for a two-dimensional electron system. With increasing wave vectors, however, the surface state dispersion becomes more complex and the spin splitting size exhibits an unusual non-monotonic evolution. These deviations from the Rashba model arise from the influence of bulk continuum states near the edge of the projected gap. The spin polarization of the surface state remains intact despite the coupling to bulk states.