Unconventional spin texture in a noncentrosymmetric quantum spin Hall insulator

Abstract

We propose that the simultaneous presence of both Rashba and band inversion can lead to a Rashba-like spin splitting formed by two bands with the same in-plane helical spin texture. Because of this unconventional spin texture, the backscattering is forbidden in edge and bulk conductivity channels. We propose a noncentrosymmetric honeycomb-lattice quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator family formed by the IV, V, and VII elements with this property. The system formed by Bi, Pb, and I atoms is mechanically stable and has both a large Rashba spin splitting of 60 meV and a large nontrivial band gap of 0.14 eV. Since the edge and the bulk states are protected by the time-reversal (TR) symmetry, contrary to what happens in most doped QSH insulators, the bulk states do not contribute to the backscattering in the electronic transport, allowing the construction of a spintronic device with less energy loss.