Operando Imaging of All-Electric Spin Texture Manipulation in Ferroelectric and Multiferroic Rashba Semiconductors

Abstract

The control of the electron spin by external means is a key issue for spintronic devices. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SARPES) with three-dimensional spin detection, we demonstrate operando electrostatic spin manipulation in ferroelectric α-GeTe and multiferroic Ge_{1−x}Mn_{x}Te. We demonstrate for the first time electrostatic spin manipulation in Rashba semiconductors due to ferroelectric polarization reversal. Additionally, we are also able to follow the switching pathway in detail. In multiferroic Ge_{1−x}Mn_{x}Te operando SARPES reveals switching of the perpendicular spin component due to electric-field-induced magnetization reversal. This provides firm evidence of magnetoelectric coupling which opens up functionality with a multitude of spin-switching paths in which the magnetic and electric order parameters are coupled through ferroelastic relaxation paths. This work thus provides a new type of magnetoelectric switching intertwined with Rashba-Zeeman splitting in a multiferroic system.