AVS 66th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Division Wednesday Sessions
       Session MI+2D-WeM

Paper MI+2D-WeM1
Spin-dependent Electron Reflection at Materials with Strong Spin-orbit Interaction

Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 8:00 am, Room A210

Session: Emerging Multifunctional Magnetic Materials I and Magnetocaloric Materials
Presenter: Markus Donath, Muenster University, Germany
Authors: M. Donath, Muenster University, Germany
C. Angrick, Muenster University, Germany
A. Reimann, Muenster University, Germany
C. Datzer, Muenster University, Germany
A. Blob, Muenster University, Germany
J. Braun, LMU München,, Germany
H. Ebert, LMU München, Germany
Correspondent: Click to Email
The reflection of electrons at surfaces becomes spin dependent due to exchange interaction in the case of ferromagnets or due to spin-orbit interaction in the case of heavy elements. It can be used for spin-polarization analysis, e.g., in angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy in a single-channel mode or in multi-channel-mode detectors by using the scattering target as a spin-polarizing mirror. In addition, the understanding of the spin-dependent scattering properties provides information about the surface barrier. We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the spin-dependent electron reflection at surfaces with strong spin-orbit interaction. We performed spin-dependent very-low-energy electron diffraction (VLEED) experiments on Au(111), Bi2Se3, and W(110) over a wide range of energies and angles of incidence. We derived maps for the reflectivity, the Sherman function, and the figure of merit and compare them with ab-initio calculations. In addition, we discuss possible working points for the use as scattering targets in spin-polarization analyzers.