Spin-resolved electronic structure of ferroelectric α-GeTe and multiferroic Ge 1−x Mn x Te

Abstract Germanium telluride features special spin-electric effects originating from spin-orbit coupling and symmetry breaking by the ferroelectric lattice polarization, which opens up many prospectives for electrically tunable and switchable spin electronic devices. By Mn doping of the α-GeTe host lattice, the system becomes a multiferroic semiconductor possessing magnetoelectric properties in which the electric polarization, magnetization and spin texture are coupled to each other. Employing spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in bulk- and surface-sensitive energy ranges and by varying dipole transition matrix elements, we disentangle the bulk, surface and surface-resonance states of the electronic structure and determine the spin textures for selected parameters. From our results we derive a comprehensive model of the α-GeTe surface electronic structure which fits to experimental data and first principle theoretical predictions and we discuss the unconventional evolution of the Rashba-type spin splitting upon manipulation by external B- and E-fields.