Two-dimensional Rashba semiconductors and inversion-asymmetric topological insulators in monolayer Janus MAA'ZxZ'(4-x) family

Abstract

The Rashba effect in Janus structures, accompanied by nontrivial topology, plays an important role in spintronics and even photovoltaic applications. Herein, through first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the geometric stability and electronic structures of 135 kinds of Janus MAA'ZxZ'(4-x) family derived from two-dimensional MA2Z4 (M=Mg, Ga, Sr; A=Al, Ga; Z=S, Se, Te) monolayers, and design numerous Rashba semiconductors and inversion-asymmetric topological insulators. Specifically, there are a total of 26 Rashba semiconductors with isolated spin splitting bands contributed by Se/Te-pz orbitals at conduction band minimum, and the magnitude of the Rashba constant correlates strongly with both the intrinsic electric field and the strength of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). As the atomic number increases, the bandgap of Janus MAA'ZxZ'(4-x) continually decreases until it shrinks to a point where, when SOC is considered, band inversion occurs, leading to a reopening of the bandgap with nontrivial topological phases. In conjunction with band inversion, pz orbitals near the Fermi level can introduce double Rashba splitting featuring a distinctive hybrid spin texture, which can be further effectively adjusted through small biaxial strains and show a continuous evolution of topological to non-topological accompanied by different spin textures. This work provides significant insights into Rashba and topology physics and further presents indispensable inversion asymmetry materials for the development of nonlinear optoelectronics.