Tuning of Rashba effect in BiAg surface alloy on Au vicinal surfaces

Materials exhibiting Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) have triggered an immense research activity that led to the opening of a new field in spintronics, the so-called spin-orbitronics. As for any other material, their successful technological application depends on two factors: a fundamental understanding of the emerging phenomena, and the capability to engineer and tune their key properties. Exposing Rashba electrons to superlattice potentials is a very attractive approach to simultaneously realize these two conditions. Here we intend to study the capability to engineer their band structure and spin-orbital texture by combining two strategies: the implementation of atomically precise step superlattices that act as coupled resonators for the Rashba 2D electron gas, and the use of thin metallic films for controlling the coupling of Rashba surface electrons with bulk bands.