Orbital dependent Rashba splitting and electron-phonon coupling of 2D Bi phase on Cu(100) surface

A monolayer of bismuth deposited on the Cu(100) surface forms a highly ordered c(2x2) reconstructed phase. The low energy single particle excitations of the c(2x2) Bi/Cu(100) present Bi-induced states with a parabolic dispersion in the energy region close to the Fermi level, as observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The electronic state dispersion, the charge density localization, and the spin-orbit coupling have been investigated combining photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory, unraveling a two-dimensional Bi phase with charge density well localized at the interface. The Bi-induced states present a Rashba splitting, when the charge density is strongly localized in the Bi plane. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the spectral density close to the Fermi level has been evaluated. Dispersive electronic states offer a large number of decay channels for transitions coupled to phonons and the strength of the electron-phonon coupling for the Bi/Cu(100) system is shown to be stronger than for Bi surfaces and to depend on the electronic state symmetry and localization. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.