Fast, reversible, and low-power manipulation of the spin texture is crucial for next generation spintronic devices like non-volatile bipolar memories, switchable spin current injectors or spin field effect transistors. Ferroelectric Rashba semiconductors (FERSC) are the ideal class of materials for the realization of such devices. Their ferroelectric character enables an electronic control of the Rashba-type spin texture by means of the reversible and switchable polarization. Yet, only very few materials are established to belong to this class of multifunctional materials. Here, Pb1- xGexTe is unraveled as a novel FERSC system down to nanoscale. The ferroelectric phase transition and concomitant lattice distortion are demonstrated by temperature dependent X-ray diffraction, and their effect on electronic properties are measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. In few nanometer-thick epitaxial heterostructures, a large Rashba spin-splitting is exhibiting a wide tuning range as a function of temperature and Ge content. This work defines Pb1- xGexTe as a high-potential FERSC system for spintronic applications.

Department of Condensed Matter Physics Masaryk University Kotlárská 2 Brno 61137 Czech Republic

Faculty of Physics Astronomy and Applied Computer Science Jagiellonian University Ul Prof Stanislawa Lojasiewizca 11 Krakow 30 348 Poland

Institut für Halbleiter und Festkörperphysik Johannes Kepler Universität Altenberger Strasse 69 Linz 4040 Austria

National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS Jagiellonian University Czerwone Maki 98 Krakow 30 392 Poland

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