Electric Control of the Giant Rashba Effect in Bulk GeTe

Relativistic effects, including the Rashba effect, are increasingly seen as key ingredients in spintronics. A link between Rashba physics and the field of ferroelectrics is established by predicting giant Rashba spin-splitting in bulk GeTe (see the Figure showing the band-structure as well as in-plane and out- of-plane spin polarization for a constant energy cut).