Spin polarization detection via chirality-induced tunnelling currents in indium selenide

Abstract

Chirality, a basic property of symmetry breaking, is crucial for fields such as biology and physics. Recent advances in the study of chiral systems have stimulated interest in the discovery of symmetry-breaking states that enable exotic phenomena such as spontaneous gyrotropic order and superconductivity. Here we examine the interaction between light chirality and electron spins in indium selenide and study the effect of magnetic field on emerging tunnelling photocurrents at the Van Hove singularity. Although the effect is symmetric under linearly polarized light excitation, a non-symmetric signal emerges when the excitation is circularly polarized, making it possible to electrically detect light’s chirality. Our study shows a negligible out-of-plane g-factor for few-layer indium selenide at the valence band edge, resulting in an unbalanced Zeeman splitting in hexagonal boron nitride spin bands. This finding allows us to measure the change in energy barrier height with exceptional resolution (~15 μeV). Furthermore, we confirm the long-standing theoretical prediction of spin-polarized hole accumulation in the flat valence band at increasing laser powers. Light chirality and electron spin interactions and the dependence of tunnelling photocurrent on the magnetic field are studied in indium selenide, exploiting its non-symmetric response to circularly polarized light to electrically detect chirality.