Moiré superlattices of antimonene on a Bi(111) substrate with van Hove singularity and Rashba-type spin polarization

Moiré superlattices consisting of two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted immense attention because of emergent phenomena such as flat band-induced Mott insulating states and unconventional superconductivity. However, the effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on them have not been fully explored yet. Here we show that single- and double-bilayer (BL) Sb honeycomb lattices, referred to as antimonene, forms moiré superlattices on a Bi(111) substrate due to a lattice mismatch. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements reveal the presence of spectral peaks near the Fermi level, which are spatially modulated with the moiré period. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations clarifies the surface band structure with saddle points near the Fermi level, which allows us to attribute the observed STM spectral peaks to the van Hove singularity. Spin-resolved ARPES measurements also shows that the observed surface states are Rashba-type spin-polarized. The present work has significant implications that Fermi surface instability and symmetry breaking may emerge at low temperatures, where spin degree of freedom and electron correlation will also play important roles.