Spin transport in epitaxial Fe3O4/GaAs lateral structured device

Research in the spintronics community has been intensively stimulated by the proposal of the spin field-effect transistor (SFET), which has the potential for combining the data storage and process in a single device. Here we report the spin dependent transport on a Fe3O4/GaAs based lateral structured device. Parallel and antiparallel states of two Fe3O4 electrodes are achieved. A clear MR loop shows the perfect butterfly shape at room temperature, of which the intensity decreases with the reducing current, showing the strong bias-dependence. Understanding the spin dependent transport properties in this architecture has strong implication in further development of the spintronic devices for room-temperature SFET.

Spin-dependent transport through helical Aharonov-Bohm interferometer

We discuss spin-dependent transport via tunneling Aharonov-Bohm interferometer formed by helical edge states tunnel-coupled to helical leads. We focus on the experimentally relevant high-temperature case as compared to the level spacing and obtain the full 4×4 matrix of transmission coefficients in the presence of magnetic impurities. We show that spin conserving and spin-flip transmission coefficients of the setup can be effectively tuned by the magnetic flux. These features are attractive due to possible applications for spintronics, magnetic field detection, and quantum computing.

Bias-induced reconstruction of hybrid interface states in magnetic molecular junctions

Based on first-principles calculations, the bias-induced evolution of hybrid interface states in π-conjugated tricene and insulating octane magnetic molecular junctions is investigated. Obvious bias-induced splitting and energy shift of the spin-resolved hybrid interface states are observed in the two junctions. The recombination of the shifted hybrid interface states from different interfaces makes the spin polarization around the Fermi energy strongly bias dependent. The transport calculations demonstrate that in the π-conjugated tricene junction, the bias-dependent hybrid interface states work efficiently for large current, current spin polarization, and distinct tunneling magnetoresistance. But in the insulating octane junction, the spin-dependent transport via the hybrid interface states is inhibited, which is only slightly disturbed by the bias. This work reveals the phenomenon of bias-induced reconstruction of hybrid interface states in molecular spinterface devices, and the underlying role of molecular conjugated orbitals in the transport ability of hybrid interface states.

Theoretical Design of thermal spin molecular logic gates by using a combinational molecular junction

Based on the density functional theory combined with the non-equilibrium Green’s function methodology, we have studied the thermally-driven spin-dependent transport properties of a combinational molecular junction consisting of a planar four-coordinate Fe molecule and a 15,16-dinitrile dihydropyrene/cyclophanediene molecule with single-walled carbon nanotube bridge and electrode. Our results show that the magnetic field and light can effectively regulate the thermally-driven spin-dependent currents. Perfect thermal spin-filtering effect and good thermal switching effect are realized. The results are explained by the Fermi-Dirac distribution function, the spin-resolved transmission spectra, the spatial distribution of molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian orbitals, and the spin-resolved current spectra. On the basis of these thermally-driven spin-dependent transport properties, we further design three basic thermal spin molecular AND, OR and NOT gates.

Spin thermoelectric effects on aluminum or phosphorus doped zigzag silicene nanoribbons

Based on the density-functional theory (DFT) combined with nonequilibrium Green’s function (NGF), this paper investigates the effects of either single aluminum (Al) or single phosphorus (P) atom substitutions at different edge positions of zigzag-edged silicene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) in the ferromagnetic state on the spin-dependent transport properties and spin thermoelectric effects. It has been found that the spin polarization at the Fermi level can reach 100% or –100% in the doped ZSiNRs. Meanwhile, the spin-up Seebeck effect (for -100% case) and spin-down Seebeck effect (for 100% case) are also enhanced. Moreover, the spin Seebeck coefficient is much larger than the corresponding charge Seebeck coefficient at a special doping position and electron energy. Therefore, the study shows that the Al or P doped ZSiNRs can be used to prepare the ideal thermospin devices.

Electric Field Controlled Itinerant Carrier Spin Polarization in Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

Electric field control of magnetic properties has been achieved across a number of different material systems. In diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs), ferromagnetic metals, multiferroics, etc., electrical manipulation of magnetism has been observed. Here, we study the effect of an electric field on the carrier spin polarization in DMSs ( GaAsMn ); in particular, emphasis is given to spin-dependent transport phenomena. In our system, the interaction between the carriers and the localized spins in the presence of electric field is taken as the main interaction. Our results show that the electric field plays a major role on the spin polarization of carriers in the system. This is important for spintronics application.