347 research outputs found
Coherent spin transport through a 350-micron-thick Silicon wafer
We use all-electrical methods to inject, transport, and detect spin-polarized
electrons vertically through a 350-micron-thick undoped single-crystal silicon
wafer. Spin precession measurements in a perpendicular magnetic field at
different accelerating electric fields reveal high spin coherence with at least
13pi precession angles. The magnetic-field spacing of precession extrema are
used to determine the injector-to-detector electron transit time. These transit
time values are associated with output magnetocurrent changes (from in-plane
spin-valve measurements), which are proportional to final spin polarization.
Fitting the results to a simple exponential spin-decay model yields a
conduction electron spin lifetime (T1) lower bound in silicon of over 500ns at
60K.Comment: Accepted in PR
How Good Is the Samaritan, and Why?
What is the extent and nature of religious prosociality? If religious prosociality exists, is it parochial and extended selectively to co-religionists, or is it generalized regardless of the recipient? Further, is it driven by preferences to help others or by expectations of reciprocity? We examined how much of a $0.30 bonus Mechanical Turk workers would share with the other player whose religion was prominently displayed during two online resource allocation games. In one game (but not the other), the recipient could choose to reciprocate. Results from both games showed that the more central religion was in participants’ lives, the more of the bonus they shared, regardless of whether they were giving to atheists or Christians. Furthermore, this effect was most clearly related to self-reported frequency of “thinking about religious ideas”, rather than belief in God or religious practice/experience. Our findings provide evidence of generalized religious prosociality and illuminate its basis
Detecting Electronic States at Stacking Faults in Magnetic Thin Films by Tunneling Spectroscopy
Co islands grown on Cu(111) with a stacking fault at the interface present a
conductance in the empty electronic states larger than the Co islands that
follow the stacking sequence of the Cu substrate. Electrons can be more easily
injected into these faulted interfaces, providing a way to enhance transmission
in future spintronic devices. The electronic states associated to the stacking
fault are visualized by tunneling spectroscopy and its origin is identified by
band structure calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev. Lett (2000
Epitaxial Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al thin films and magnetic tunneling junctions
Epitaxial thin films of the theoretically predicted half metal
Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on different
substrates and buffer layers. The samples were characterized by x-ray and
electron beam diffraction (RHEED) demonstrating the B2 order of the Heusler
compound with only a small partition of disorder on the Co sites. Magnetic
tunneling junctions with Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al electrode, AlOx barrier and Co counter
electrode were prepared. From the Julliere model a spin polarisation of
Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al of 54% at T=4K is deduced. The relation between the annealing
temperature of the Heusler electrodes and the magnitude of the tunneling
magnetoresistance effect was investigated and the results are discussed in the
framework of morphology and surface order based of in situ STM and RHEED
investigations.Comment: accepted by J. Phys. D: Appl. Phy
Direct electronic measurement of the spin Hall effect
The generation, manipulation and detection of spin-polarized electrons in
nanostructures define the main challenges of spin-based electronics[1]. Amongst
the different approaches for spin generation and manipulation, spin-orbit
coupling, which couples the spin of an electron to its momentum, is attracting
considerable interest. In a spin-orbit-coupled system, a nonzero spin-current
is predicted in a direction perpendicular to the applied electric field, giving
rise to a "spin Hall effect"[2-4]. Consistent with this effect,
electrically-induced spin polarization was recently detected by optical
techniques at the edges of a semiconductor channel[5] and in two-dimensional
electron gases in semiconductor heterostructures[6,7]. Here we report
electrical measurements of the spin-Hall effect in a diffusive metallic
conductor, using a ferromagnetic electrode in combination with a tunnel barrier
to inject a spin-polarized current. In our devices, we observe an induced
voltage that results exclusively from the conversion of the injected spin
current into charge imbalance through the spin Hall effect. Such a voltage is
proportional to the component of the injected spins that is perpendicular to
the plane defined by the spin current direction and the voltage probes. These
experiments reveal opportunities for efficient spin detection without the need
for magnetic materials, which could lead to useful spintronics devices that
integrate information processing and data storage.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Nature (pending
format approval
Systematic Two-band Model Calculations of the GMR Effect with Metallic and Nonmetallic Spacers and with Impurities
By an accurate Green's function method we calculate conductances and the
corresponding Giant Magneto-Resistance effects (GMR) of two metallic
ferromagnetic films separated by different spacers, metallic and non-metallic
ones, in a simplified model on a sc lattice, in CPP and CIP geometries (i.e.
current perpendicular or parallel to the planes), without impurities, or with
interface- or bulk impurities. The electronic structure of the systems is
approximated by two hybridized orbitals per atom, to mimic s-bands and d-bands
and their hybridization.
We show that such calculations usually give rough estimates only, but of the
correct order of magnitude; in particular, the predictions on the impurity
effects depend strongly on the model parameters. One of our main results is the
prediction of huge CPP-GMR effects for {\it non-metallic} spacers in the
ballistic limit.Comment: Revised version; discussions and references improved; accepted by
JMM
Spin Electronics and Spin Computation
We review several proposed spintronic devices that can provide new
functionality or improve available functions of electronic devices. In
particular, we discuss a high mobility field effect spin transistor, an
all-metal spin transistor, and our recent proposal of an all-semiconductor spin
transistor and a spin battery. We also address some key issues in
spin-polarized transport, which are relevant to the feasibility and operation
of hybrid semiconductor devices. Finally, we discuss a more radical aspect of
spintronic research--the spin-based quantum computation and quantum information
processing.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Spin injection and spin accumulation in all-metal mesoscopic spin valves
We study the electrical injection and detection of spin accumulation in
lateral ferromagnetic metal-nonmagnetic metal-ferromagnetic metal (F/N/F) spin
valve devices with transparent interfaces. Different ferromagnetic metals,
permalloy (Py), cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni), are used as electrical spin
injectors and detectors. For the nonmagnetic metal both aluminium (Al) and
copper (Cu) are used. Our multi-terminal geometry allows us to experimentally
separate the spin valve effect from other magneto resistance signals such as
the anomalous magneto resistance (AMR) and Hall effects. We find that the AMR
contribution of the ferromagnetic contacts can dominate the amplitude of the
spin valve effect, making it impossible to observe the spin valve effect in a
'conventional' measurement geometry. In a 'non local' spin valve measurement we
are able to completely isolate the spin valve signal and observe clear spin
accumulation signals at T=4.2 K as well as at room temperature (RT). For
aluminum we obtain spin relaxation lengths (lambda_{sf}) of 1.2 mu m and 600 nm
at T=4.2 K and RT respectively, whereas for copper we obtain 1.0 mu m and 350
nm. The spin relaxation times tau_{sf} in Al and Cu are compared with theory
and results obtained from giant magneto resistance (GMR), conduction electron
spin resonance (CESR), anti-weak localization and superconducting tunneling
experiments. The spin valve signals generated by the Py electrodes (alpha_F
lambda_F=0.5 [1.2] nm at RT [T=4.2 K]) are larger than the Co electrodes
(alpha_F lambda_F=0.3 [0.7] nm at RT [T=4.2 K]), whereas for Ni (alpha_F
lambda_F<0.3 nm at RT and T=4.2 K) no spin signal is observed. These values are
compared to the results obtained from GMR experiments.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, submitted to PR
Reduction of the Three Dimensional Schrodinger Equation for Multilayered Films
In this paper, we present a method for reducing the three dimensional
Schrodinger equation to study confined metallic states, such as quantum well
states, in a multilayer film geometry. While discussing some approximations
that are employed when dealing with the three dimensionality of the problem, we
derive a one dimensional equation suitable for studying such states using an
envelope function approach. Some applications to the Cu/Co multilayer system
with regard to spin tunneling/rotations and angle resolved photoemission are
discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur
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