35 research outputs found
Ab-initio Prediction of Conduction Band Spin Splitting in Zincblende Semiconductors
We use a recently developed self-consistent approximation to present
systematic \emph{ab initio} calculations of the conduction band spin splitting
in III-V and II-V zincblende semiconductors. The spin orbit interaction is
taken into account as a perturbation to the scalar relativistic hamiltonian.
These are the first calculations of conduction band spin splittings based on a
quasiparticle approach; and because the self-consistent scheme accurately
reproduces the relevant band parameters, it is expected to be a reliable
predictor of spin splittings. The results are compared to the few available
experimental data and a previous calculation based on a model one-particle
potential. We also briefly address the widely used {\bf k}{\bf p}
parameterization in the context of these results.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
GW correlation effects on plutonium quasiparticle energies: changes in crystal-field splitting
We present results for the electronic structure of plutonium by using a
recently developed quasiparticle self-consistent method (\qsgw). We
consider a paramagnetic solution without spin-orbit interaction as a function
of volume for the face-centered cubic (fcc) unit cell. We span unit-cell
volumes ranging from 10% greater than the equilibrium volume of the
phase to 90 % of the equivalent for the phase of Pu. The
self-consistent quasiparticle energies are compared to those obtained
within the Local Density Approximation (LDA). The goal of the calculations is
to understand systematic trends in the effects of electronic correlations on
the quasiparticle energy bands of Pu as a function of the localization of the
orbitals. We show that correlation effects narrow the bands in two
significantly different ways. Besides the expected narrowing of individual
bands (flatter dispersion), we find that an even more significant effect on the
bands is a decrease in the crystal-field splitting of the different bands.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 3 table
Incommensurate spin resonance in URu2Si2
We focus on inelastic neutron scattering in and argue that
observed gap in the fermion spectrum naturally leads to the spin feature
observed at energies at momenta at \bQ^* = (1\pm 0.4,
0,0). We discuss how spin features seen in can indeed be thought
of in terms of {\em spin resonance} that develops in HO state and is {\em not
related} to superconducting transition at 1.5K. In our analysis we assume that
the HO gap is due to a particle-hole condensate that connects nested parts of
the Fermi surface with nesting vector . Within this approach we can
predicted the behavior of the spin susceptibility at \bQ^* and find it to be
is strikingly similar to the phenomenology of resonance peaks in high-T and
heavy fermion superconductors. The energy of the resonance peak scales with
. We discuss observable consequences
spin resonance will have on neutron scattering and local density of states.Comment: 8 pgaes latex, 4 fig
The Electronic Correlation Strength of Pu
An electronic quantity, the correlation strength, is defined as a necessary
step for understanding the properties and trends in strongly correlated
electronic materials. As a test case, this is applied to the different phases
of elemental Pu. Within the GW approximation we have surprisingly found a
"universal" scaling relationship, where the f-electron bandwidth reduction due
to correlation effects is shown to depend only on the local density
approximation bandwidth and is otherwise independent of crystal structure and
lattice constant.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, This version of the paper has been revised to add
additional background informatio
Detection of the spin character of Fe(001) surface states by scanning tunneling microscopy: A theoretical proposal
We consider the magnetic structure on the Fe(001) surface and theoretically
study the scanning tunneling spectroscopy using a spin-polarized tip (SP-STM).
We show that minority-spin surface states induce a strong bias dependence of
the tunneling differential conductance which largely depends on the orientation
of the magnetization in the SP-STM tip relative to the easy magnetization axis
in the Fe(001) surface. We propose to use this effect in order to determine the
spin character of the Fe(001) surface states. This technique can be applied
also to other magnetic surfaces in which surface states are observed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Co/AlOx/Au Tunnel Junctions
We observe spin-valve-like effects in nano-scaled thermally evaporated
Co/AlOx/Au tunnel junctions. The tunneling magnetoresistance is anisotropic and
depends on the relative orientation of the magnetization direction of the Co
electrode with respect to the current direction. We attribute this effect to a
two-step magnetization reversal and an anisotropic density of states resulting
from spin-orbit interaction. The results of this study points to future
applications of novel spintronics devices involving only one ferromagnetic
layer.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accpted for publishing on Nano Letters, 200
Bias-controlled sensitivity of ferromagnet/semiconductor electrical spin detectors
Using Fe/GaAs Schottky tunnel barriers as electrical spin detectors, we show
that the magnitude and sign of their spin-detection sensitivities can be widely
tuned with the voltage bias applied across the Fe/GaAs interface. Experiments
and theory establish that this tunability derives not just simply from the bias
dependence of the tunneling conductances (a property
of the interface), but also from the bias dependence of electric fields in the
semiconductor which can dramatically enhance or suppress spin-detection
sensitivities. Electrons in GaAs with fixed polarization can therefore be made
to induce either positive or negative voltage changes at spin detectors, and
some detector sensitivities can be enhanced over ten-fold compared to the usual
case of zero-bias spin detection
Electron Spin Polarization in Resonant Interband Tunneling Devices
We study spin-dependent interband resonant tunneling in double-barrier
InAs/AlSb/ GaMnSb heterostructures. We demonstrate that these structures can be
used as spin filters utilizing spin-selective tunneling of electrons through
the light-hole resonant channel. High densities of the spin polarized electrons
injected into bulk InAs make spin resonant tunneling devices a viable
alternative for injecting spins into a semiconductor. Another striking feature
of the proposed devices is the possibility of inducing additional resonant
channels corresponding to the heavy holes. This can be implemented by
saturating the in-plane magnetization in the quantum well.Comment: 11 pages, 4 eps figure
On the Chemical Origin of the Gap Bowing in (GaAs)1−xGe2x Alloys: A Combined DFT–QSGW Study
Motivated by the research and analysis of new materials for photovoltaics and by the possibility of tailoring their optical properties for improved solar energy conversion, we have focused our attention on the (GaAs)1−xGe2x series of alloys. We have investigated the structural properties of some (GaAs)1−xGe2x compounds within the local-density approximation to density-functional theory, and their optical properties within the Quasiparticle Self-consistent GW approximation. The QSGW results confirm the experimental evidence of asymmetric bandgap bowing. It is explained in terms of violations of the octet rule, as well as in terms of the order–disorder phase transition
First-principles quantum transport modeling of spin-transfer and spin-orbit torques in magnetic multilayers
We review a unified approach for computing: (i) spin-transfer torque in
magnetic trilayers like spin-valves and magnetic tunnel junction, where
injected charge current flows perpendicularly to interfaces; and (ii)
spin-orbit torque in magnetic bilayers of the type
ferromagnet/spin-orbit-coupled-material, where injected charge current flows
parallel to the interface. Our approach requires to construct the torque
operator for a given Hamiltonian of the device and the steady-state
nonequilibrium density matrix, where the latter is expressed in terms of the
nonequilibrium Green's functions and split into three contributions. Tracing
these contributions with the torque operator automatically yields field-like
and damping-like components of spin-transfer torque or spin-orbit torque
vector, which is particularly advantageous for spin-orbit torque where the
direction of these components depends on the unknown-in-advance orientation of
the current-driven nonequilibrium spin density in the presence of spin-orbit
coupling. We provide illustrative examples by computing spin-transfer torque in
a one-dimensional toy model of a magnetic tunnel junction and realistic
Co/Cu/Co spin-valve, both of which are described by first-principles
Hamiltonians obtained from noncollinear density functional theory calculations;
as well as spin-orbit torque in a ferromagnetic layer described by a
tight-binding Hamiltonian which includes spin-orbit proximity effect within
ferromagnetic monolayers assumed to be generated by the adjacent monolayer
transition metal dichalcogenide.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, PDFLaTeX; prepared for Springer Handbook of
Materials Modeling, Volume 2 Applications: Current and Emerging Material