495 research outputs found
Separating spin and charge transport in single wall carbon nanotubes
We demonstrate spin injection and detection in single wall carbon nanotubes
using a 4-terminal, non-local geometry. This measurement geometry completely
separates the charge and spin circuits. Hence all spurious magnetoresistance
effects are eliminated and the measured signal is due to spin accumulation
only. Combining our results with a theoretical model, we deduce a spin
polarization at the contacts of approximately 25 %. We show that the
magnetoresistance changes measured in the conventional two-terminal geometry
are dominated by effects not related to spin accumulation.Comment: Number of pages: 11 Number of figures:
The Magneto-coulomb effect in spin valve devices
We discuss the influence of the magneto-coulomb effect (MCE) on the
magnetoconductance of spin valve devices. We show that MCE can induce
magnetoconductances of several per cents or more, dependent on the strength of
the coulomb blockade. Furthermore, the MCE-induced magnetoconductance changes
sign as a function of gate voltage. We emphasize the importance of separating
conductance changes induced by MCE from those due to spin accumulation in spin
valve devices.Comment: This paper includes 3 figure
Spin-Dependent Electron Transmission Model for Chiral Molecules in Mesoscopic Devices
Various device-based experiments have indicated that electron transfer in
certain chiral molecules may be spin-dependent, a phenomenon known as the
Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity (CISS) effect. However, due to the complexity
of these devices and a lack of theoretical understanding, it is not always
clear to what extent the chiral character of the molecules actually contributes
to the magnetic-field-dependent signals in these experiments. To address this
issue, we report here an electron transmission model that evaluates the role of
the CISS effect in two-terminal and multi-terminal linear-regime electron
transport experiments. Our model reveals that for the CISS effect, the
chirality-dependent spin transmission is accompanied by a spin-flip electron
reflection process. Furthermore, we show that more than two terminals are
required in order to probe the CISS effect in the linear regime. In addition,
we propose two types of multi-terminal nonlocal transport measurements that can
distinguish the CISS effect from other magnetic-field-dependent signals. Our
model provides an effective tool to review and design CISS-related transport
experiments, and to enlighten the mechanism of the CISS effect itself
Circuit-Model Analysis for Spintronic Devices with Chiral Molecules as Spin Injectors
Recent research discovered that charge transfer processes in chiral molecules
can be spin selective and named the effect chiral-induced spin selectivity
(CISS). Follow-up work studied hybrid spintronic devices with conventional
electronic materials and chiral (bio)molecules. However, a theoretical
foundation for the CISS effect is still in development and the spintronic
signals were not evaluated quantitatively. We present a circuit-model approach
that can provide quantitative evaluations. Our analysis assumes the scheme of a
recent experiment that used photosystem~I (PSI) as spin injectors, for which we
find that the experimentally observed signals are, under any reasonable
assumptions on relevant PSI time scales, too high to be fully due to the CISS
effect. We also show that the CISS effect can in principle be detected using
the same type of solid-state device, and by replacing silver with graphene, the
signals due to spin generation can be enlarged four orders of magnitude. Our
approach thus provides a generic framework for analyzing this type of
experiments and advancing the understanding of the CISS effect
Unified description of bulk and interface-enhanced spin pumping
The dynamics of non-equilibrium spin accumulation generated in metals or
semiconductors by rf magnetic field pumping is treated within a diffusive
picture. The dc spin accumulation produced in a uniform system by a rotating
applied magnetic field or by a precessing magnetization of a weak ferromagnet
is in general given by a (small) fraction of hbar omega, where omega is the
rotation or precession frequency. With the addition of a neighboring,
field-free region and allowing for the diffusion of spins, the spin
accumulation is dramatically enhanced at the interface, saturating at the
universal value hbar omega in the limit of long spin relaxation time. This
effect can be maximized when the system dimensions are of the order of sqrt(2pi
D omega), where D is the diffusion constant. We compare our results to the
interface spin pumping theory of A. Brataas et al. [Phys. Rev. B 66, 060404(R)
(2002)]
Bistable hysteresis and resistance switching in hydrogen gold junctions
Current-voltage characteristics of H2-Au molecular junctions exhibit
intriguing steps around a characteristic voltage of 40 mV. Surprisingly, we
find that a hysteresis is connected to these steps with a typical time scale >
10 ms. This time constant scales linearly with the power dissipated in the
junction beyond an ofset power P_s = IV_s. We propose that the hysteresis is
related to vibrational heating of both the molecule in the junction and a set
of surrounding hydrogen molecules. Remarkably, we can engineer our junctions
such that the hysteresis' characteristic time becomes >days. We demonstrate
that reliable switchable devices can be built from such junctions.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Large cone angle magnetization precession of an individual nanomagnet with dc electrical detection
We demonstrate on-chip resonant driving of large cone-angle magnetization
precession of an individual nanoscale permalloy element. Strong driving is
realized by locating the element in close proximity to the shorted end of a
coplanar strip waveguide, which generates a microwave magnetic field. We used a
microwave frequency modulation method to accurately measure resonant changes of
the dc anisotropic magnetoresistance. Precession cone angles up to are
determined with better than one degree of resolution. The resonance peak shape
is well-described by the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation
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