Spin-dependent negative differential conductance in transport through single-molecule magnets

Transport properties are theoretically studied through an anisotropy single-molecule magnet symmetrically connected to two identical ferromagnetic leads. It is found that even though in parallel configuration of leads’ magnetizations, the total current still greatly depends on the spin polarization of leads at certain particular bias region, and thus for large polarization a prominent negative differential conductance (NDC) emerges. This originates from the joint effect of single-direction transitions and spin polarization, which removes the symmetry between spin-up and spin-down transitions. The present mechanism of NDC is remarkably different from the previously reported mechanisms. To clarify the physics of the NDC, we further monitored the shot noise spectroscopy and found that the appearance of the NDC is accompanied by the rapid decrease of Fano factor.     

双量子阱中的子带光吸收

由于微制造技术的不断发展,如液相外延(LPE),气相外延(VPE),金属有机化学气相沉积(MOCVD)以及分子束外延技术(MBE)等先进的材料生长技术方法也日趋完善,从而使得各种低维半导体量子器件(如半导体、超晶格、量子阱、量子线和量子点等)制造日趋成熟。由于这些低维半导体量子器件具有很强的非线性光效应,而且随着材料、外形、尺寸等的不同,非线性光效应也有很大的差别,更由于其可能存在的广泛的应用前景,所以近年来,一直是人们研究的重点。近来,由于人们相信,利用GaAs／AlGaAs量子阱有可能制造出一些新型的光学仪器,如光开关、光限幅器、光调制器等,所以,对不同势形的GaAs／AlGaAs量子阱的非线性光学特性一直吸引着人们进行理论和实验的研究。而在最近几年,对双量子阱的研究也成为了人们的研究重点。通过密度矩阵和迭代的方法,得到双量子阱中的第一、第三阶子带光吸收表达式,我们将用一个典型的GaAs／AlGaAs双量子阱代入其中进行数值计算,并进行讨论。我们的计算结果显示,阱的光吸收峰不但与中间的势垒宽度有关,更与入射光强有关。     

Double band-inversions of bilayer phosphorene under strain and their effects on optical absorption

Strain is a powerful tool to engineer the band structure of bilayer phosphorene.The band gap can be decreased by vertical tensile strain or in-plane compressive strain.At a critical strain,the gap is closed and the bilayer phosphorene is turn to be a semi-Dirac semimetal material.If the strain is stronger than the criterion,a band-inversion occurs and it re-happens when the strain is larger than another certain value.For the zigzag bilayer phosphorene ribbon,there are two edge band dispersions and each dispersion curve represents two degenerate edge bands.When the first band-inversion happens,one of the edge band dispersion disappears between the band-cross points while the other survives,and the latter will be eliminated between another pair of band-cross points of the second band-inversion.The optical absorption of bilayer phosphorene is highly polarized along armchair direction.When the strain is turn on,the optical absorption edge changes.The absorption rate for armchair polarized light is decreased by gap shrinking,while that for zigzag polarized light increases.The bandtouch and band-inversion respectively result in the sublinear and linear of absorption curve versus light frequency in low frequency limit.     

Splitting and Restoration of Kondo Peak in a Deformed Molecule Quantum Dot Coupled to Ferromagnetic Electrodes

We adopt the nonequilibrium Green＇s function method to theoretically study the Kondo effect in a deformed molecule, which is treated as an electron-phonon interaction （EPI） system. The self-energy for phonon part is calculated in the standard many-body diagrammatic expansion up to the second order in EPI strength. We find that the multiple phonon-assisted Kondo satellites arise besides the usual Kondo resonance. In the antiparallel magnetic configuration the splitting of main Kondo peak and phonon-assisted satellites only happen for asymmetrical dot-lead couplings, but it is free from the symmetry for the parallel magnetic configuration. The EPI strength and vibrational frequency can enhance the spin splitting of both main Kondo and satellites. It is shown that the suppressed zero-bias Kondo resonance can be restored by applying an external magnetic field, whose magnitude is dependent on the phononic effect remarkably. Although the asymmetry in tunnel coupling has no contribution to the restoration of spin splitting of Kondo peak, it can shrink the external field needed to switch tunneling magnetoresistance ratio between large negative dip and large positive peak.     

Influence of spin–orbit coupling on spin-polarized electronic transport in magnetic semiconductor nanowires with nanosized sharp domain walls

Influence of spin–orbit coupling on spin-polarized electronic transport in magnetic semiconductor nanowires with nanosized sharp domain walls is investigated theoretically.It is shown that the Rashba spin–orbit coupling can enhance significantly the spin-flip scattering of charge carriers from a nanosized sharp domain wall whose extension is much smaller than the carrier's Fermi wavelength.When there are more than one domain wall presented in a magnetic semiconductor nanowire,not only the spin-flip scattering of charge carriers from the domain walls but the quantum interference of charge carriers in the intermediate domain regions between neighboring domain walls may play important roles on spin-polarized electronic transport,and in such cases the influences of the Rashba spin–orbit coupling will depend sensitively both on the domain walls' width and the domain walls' separation.     

Current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization in semiconductor-nanowire/s-wave superconductor junctions with strong spin–orbit coupling

We have studied the characteristics of current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization in semiconductor-nanowire/swave superconductor junctions with strong spin–orbit coupling. It was found that within some parameter regions the magnitude of the current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization density in such structures will increase(or decrease) with the decrease(or increase) of the charge current density, in contrast to that found in normal spin–orbit coupled semiconductor structures. It was also found that the unusual characteristics of the current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization in such structures can be well explained by the effect of the Andreev reflection.     

Kondo effect in a deformed molecule coupled asymmetrically to ferromagnetic electrodes

The nonequilibrium Kondo effect is studied in a molecule quantum dot coupled asymmetrically to two ferromagnetic electrodes by employing the nonequilibrium Green function technique. The current-induced deformation of the molecule is taken into account, modeled as interactions with a phonon system, and phonon-assisted Kondo satellites arise on both sides of the usual main Kondo peak. In the antiparallel electrode configuration, the Kondo satellites can be split only for the asymmetric dot-lead couplings, distinguished from the parallel configuration where splitting also exists, even though it is for symmetric case. We also analyze how to compensate the splitting and restore the suppressed zero-bias Kondo resonance. It is shown that one can change the TMR ratio significantly from a negative dip to a positive peak only by slightly modulating a local external magnetic field, whose value is greatly dependent on the electron--phonon coupling strength.     

The effect of k-cubic Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling on the decay time of persistent spin helix states in semiconductor two-dimensional electron gases

We study the theoretical effect of k-cubic （i.e, cubic-in-momentum） Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling on the decay time of persistent spin helix states in semiconductor two-dimensional electron gases. We show that the decay time of persistent spin helix states may be suppressed substantially by k-cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling, and after taking the effect of k-cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction into account, the theoretical results obtained accord both qualitatively and quantitatively with other recent experimental results.     

自旋轨道耦合作用下石墨烯pn结的电子输运性质

本文研究了自旋轨道耦合作用下石墨烯纳米带pn结的电子输运性质. 当粒子的入射能量处于pn结两端势能之间时, 粒子将会以隧穿的形式通过石墨烯pn结, 同时伴随着电子空穴转换. 电导随费米能的变化曲线呈不等高阶梯状, 并在费米能位于pn结两端能量中点时取得最大值. 随着石墨烯pn结长度的增加, 电导以指数形式衰减. 自旋轨道耦合作用导致的能隙会使电导显著减小, 而边缘态的粒子则可以几乎毫无阻碍地通过pn结. 本文用一个简单的子带隧穿模型解释了上述特征. 最后还研究了在pn转换区中掺入替位杂质的情况. 在弱杂质下, 电导随费米能变化的曲线将不再对称; 当杂质较强时, 仅边界态的形成的电导台阶能够保持.     

An easy and efficient way to treat Green's function for nano-devices with arbitrary shapes and multi-terminal configurations

The efficiency of the calculation of Green's function (GF) for nano-devices is very important because the calculation is often needed to be repeated countlessly. We present a set of efficient algorithms for the numerical calculation of GF for devices with arbitrary shapes and multi-terminal configurations. These algorithms can be used to calculate the specified blocks related to the transmission, the diagonals needed by the local density of states calculation, and the full matrix of GF, to meet different calculation levels. In addition, the algorithms for the non-equilibrium occupation and current flow are also given. All these algorithms are described using the basic theory of GF, based on a new partition strategy of the computational area. We apply these algorithms to the tight-binding graphene lattice to manifest their stability and efficiency. We also discuss the physics of the calculation results.