Output voltage calculations in double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions with asymmetric voltage behavior

In this paper we study the asymmetric voltage behavior (AVB) of the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) for single and double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) in range of a quasi-classical free electron model. Numerical calculations of the TMR–V curves, output voltages and I–V characteristics for negative and positive values of applied voltages were carried out using MTJs with CoFeB/MgO interfaces as an example. Asymmetry of the experimental TMR–V curves is explained by different values of the minority and majority Fermi wave vectors for the left and right sides of the tunnel barrier, which arises due to different annealing regimes. Electron tunneling in DMTJs was simulated in two ways: (i) Coherent tunneling, where the DMTJ is modeled as one tunnel system and (ii) consecutive tunneling, where the DMTJ is modeled by two single barrier junctions connected in series.     

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.     

通过嵌入铁磁电极之间 Aharonov-Bohm 干涉仪自旋极化输运性质的研究

使用非平衡态格林函数方法和运动方程近似,研究了嵌入铁磁电极之间Aharonov-Bohm 干涉仪的自旋极化输运性质.在左右铁磁电极平行和反平行两种磁组态下,结合Fano因子分析和讨论了Fano 和Kondo 共振对该系统电导的影响,以及电导随自旋极化强度和磁通的变化.结果表明,自旋极化强度和磁通能有效地调节和控制电导,但电导的线形主要由磁通决定;在适当的条件下能导致大的正磁阻和负磁阻的出现.因此,该系统是一个很好的自旋阀晶体管,在自旋电子学中有潜在的应用价值. 关键词： Fano和Kondo共振 自旋极化强度 Fano因子 隧道磁阻     

Electrical conductance properties for magnetic tunnel junctions with MgO barriers

We measured inelastic electron tunneling (IET) spectra and conductance for MgO tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) films to obtain information on the ferromagnetic/barrier layer interface. The IET spectra showed the difference between amorphous and crystalline structures in the barrier. In the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with a crystalline barrier the IET spectra indicated an Mg-O phonon peak at a low bias voltage by measurement with a parallel magnetization configuration. On the other hand, no peak was observed in the MTJ with an amorphous barrier.     

基于石墨烯电极的Co-Salophene分子器件的自旋输运

采用基于非平衡格林函数结合第一性原理的密度泛函理论的计算方法,研究了基于锯齿型石墨纳米带电极的Co-Salophene分子器件的自旋极化输运性质.计算结果表明,当左右电极为平行自旋结构时,自旋向上的电流明显大于自旋向下的电流,自旋向下的电流在[-1V,1V]偏压下接近零,分子器件表现出优异的自旋过滤效应.与此同时,在自旋向上电流中发现负微分电阻效应.当左右电极为反平行自旋结构时,器件表现出双自旋过滤和双自旋分子整流效应.除此之外,整个分子器件还表现出较高的巨磁阻效应.通过分析器件的自旋极化透射谱、局域态密度、电极的能带结构和分子自洽投影哈密顿量,详细解释该分子器件表现出众多特性的内在机理.研究结果对设计多功能分子器件具有重要的借鉴意义.     

Ab initio calculation of transport properties in 1,3-diphenylpropynylidene based molecular device

Using an ab initio method based on non-equilibrium Green’s functions (NEGF) combined with density functional theory (DFT), a calculation of the transport properties of a single molecular junction based on 1,3-diphenylpropynylidene (PhC₃Ph) ‘radical-π-radical’ is performed. The obvious negative differential resistance (NDR), spin current polarisation (SCP) and dual-spin current rectification (SCR) effects in this device are obtained. The total current for magnetic parallel configuration (PC) is larger at first and then less than that for magnetic antiparallel configuration (APC) as the bias increases, which suggests the abnormal magnetoresistance (MR) effect and can be used as a molecular switch with two working voltages. The evolution of the spin-polarised transmission spectrums and the frontier molecular orbitals (MOs) with applied bias is used to explain the above interesting results. Our calculations may be helpful for designing multifunctional molecular spintronics devices in the future.     

Spin-dependent thermoelectric transport through double quantum dots

We study the thermoelectric transport through a double-quantum-dot system with spin-dependent interdot coupling and ferromagnetic electrodes by means of the non-equilibrium Green’s function in the linear response regime.It is found that the thermoelectric coefficients are strongly dependent on the splitting of the interdot coupling,the relative magnetic configurations,and the spin polarization of leads.In particular,the thermoelectric efficiency can reach a considerable value in the parallel configuration when the effective interdot coupling and the tunnel coupling between the quantum dots and the leads for the spin-down electrons are small.Moreover,the thermoelectric efficiency increases with the intradot Coulomb interaction increasing and can reach very high values at appropriate temperatures.In the presence of the magnetic field,the spin accumulation in the leads strongly suppresses the thermoelectric efficiency,and a pure spin thermopower can be obtained.     

Spin-dependent transport induced by magnetization in zigzag graphene nanoribbons coupled to one-dimensional leads

We study spin transport in a zigzag graphene nanoribbon sample with two ferromagnetic strips deposited on the two sides of the ribbon. A tight-binding Hamiltonian was adopted to describe the sample connected to two one-dimensional leads. Our theoretical study shows that the resonance peaks of conductance for the spin-up and spin-down electrons are separated for the parallel configuration of the ferromagnetic strips, while they are not separated for the case of antiparallel configuration. This means that giant magnetoresistance can be produced at particular energies by altering the configurations of the ferromagnetic strips, and the device can be designed as a spin filter.     

Spin-dependent transport induced by magnetization in zigzag graphene nanoribbons coupled to one-dimensional leads

We study spin transport in a zigzag graphene nanoribbon sample with two ferromagnetic strips deposited on the two sides of the ribbon.A tight-binding Hamiltonian was adopted to describe the sample connected to two onedimensional leads.Our theoretical study shows that the resonance peaks of conductance for the spin-up and spin-down electrons are separated for the parallel configuration of the ferromagnetic strips,while they are not separated for the case of antiparallel configuration.This means that giant magnetoresistance can be produced at particular energies by altering the configurations of the ferromagnetic strips,and the device can be designed as a spin filter.     

磁性随机存储器的研究进展

通过分析磁性随机存储器(MRAM)的基本原理,及其与现有的静态存储器(SRAM)、动态存储器(DRAM)和快闪存储器(Flash)的性能比较,探讨了MRAM作为下一代新型存储器的应用前景.     

Spin-dependent transport in a magnetic two-dimensional electron gas

Magneto-transport and magneto-optical probes are used to interrogate spin-dependent transport in magnetic heterostructures wherein a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is exchange-coupled to local moments. At low temperatures, the significant s–d exchange-enhanced spin splitting in these “magnetic” 2DEGs is responsible for the observation of unusual transport properties such as a complete spin polarization of the gas at large Landau level filling factors and a pronounced, non-monotonic background magneto-resistance. Magneto-transport measurements of gated samples performed in a parallel field geometry are used to systematically study the variation of the magneto-resistance with sheet concentration, yielding new insights into the dependence of spin transport on the Fermi energy of the majority spin carriers.     

Quantum transport through anisotropic molecular magnets: Hubbard Green function approach

We extend the Green function approach to quantum transport through an anisotropic molecular magnet system with the help of Hubbard operators. Based on the single molecular magnet model, we reformulate the large spin and the total Hamiltonian in the language of Hubbard operators and obtain analytical expressions of the retarded Green function in sequential tunneling and Kondo regimes. In addition to this, we show the connection of our method to the master equation method in sequential regime and discuss a simple isotropic case in Kondo regime, in which we find a three-peak Kondo structure, a feature characterizing the isotropic exchange interaction between the localized electron and large spin.     

Nonequilibrium spin transport through a diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dot system with noncollinear magnetization

The spin-dependent transport through a diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dot (QD) which is coupled via magnetic tunnel junctions to two ferromagnetic leads is studied theoretically. A noncollinear system is considered, where the QD is magnetized at an arbitrary angle with respect to the leads’ magnetization. The tunneling current is calculated in the coherent regime via the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism, incorporating the electron–electron interaction in the QD. We provide the first analytical solution for the Green’s function of the noncollinear DMS quantum dot system, solved via the equation of motion method under Hartree–Fock approximation. The transport characteristics (charge and spin currents, and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR)) are evaluated for different voltage regimes. The interplay between spin-dependent tunneling and single-charge effects results in three distinct voltage regimes in the spin and charge current characteristics. The voltage range in which the QD is singly occupied corresponds to the maximum spin current and greatest sensitivity of the spin current to the QD magnetization orientation. The QD device also shows transport features suitable for sensor applications, i.e., a large charge current coupled with a high TMR ratio.     

Spin-dependent transport through an interacting quantum dot system

Using an equation of motion technique, we report on a theoretical analysis of transport characteristics of a spin-valve system formed by a quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic leads, whose magnetic moments are oriented at an angle θ with respect to each other, and a mesoscopic ring by the Anderson Hamiltonian. We analyse the density of states of this system, and our results reveal that the density of states show some noticeable characteristics depending on the relative angle θ of magnetic moment M, and the spin-polarised strength P in ferromagnetic leads, and also the magnetic flux Φ and the number of lattice sites N_R in the mesoscopic ring. These effects might have some potential applications in spintronics.     

Spin-dependent transport through quantum dot with inelastic interactions

Using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function method, we theoretically investigate the electron transport properties of a quantum dot coupled to two ferromagnetic electrodes, with inelastic electron-phonon interaction and spin flip scattering present in the quantum dot. It is found that the electron-phonon interaction reduces the current, induces new satellite polaronic peaks in the differential conductance spectrum, and at the same time leads to oscillatory tunneling magnetoresistance effect. Spin flip scattering suppresses the zero-bias conductance peak and splits it into two, with different behaviors for parallel and anti-parallel magnetic configuration of the two electrodes. Consequently, a negative tunneling magnetoresistance effect may occur in the resonant tunneling region, with increasing spin flip scattering rate.     

Bulk—like contribution of tunnel magnetoresistance in magnetic tunnel junctions

We have demonstrated that the bulk-like contribution to tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) exists in the magnetic tunnel junctions, and is determined by the tunnelling characteristic length of the ferromagnetic electrodes. In the experiment, a wedge-shaped CoFe layer is inserted at the interface between the insulating barrier and the reference electrode. It is found that TMR ratio increases from 18% without CoFe layer to a saturation value of 26.5% when the CoFe thickness is about 2.3 nm. The tunnelling characteristic length, l_{tc}, can be obtained to be about 0.8 nm for CoFe materials.     

Strain-mediated magnetoelectric control of tunneling magnetoresistance in magnetic tunneling junction/ferroelectric hybrid structures

Because of the wide selectivity of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric (FE) components, electric-field (E-field) control of magnetism via strain mediation can be easily realized through composite multiferroic heterostructures. Here, an MgO-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is chosen rationally as the ferromagnetic constitution and a high-activity (001)-Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)$_{0.7}$Ti$_{0.3}$O$_{3}$ (PMN-0.3PT) single crystal is selected as the FE component to create a multiferroic MTJ/FE hybrid structure. The shape of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) versus in situ E-fields imprints the butterfly loop of the piezo-strain of the FE without magnetic-field bias. The E-field-controlled change in the TMR ratio is up to $-$0.27% without magnetic-field bias. Moreover, when a typical magnetic field ($\sim \pm 10$ Oe) is applied along the minor axis of the MTJ, the butterfly loop is changed significantly by the E-fields relative to that without magnetic-field bias. This suggests that the E-field-controlled junction resistance is spin-dependent and correlated with magnetization switching in the free layer of the MTJ. In addition, based on such a multiferroic heterostructure, a strain-gauge factor up to approximately 40 is achieved, which decreases further with a sign change from positive to negative with increasing magnetic fields. This multiferroic hybrid structure is a promising avenue to control TMR through E-fields in low-power-consumption spintronic and straintronic devices at room temperature.     

Spin-dependent quantum transport through an Aharonov--Bohm structure spin splitter

Using the tight-binding model approximation, this paper investigates theoretically spin-dependent quantum transport through an Aharonov-Bohm （AB） interferometer. An external magnetic field is applied to produce the spinpolarization and spin current. The AB interferometer, acting as a spin splitter, separates the opposite spin polarization current. By adjusting the energy and the direction of the magnetic field, large spin-polarized current can be obtained.     

Ag掺杂La-K-Mn-O非均匀多晶体系的电磁性质

用溶胶-凝胶方法制备了1/mAg₂O-La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃ (LKMO/Ag)系列样品，其中1/m代表Ag₂O和La_0.833K_0.167MnO₃(LKMO)的摩尔比，m=32，16，8，4和2. 研究了此系列样品的结构、磁性和输运特性. X射线衍射实验表明，LKMO/Ag是一个非均匀的系统，样品由磁性的钙钛矿相LKMO和金属Ag相组成. 由于Ag相的加入，在室温条件下，磁电阻效应明显增强. 在300 K, 0.5 T磁场下，m=4样品的磁电阻可以达到32%；5.5 T磁场下，其磁电阻可达64%. 而单纯的LKMO样品在相同条件下的磁电阻分别为10%和35%. 在低温下，加Ag样品的磁电阻效应反而减小，样品含Ag越多，磁电阻效应越小. 用非本征磁电阻(包括自旋极化隧穿和自旋相关散射)和本征磁电阻在不同温区对总磁电阻的相对贡献对此系列样品的磁电阻现象作了定性的解释. 关键词： 自旋极化隧穿 自旋相关散射 低场磁电阻 高场磁电阻