Kondo screening cloud in a superconductor with mixed s-wave and p-wave pairing states

We study the Kondo screening of a spin-1/2 magnetic impurity coupled to a superconductor, which is fabricated by combination of an s-wave superconductor, a ferromagnet and a semiconductor with Rashba spin—orbit coupling (RSOC). The proximity induced superconducting states include the s-wave and p-wave pairing components with the aids of RSOC, and the ferromagnet induces a Zeeman field which removes the spin degeneracy of the quasiparticles in the triplet states. Thus, the Kondo screening of magnetic impurity involves the orbital degrees of freedom, and is also affected by the Zeeman field. Using the variational method, we calculate the binding energy and the spin—spin correlation between the magnetic impurity and the electrons in the coexisting s-wave and p-wave pairing states. We find that Kondo singlet forms more easily with stronger RSOC, but Zeeman field in general decreases the binding energy. The spin—spin correlation decays fast in the vicinity of the magnetic impurity. Due to the RSOC, the spatial spin—spin correlation becomes highly anisotropic, and the Zeeman field can induce extra asymmetry to the off-diagonal components of the spin—spin correlation. Our study can offer some insights into the studies of extrinsic topological superconductors fabricated from the hybrid structures containing chains of magnetic impurities.     

Angular dependence of shot noise in the presence of Rashba spin–orbit coupling in semiconductor spintronics junctions

We investigate spin-dependent current and shot noise, taking into account the Rashba spin–orbit coupling (RSOC) effect in double diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) barrier resonant tunneling diodes. The calculation is based on an effective mass approach. The magnetization of DMS is calculated by the mean-field approximation in low magnetic field. The spin-splitting of DMS depends on the sp–d exchange interaction. We also examine the dependence of transport properties of CdTe/CdMnTe heterostructures on applied voltage and relative angle between the magnetization of two DMS layers. It is found that the RSOC has great different influence on the transport properties of tunneling electrons with spin-up and spin-down, which have different contributions to the current and the shot noise. Also, we can see that the RSOC enhances the spin polarization of the system, which makes the nanostructure a good candidate for new spin filter devices. Thus, these numerical results may shed light on the next applications of quantum multilayer systems and make them a good choice for future spintronics devices.     

Spin-polarized current in a Rashba ring pumped by a microwave field

We report a theoretical study on generation of a spin polarized charge current with arbitrary spin polarization, including the fully-spin-polarized current. In a two-terminal mesoscopic ring device, the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) is considered as well as a microwave field applied on one of arms of the ring. It is shown that at zero external bias a spin current can be produced in addition to the usual charge current pumped by the microwave field, which is attributed to the the quantum interference effect of the RSOC induced spin precession phase. By varying the system parameters such as the microwave frequency and the RSOC strength, not only the magnitude but also the direction of the spin current can be efficiently controlled, moreover, the spin-polarization degree of the charge current can readily be tuned by these system parameters in the range [-1,1]. Since all the parameters can be controlled electrically in our study, the proposed device may shed light on the possibility of an all-electrical generation and tuning of a spin-polarized current in the field of the spintronics.     

Effects of Rashba spin–orbit coupling and a magnetic field on a polygonal quantum ring

Using standard quantum network method, we analytically investigate the effect of Rashba spin–orbit coupling (RSOC) and a magnetic field on the spin transport properties of a polygonal quantum ring. Using Landauer–Büttiker formula, we have found that the polarization direction and phase of transmitted electrons can be controlled by both the magnetic field and RSOC. A device to generate a spin-polarized conductance in a polygon with an arbitrary number of sides is discussed. This device would permit precise control of spin and selectively provide spin filtering for either spin up or spin down simply by interchanging the source and drain.     

Spin-dependent transport in four-terminal rings in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Spin dependent transport in one-dimensional four-terminal rings (FTRs) is investigated in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC). In the absence of the RSOC, the conductances as a function of the electron wave vector show resonant behavior for symmetrical configurations. For asymmetrical configurations, the conductances show peculiar zero-conductance resonances, and two kinds of conductance zeros have been found. In the presence of the RSOC, the original conductance zeros disappear as new conductance zeros are generated. Moreover, two kinds of symmetry relations have been found in the conductances, the spin dependent conductances and the spin polarizations. For the FTRs with axial or central symmetry, the phase-locking effect has been found in terminal 2, where there is no spin polarization. Under a weak magnetic field, the Zeeman term is treated by a perturbation, and it is found that the Zeeman effect is obvious for weak RSOC.     

Interplay of Rashba spin orbit coupling and disorder in the conductance properties of a four terminal junction device

We report a thorough theoretical investigation on the quantum transport of a disordered four terminal device in the presence of Rashba spin orbit coupling (RSOC) in two dimensions. Specifically we compute the behaviour of the longitudinal (charge) conductance, spin Hall conductance and spin Hall conductance fluctuation as a function of the strength of disorder and Rashba spin orbit interaction using the Landauer Büttiker formalism via Green’s function technique. Our numerical calculations reveal that both the conductances diminish with disorder. At smaller values of the RSOC parameter, the longitudinal and spin Hall conductances increase, while both vanish in the strong RSOC limit. The spin current is more drastically affected by both disorder and RSOC than its charge counterpart. The spin Hall conductance fluctuation does not show any universality in terms of its value and it depends on both disorder as well as on the RSOC strength. Thus the spin Hall conductance fluctuation has a distinct character compared to the fluctuation in the longitudinal conductance. Further one parameter scaling theory is studied to assess the transition to a metallic regime as claimed in literature and we find no confirmation about the emergence of a metallic state induced by RSOC.     

Tunneling conductance study of a metal-superconductor junction in the presence of Rashba spin orbit coupling

The tunneling conductance for a junction device consisting of a normal metal and a singlet superconductor is studied with Rashba spin orbit coupling (RSOC) being present in the metallic lead and the interface separating the two regions via an extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) formalism. Interesting interplay between the RSOC and a number of parameters that have experimental significance, and characterize either the junction or the superconducting leads, such as the barrier transparency, quasiparticle lifetime, Fermi wavevector mismatch, an in-plane magnetic field and their effects on the tunneling conductance are investigated in details for both a s-wave and a d-wave superconductor. In an opaque barrier, in presence of a quasiparticle lifetime, a Fermi wavevector mismatch or an external in-plane magnetic field, RSOC enhances the conductance corresponding to low biasing energies, that is, at energies lesser than the superconducting gap, while the reverse is noted for energies exceeding the magnitude of the gap. Further, there are exciting anomalies noted in the conductance spectrum for the d-wave gap which can be understood by incorporating the interplay between the superconducting gap and the angle of incident of the charge carriers.     

Anisotropic optical conductivity and electron–hole asymmetry in doped monolayer graphene in the presence of the Rashba coupling

In this study, the optical conductivity of substitutionary doped graphene is investigated in the presence of the Rashba spin orbit coupling (RSOC). Calculations have been performed within the coherent potential approximation (CPA) beyond the Dirac cone approximation. Results of the current study demonstrate that the optical conductivity is increased by increasing the RSOC strength. Meanwhile it was observed that the anisotropy of the band energy results in a considerable anisotropic optical conductivity (AOC) in monolayer graphene. The sign and magnitude of this anisotropic conductivity was shown to be controlled by the external field frequency. It was also shown that the Rashba interaction results in electron–hole asymmetry in monolayer graphene.     

Structural defects influence on the conductance of strained zigzag graphene nanoribbon

In this paper, we investigate the influence of point structural defects on the transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) under uniaxial strain field, using the numerical studies based on the ab-initio calculation, the standard tight-binding model and Green's functions. The calculation results show that the direction of applied strain and defect type significantly affect the conductance properties of ZGNRs. The conductance of the defective nanoribbons generally decreases and some dips corresponding to complete electron backscattering is appeared. This behavior is originated from the different coupling between the conducting electronic states influenced by the wave function modification around the Fermi energy which depends on the defect type. We show that the presence of defects leads to a significant increase in local current. Furthermore, we have investigated the strain-tunable spin transport of defective ZGNRs in the presence of the exchange magnetic field and Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC).     

Tunneling conductance oscillations in spin–orbit coupled metal–insulator–superconductor junctions

The tunneling conductance for a device consisting of a metal–insulator–superconductor (MIS) junction is studied in presence of Rashba spin–orbit coupling (RSOC) via an extended Blonder–Tinkham–Klapwijk formalism. We find that the tunneling conductance as a function of an effective barrier potential that defines the insulating layer and lies intermediate to the metallic and superconducting electrodes, displays an oscillatory behavior. The tunneling conductance shows high sensitivity to the RSOC for certain ranges of this potential, while it is insensitive to the RSOC for others. Additionally, when the period of oscillations is an odd multiple of a certain value of the effective potential, the conductance spectrum as a function of the biasing energy demonstrates a contrasting trend with RSOC, compared to when it is not an odd multiple. The explanations for the observation can be found in terms of a competition between the normal and Andreev reflections. Similar oscillatory behavior of the conductance spectrum is also seen for other superconducting pairing symmetries, thereby emphasizing that the insulating layer plays a decisive role in the conductance oscillations of a MIS junction. For a tunable Rashba coupling, the current flowing through the junction can be controlled with precision.     

Novel 0–π transitions in Josephson junctions between noncentrosymmetric superconductors

We study the Josephson effect between two noncentrosymmetric superconductors(NCSs) with opposite polarization vectors of Rashba spin–orbit coupling(RSOC).We find a 0–π transition driven by the triplet–singlet ratio of NCSs.Different from conventional 0–π transitions,the Andreev bound states change their energy range instead of phase shift in the 0–π transition found here.This novel property results in a feature that the critical current becomes almost zero at the transition point,not only a minimum.Furthermore,when the directions of RSOC polarization vectors are the same in two NCSs,the similar effect can also be found in the presence of a perpendicular exchange field or a Dresselhause spin–orbit coupling in the interlayer.We find novel oscillations of critical current without 0–π transition.These novel 0–π transitions or oscillations of critical current present new understanding of the Josephson effect and can also serve as a tool to determine the unknown triplet–singlet ratio of NCSs.     

Electronic transport through a quantum ring coupled to ferromagnetic leads

We study the spin-dependent transport through a one-dimensional quantum ring with taking both the Rashba spin--orbit coupling (RSOC) and ferromagnetic leads into consideration. The linear conductance is obtained by the Green's function method. We find that due to the quantum interference effect arising from the RSOC-induced spin precession phase and the difference in travelling phase between the two arms of the ring, the conductance becomes spin-polarized even in the antiparallel magnetic configuration of the two leads, which is different from the case in single conduction channel system. The linear conductance, the spin polarization and the tunnel magnetoresistance are periodic functions of the two phases, and can be efficiently tuned by the structure parameters.     

Electronic spin precession in graphene-based superlattice with periodical gate and magnetic modulation

The spin precession in graphene superlattice with periodically modulated electrostatic field and efficient exchange field is investigated theoretically. It is found that the efficient exchange field can induce a spin precession, which is different from the case of the Rashba spin–orbit interaction. The spin precession is complete isoamplitude for normal incidence. For inclined incidence, the precession disappears when the effective exchange field is set into a certain range. It is also found periodical electrostatic field can revive the disappeared precession, but electronic transport is suppressed, which leads to some dips in the conductance spectrum.     

Spin conductance in three-terminal rings subject to Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling

Based on the Green's function formalism, we investigated spin transport properties in one-dimensional three-terminal rings in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (DSOC). The conductance as a function of the Fermi energy shows typical resonance and antiresonance (conductance zero) characteristics in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). When one type of SOC (RSOC or DSOC) is introduced, the original conductance zeros are lifted, but new conductance zeros emerge. It is found that all the conductance zeros depend sensitively on the disorder, and the fluctuate weakens and smoothens the oscillations of the conductance. In the presence of both types of SOCs, the interplay between the RSOC and the DSOC opens a gap in the energy spectrum and breaks the cylindrical symmetry of the ring. Consequently, symmetrically coupled three-terminal rings show anisotropic conductances, which are robust against weak disorders.     

Spin transport in a chain of polygonal quantum rings with Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling

Using a transfer matrix method, we investigate spin transport through a chain of polygonal rings with Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling(DSOC). The spin conductance is dependent on the number of sides in the polygons. When DSOC is considered in a chain which also has Rashba spin-orbit coupling(RSOC) of the same magnitude, the total conductance is the same as that for the same chain with no SOC. However, when the two types of SOC have different values, there results a unique anisotropic conductance.     

A geometric approach to confining a Dirac neutral particle in analogous way to a quantum dot

Based on the transfer-matrix method, the spin transport properties through a graphene-based multi-barrier nanostructure with an exchange field and Rashba spin orbit coupling (SOC), have been investigated. It is found that if Rashba SOC equals to the exchange field, the multi-barrier nanostructure is an efficient way to achieve spin rotators and spin filters. In addition, it is also found that the shot noise of a spin state can be enhanced by electrostatic potential, and plateaus of the Fano factor is formed.     

Mechanism of exchange switching of spin valves by an inverse current

The exchange switching of spin valves by an inverse current can be explained by the interaction of the charge carriers with the spin-injection effective magnetic field. Such an interaction gives rise to transverse spin components, which are transferred to the magnetic lattice and cause its instability and switching. The spin-injection field is produced by longitudinal spin components, but it opens up a channel for the transverse spin transfer to the lattice. The spin transfer to the lattice and the switching occur in the free layer of the spin valve.     

The non-linear susceptibility of an arbitrary spin Ising model with competing interactions using an effective field approach

We present the predictions of an effective field treatment of an arbitrary spin Ising model with a Gaussian distribution of exchange coupling strengths, with emphasis on the region j < 1.0 where a spin glass state is formed. Detailed numerical calculations indicate severe limitations on the range of applied field values which can be used to extract the leading field dependence in the non-linear susceptibility above, at, and below the spin glass temperature T_SG.     

Polarized current changes the exchange bias in a current-in-plane spin valve

A spin-polarized current changes the strength and direction of the exchange bias in spin valves with a current-in-plane geometry. The exchange bias can be manipulated and systematically changed by applying current pulses. The changes are nonmonotonic and asymmetric with respect to the directions of the applied field and current pulses. For different current pulses, different exchange-bias fields can be achieved in the same sample. Furthermore, for samples with different exchange bias, the bias field exhibits a dependence on the applied pulse. Since the strength of exchange bias is highly correlated to the micromagnetic state distribution of the antiferromagnet, we explain our observations by the spin torque exerted on the interfacial antiferromagnetic moments, excluding Joule heating and training effects.     

Exchange bias effect in multiferroic Eu0.75Y0.25MnO3

The exchange bias phenomenon has been investigated in multiferroic Eu_0.75Y_0.25MnO₃. The material shows a weak ferromagnetism with cone spin configuration induced by external magnetic field below 30 K. Consequently, the electric polarization coming from the cycloid spin order below 30 K can be suppressed by external magnetic fields. The magnetic hysteresis loops after cooling in a magnetic field exhibit characteristics of exchange bias below the spin glassy freezing temperature (T_g)∼16 K. The exchange bias field, coercivity field, and remanent magnetization increase with increasing cooling magnetic field. The exchange bias effect is ascribed to the frozen uncompensated spins at the antiferromagnetism/weak ferromagnetism interfaces in the spin-glass like phase.