Spin hall accumulation in ballistic nanojunctions

We propose a new scheme of spin filtering employing ballistic nanojunctions patterned in a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Our proposal is essentially based on the spin-orbit (SO) interaction generated by a lateral confining potential (β-SO coupling ). We demonstrate that the flow of a longitudinal unpolarized current through a ballistic T and X junction with this spin-orbit coupling will induce a spin accumulation which has opposite signs for the two lateral probes and is, therefore, the principal observable signature of the spin Hall effect in these devices.     

Charge Hall effect generated by spin-polarized current injected into Rashba spin orbit coupling media

Using the Keldysh Green’s function method, we study theoretically the electron accumulation induced by the inverse spin Hall effect in a spin valve structure in which a clean quantum wire formed from a 2D electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba/Dresselahaus spin orbit interaction (SOI) is connected to two ferromagnet electrodes. In a nonequilibrium situation when a spin current with an out-of plane (the 2DEG plane) spin polarization is driven through the SOI region by an external voltage, non-equilibrium electron accumulation or a Hall voltage forms at the two lateral sides of the quantum wire and exhibits an oscillation along the wire like the Rashba spin precession; the magnetization directions of FMs affect the Hall voltage and their parallel or antiparallel alignment along the normal direction of the 2DEG plane is most favorable to the Hall voltage. In an equilibrium situation, two planar magnetizations which are not collinear can generate an electron accumulation/a Hall voltage too. When one of the FM electrodes is replaced by a normal metal (NM), the electron accumulation is still present along the wire and its magnitude remains nearly unchanged in the biased case, whereas in the unbiased case it is reduced significantly and even vanishes.     

Inverse spin Hall effect in ITO/YIG exited by spin pumping and spin Seebeck experiments

Spin currents, which are excited in indium tin oxide(ITO)/yttrium iron garnet(YIG) by the methods of spin pumping and spin Seebeck effect, are investigated through the inverse spin Hall effect(ISHE). It is demonstrated that the ISHE voltage can be generated in ITO by spin pumping under both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization configurations.Moreover, it is observed that the enhancement of spin Hall angle and interfacial spin mixing conductance can be achieved by an appropriate annealing process. However, the ISHE voltage is hardly seen in the presence of a longitudinal temperature gradient. The absence of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect can be ascribed to the almost equal thermal conductivity of ITO and YIG and specific interface structure, or to the large negative temperature dependent spin mixing conductance.     

Observation of intrinsic inverse spin Hall effect

We report observation of intrinsic inverse spin Hall effect in undoped GaAs multiple quantum wells with a sample temperature of 10 K. A transient ballistic pure spin current is injected by a pair of laser pulses through quantum interference. By time resolving the dynamics of the pure spin current, the momentum relaxation time is deduced, which sets the lower limit of the scattering time between electrons and holes. The transverse charge current generated by the pure spin current via the inverse spin Hall effect is simultaneously resolved. We find that the charge current is generated well before the first electron-hole scattering event. Generation of the transverse current in the scattering-free ballistic transport regime provides unambiguous evidence for the intrinsic inverse spin Hall effect.     

Electrical measurement of the direct spin hall effect in Fe/InxGa(1-x)As heterostructures

We report on an all-electrical measurement of the spin Hall effect in epitaxial Fe/InxGa(1-x)As heterostructures with n-type (Si) channel doping and highly doped Schottky tunnel barriers. A transverse spin current generated by an ordinary charge current flowing in the InxGa(1-x)As is detected by measuring the spin accumulation at the edges of the channel. The spin accumulation is identified through the observation of a Hanle effect in the voltage measured by pairs of ferromagnetic Hall contacts. We investigate the bias and temperature dependence of the resulting Hanle signal and determine the skew and side-jump contributions to the total spin Hall conductivity.     

The observation of inherent spin Seebeck effect in Rh/YIG hybrid structure

Rhodium (Rh) is a 4d metal possessing a large spin orbit coupling strength and spin-Hall conductivity with a very small magnetic susceptibility, implying an insignificant magnetic proximity effect (MPE). We report here the observation of longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) using Rh as a normal metal. A Rh film was sputtered on nanometer thick YIG films of highly crystalline nature and extremely low magnetic damping to obtain Rh/YIG hybrid structure. A clear thermal voltage V_th (SSE voltage) was obtained when a temperature gradient was applied on the Rh/YIG hybrid. The Rh film showed a very weak anomalous Hall resistance and the magneto-resistive testing clearly ruled out the magnetization of the Rh films via MPE. The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) revealed a clear spin hall magnetoresistance (SMR) signal in Rh film implying a purely intrinsic spin current generation, free from any parasitic magnetic effects. The work can open a new window in the study of pure and uncontaminated spin current, generated in ferromagnetic insulators, using Rh as spin current detector.     

Interplay of Rashba effect and spin Hall effect in perpendicular Pt/Co/MgO magnetic multilayers

The interplay of the Rashba effect and the spin Hall effect originating from current induced spin–orbit coupling was investigated in the as-deposited and annealed Pt/Co/MgO stacks with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The above two effects were analyzed based on Hall measurements under external magnetic fields longitudinal and vertical to dc current,respectively. The coercive field as a function of dc current in vertical mode with only the Rashba effect involved decreases due to thermal annealing. Meanwhile, spin orbit torques calculated from Hall resistance with only the spin Hall effect involved in the longitudinal mode decrease in the annealed sample. The experimental results prove that the bottom Pt/Co interface rather than the Co/MgO top one plays a more critical role in both Rashba effect and spin Hall effect.     

Electric control of emergent magnonic spin current and dynamic multiferroicity in magnetic insulators at finite temperatures

Conversion of thermal energy into magnonic spin currents and/or effective electric polarization promises new device functionalities. A versatile approach is presented here for generating and controlling open circuit magnonic spin currents and an effective multiferroicity at a uniform temperature with the aid of spatially inhomogeneous, external, static electric fields. This field applied to a ferromagnetic insulator with a Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya type coupling changes locally the magnon dispersion and modifies the density of thermally excited magnons in a region of the scale of the field inhomogeneity. The resulting gradient in the magnon density can be viewed as a gradient in the effective magnon temperature. This effective thermal gradient together with local magnon dispersion result in an open-circuit, electric field controlled magnonic spin current. In fact, for a moderate variation in the external electric field the predicted magnonic spin current is on the scale of the spin (Seebeck) current generated by a comparable external temperature gradient. Analytical methods supported by full-fledge numerics confirm that both, a finite temperature and an inhomogeneous electric field are necessary for this emergent non-equilibrium phenomena. The proposal can be integrated in magnonic and multiferroic circuits, for instance to convert heat into electrically controlled pure spin current using for example nanopatterning, without the need to generate large thermal gradients on the nanoscale.     

Thermally induced spin polarization and thermal conductivities in a spin–orbit-coupled two-dimensional electron gas

The thermal conductivities and spin polarization induced by the temperature gradient are investigated in a Rashba spin–orbit-coupled two-dimensional electron gas. In this spin–orbit-coupled system in the presence of nonmagnetic or magnetic electron–impurity scattering, the Wiedemann–Franz law still holds. However, the spin polarization induced by the temperature gradient strongly depends on the property of impurities. The components of spin accumulation both perpendicular and parallel to the direction of the temperature gradient, and the thermally induced charge Hall conductivity may be nonzero for magnetic disorders.     

氮化硼纳米带功能化碳纳米管的热自旋输运性质

热自旋电子学器件结合了自旋电子学和热电子学各自的优点,对人类可持续发展具有重要作用.本文研究了锯齿形BN纳米带(ZBNRs)共价功能化碳纳米管(SWCNT)的电子结构,发现ZBNRs-B-(6,6)SWCNT为磁性半金属,nZBNRs-B-(6,6)SWCNT(n=2—8)为磁性金属;nZBNRs-N-(6,6)SWCNT(n=1—8)为双极化铁磁半导体;4ZBNRs-B-(4,4)SWCNT和4ZBNRs-N-(4,4)SWCNT为磁性半金属,4ZBNRs-B-(m,m)SWCNT(m=5—9)为磁性金属;4ZBNRs-N-(m,m)SWCNT(m=5—9)为双极化铁磁半导体.然后,基于锯齿形BN纳米带共价功能化碳纳米管设计了新型热自旋电子学器件,发现基于ZBNRs-N-(6,6)SWCNT的器件具有热自旋过滤效应;而8ZBNRs-N-(6,6)SWCNT和nZBNRs-B-(6,6)SWCNT(n=1,8)都存在自旋相关塞贝克效应.这些发现表明BN纳米带功能化碳纳米管在热自旋电子学器件方面具有潜在的应用.     

Anomalous photogalvanic effect of circularly polarized light incident on the two-dimensional electron gas in Al{x}Ga{1-x}N/GaN heterostructures at room temperature

Under normal incidence of circularly polarized light at room temperature, a charge current with swirly distribution has been observed in the two-dimensional electron gas in Al{0.25}Ga{0.75}N/GaN heterostructures. We believe that this anomalous charge current is produced by a radial spin current via the reciprocal spin Hall effect. It suggests a new way to research the reciprocal spin Hall effect and spin current on the macroscopic scale and at room temperature.     

Temperature-controllable spin-polarized current and spin polarization in a Rashba three-terminal double-quantum-dot device

We propose a Rashba three-terminal double-quantum-dot device to generate a spin-polarized current and manipulate the electron spin in each quantum dot by utilizing the temperature gradient instead of the electric bias voltage. This device possesses a nonresonant tunneling channel and two resonant tunneling channels. The Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function techniques are employed to determinate the spin-polarized current flowing from the electrodes and the spin accumulation in each quantum dot. We find that their signs and magnitudes are well controllable by the gate voltage or the temperature gradient. This result is attributed to the change in the slope of the transmission probability at the Fermi levels in the low-temperature region. Importantly, an obviously pure spin current can be injected into or extracted from one of the three electrodes by properly choosing the temperature gradient and the gate voltages. Therefore, the device can be used as an ideal thermal generator to produce a pure spin current and manipulate the electron spin in the quantum dot.     

Time domain capacitance spectroscopy of tunneling electrons in the two-dimensional electron gas

We have developed a technique capable of measuring the tunneling current into both localized and conducting states in a 2D electron system (2DES). The method yields I-V characteristics for tunneling with no distortions arising from low 2D in-plane conductivity. We have used the technique to determine the pseudogap energy spectrum for electron tunneling into and out of a 2D system and, further, we have demonstrated that such tunneling measurements reveal spin relaxation times within the 2DEG. Pseudogap: In a 2DEG in perpendicular magnetic field, a pseudogap develops in the tunneling density of states at the Fermi energy. We resolve a linear energy dependence of this pseudogap at low excitations. The slopes of this linear gap are strongly field dependent. No existing theory predicts the observed behavior. Spin relaxation: We explore the characteristics of equilibrium tunneling of electrons from a 3D electrode into a high mobility 2DES. For most 2D Landau level filling factors, we find that electrons tunnel with a single, well-defined tunneling rate. However, for spin-polarized quantum Hall states (ν=1, 3 and 1/3) tunneling occurs at two distinct rates that differ by up to two orders of magnitude. The dependence of the two rates on temperature and tunnel barrier thickness suggests that slow in-plane spin relaxation creates a bottleneck for tunneling of electrons.     

Thermoelectric spin diffusion in a ferromagnetic metal

We present a semiclassical theory of spin diffusion in a ferromagnetic metal subject to a temperature gradient. Spin-flip scattering can generate pure thermal spin currents by short-circuiting spin channels while suppressing spin accumulations. A thermally induced spin density is locally generated when the energy dependence of the density of states is spin polarized.     

High temperature dependence of the density of two-dimensional electron gas in Al<Subscript>0.18</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>0.82</Subscript>N/GaN heterostructures

Temperature dependence of the density of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in Al_0.18Ga_0.82N/GaN heterostructures has been investigated by means of high temperature Hall measurements ranging from room temperature to 500 °C. It is found that the 2DEG density decreases with increasing temperature in the range from room temperature to 250 °C, and then increases with the temperature above 250 °C. It is thought that the decrease of the 2DEG density from room temperature to 250 °C is caused by the reduction of the conduction band offset at high temperatures. The increase of measured 2DEG density at higher temperatures is attributed to the background electron concentration in the GaN layer. Theoretical calculation of the 2DEG density in Al_0.18Ga_0.82N/GaN heterostructures at various temperatures is consistent with the experimental results using the multilayer Hall effect model. PACS 73.40.Kp; 73.61.Ey     

四端双量子点系统中的自旋和电荷能斯特效应

基于非平衡态格林函数方法,理论研究了与四个电极耦合的双量子点系统中的自旋和电荷能斯特效应,考虑了不同电极的磁动量结构和量子点内以及量子点间电子的库仑相互作用对热电效应的影响.结果表明铁磁端口中的磁化方向能够有效地调节能斯特效应:当电极1和电极3中的磁化方向反平行排列时,通过施加横向的温度梯度,系统中将会出现纯的自旋能斯特效应;当电极4从普通金属端口转变为铁磁金属端口时,将同时观测到电荷和自旋能斯特效应.研究发现,能斯特效应对于铁磁电极极化强度的依赖程度较弱,但对库仑排斥作用十分敏感.在量子点内和点间库仑排斥作用的影响下,自旋及电荷能斯特系数有望提高两个数量级.     

Spin-drag Hall effect in a rotating Bose mixture

We show that in a rotating two-component Bose mixture, the spin drag between the two different spin species shows a Hall effect. This spin-drag Hall effect can be observed experimentally by studying the out-of-phase dipole mode of the mixture. We determine the damping of this mode due to spin drag as a function of temperature. We find that due to Bose stimulation there is a strong enhancement of the damping for temperatures close to the critical temperature for Bose-Einstein condensation.     

Extrinsic spin Hall effect induced by iridium impurities in copper

We study the extrinsic spin Hall effect induced by Ir impurities in Cu by injecting a pure spin current into a CuIr wire from a lateral spin valve structure. While no spin Hall effect is observed without Ir impurity, the spin Hall resistivity of CuIr increases linearly with the impurity concentration. The spin Hall angle of CuIr, (2.1±0.6)% throughout the concentration range between 1% and 12%, is practically independent of temperature. These results represent a clear example of predominant skew scattering extrinsic contribution to the spin Hall effect in a nonmagnetic alloy.     

Controllable Spin Polarization of Charge Current by Rashba Spin Orbital Coupling

We report a theoretic study on modulating the spin polarization of charge current in a mesoscopic four-terminal device of cross structure by using the inverse spin hall effect. The scattering region of device is a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba spin orbital interaction (RSOI), one of lead is ferromagnetic metal and other three leads are spin-degenerate normal metals. By using Landauer-Büttiker formalism, we found that when alongitudinal charge current flows through 2DEG scattering region from FM lead by external bias, the transverse current can be either a pure spin current or full-polarized charge current due to the combined effect of spin hall effect and its inverse process, and the polarization of this transverse current can be easily controlled by several device parameters such as the Fermi energy, ferromagnetic magnetization, and the RSOI constant. Our method may pave a new way to control the spin polarization of a charge current.     

Controlled coupling of spin-resolved quantum Hall edge states

We introduce and experimentally demonstrate a new method that allows us to controllably couple copropagating spin-resolved edge states of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the integer quantum Hall regime. The scheme exploits a spatially periodic in-plane magnetic field that is created by an array of Cobalt nanomagnets placed at the boundary of the 2DEG. A maximum charge or spin transfer of 28±1% is achieved at 250 mK.