Direct electronic measurement of the spin Hall effect

The generation, manipulation and detection of spin-polarized electrons in nanostructures define the main challenges of spin-based electronics. Among the different approaches for spin generation and manipulation, spin-orbit coupling--which couples the spin of an electron to its momentum--is attracting considerable interest. In a spin-orbit-coupled system, a non-zero spin current is predicted in a direction perpendicular to the applied electric field, giving rise to a spin Hall effect. Consistent with this effect, electrically induced spin polarization was recently detected by optical techniques at the edges of a semiconductor channel and in two-dimensional electron gases in semiconductor heterostructures. Here we report electrical measurements of the spin Hall effect in a diffusive metallic conductor, using a ferromagnetic electrode in combination with a tunnel barrier to inject a spin-polarized current. In our devices, we observe an induced voltage that results exclusively from the conversion of the injected spin current into charge imbalance through the spin Hall effect. Such a voltage is proportional to the component of the injected spins that is perpendicular to the plane defined by the spin current direction and the voltage probes. These experiments reveal opportunities for efficient spin detection without the need for magnetic materials, which could lead to useful spintronics devices that integrate information processing and data storage.     

Giant magnetoresistance in organic spin-valves

A spin valve is a layered structure of magnetic and non-magnetic (spacer) materials whose electrical resistance depends on the spin state of electrons passing through the device and so can be controlled by an external magnetic field. The discoveries of giant magnetoresistance and tunnelling magnetoresistance in metallic spin valves have revolutionized applications such as magnetic recording and memory, and launched the new field of spin electronics--'spintronics'. Intense research efforts are now devoted to extending these spin-dependent effects to semiconductor materials. But while there have been noteworthy advances in spin injection and detection using inorganic semiconductors, spin-valve devices with semiconducting spacers have not yet been demonstrated. pi-conjugated organic semiconductors may offer a promising alternative approach to semiconductor spintronics, by virtue of their relatively strong electron-phonon coupling and large spin coherence. Here we report the injection, transport and detection of spin-polarized carriers using an organic semiconductor as the spacer layer in a spin-valve structure, yielding low-temperature giant magnetoresistance effects as large as 40 per cent.     

Thermal spin current from a ferromagnet to silicon by Seebeck spin tunnelling

Heat generation by electric current, which is ubiquitous in electronic devices and circuits, raises energy consumption and will become increasingly problematic in future generations of high-density electronics. The control and re-use of heat are therefore important topics for existing and emerging technologies, including spintronics. Recently it was reported that heat flow within a ferromagnet can produce a flow of spin angular momentum-a spin current-and an associated voltage. This spin Seebeck effect has been observed in metallic, insulating and semiconductor ferromagnets with temperature gradients across them. Here we describe and report the demonstration of Seebeck spin tunnelling-a distinctly different thermal spin flow, of purely interfacial nature-generated in a tunnel contact between electrodes of different temperatures when at least one of the electrodes is a ferromagnet. The Seebeck spin current is governed by the energy derivative of the tunnel spin polarization. By exploiting this in ferromagnet-oxide-silicon tunnel junctions, we observe thermal transfer of spins from the ferromagnet to the silicon without a net tunnel charge current. The induced spin accumulation scales linearly with heating power and changes sign when the temperature differential is reversed. This thermal spin current can be used by itself, or in combination with electrical spin injection, to increase device efficiency. The results highlight the engineering of heat transport in spintronic devices and facilitate the functional use of heat.     

贵金属/半导体异质结中的光致自旋电流效应研究

自旋电子材料因能同时对电子的自旋和电荷两个自由度实施操控,在构筑以低功耗、超高速、大容量和超宽带为特征的新一代信息处理技术中展现出巨大的应用潜力.然而,通过掺杂过渡金属元素和稀土离子而形成的传统稀磁半导体和钙钛矿锰氧化物往往因结构缺陷导致的居里温度不高、自旋磁矩和自旋极化率偏低等不足,阻碍了自旋电子材料的商业化应用.近年来,在高纯半导体上沉积贵金属薄膜所形成的贵金属/半导体异质结中,通过使用偏振光激发该类异质结可产生纯自旋电流.这种基于逆自旋霍尔效应(ISHE)、可在室温下运行的、非接触和非破坏型的自旋极化激励方法理论上可获得高于50%自旋极化率,引起了人们的广泛关注.文章主要介绍光致自旋电流形成机制和测试方法,以及入射光圆偏振度、光强、入射角度等参数对光致自旋注入效率的调控机理,介绍杂质介导和声子介导对光致自旋输运的贡献,最后提出增强光致自旋电子极化率的可行方案,可为揭示自旋载流子产生、注入和输运相关的自旋动力学核心科学问题以及研制高性能自旋电子器件提供有益的参考.     

Electronic measurement and control of spin transport in silicon

The spin lifetime and diffusion length of electrons are transport parameters that define the scale of coherence in spintronic devices and circuits. As these parameters are many orders of magnitude larger in semiconductors than in metals, semiconductors could be the most suitable for spintronics. So far, spin transport has only been measured in direct-bandgap semiconductors or in combination with magnetic semiconductors, excluding a wide range of non-magnetic semiconductors with indirect bandgaps. Most notable in this group is silicon, Si, which (in addition to its market entrenchment in electronics) has long been predicted a superior semiconductor for spintronics with enhanced lifetime and transport length due to low spin-orbit scattering and lattice inversion symmetry. Despite this promise, a demonstration of coherent spin transport in Si has remained elusive, because most experiments focused on magnetoresistive devices; these methods fail because of a fundamental impedance mismatch between ferromagnetic metal and semiconductor, and measurements are obscured by other magnetoelectronic effects. Here we demonstrate conduction-band spin transport across 10 mum undoped Si in a device that operates by spin-dependent ballistic hot-electron filtering through ferromagnetic thin films for both spin injection and spin detection. As it is not based on magnetoresistance, the hot-electron spin injection and spin detection avoids impedance mismatch issues and prevents interference from parasitic effects. The clean collector current shows independent magnetic and electrical control of spin precession, and thus confirms spin coherent drift in the conduction band of silicon.     

Orbital Kondo effect in carbon nanotubes

Progress in the fabrication of nanometre-scale electronic devices is opening new opportunities to uncover deeper aspects of the Kondo effect--a characteristic phenomenon in the physics of strongly correlated electrons. Artificial single-impurity Kondo systems have been realized in various nanostructures, including semiconductor quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and individual molecules. The Kondo effect is usually regarded as a spin-related phenomenon, namely the coherent exchange of the spin between a localized state and a Fermi sea of delocalized electrons. In principle, however, the role of the spin could be replaced by other degrees of freedom, such as an orbital quantum number. Here we show that the unique electronic structure of carbon nanotubes enables the observation of a purely orbital Kondo effect. We use a magnetic field to tune spin-polarized states into orbital degeneracy and conclude that the orbital quantum number is conserved during tunnelling. When orbital and spin degeneracies are present simultaneously, we observe a strongly enhanced Kondo effect, with a multiple splitting of the Kondo resonance at finite field and predicted to obey a so-called SU4 symmetry.     

Electrical spin injection and accumulation at room temperature in an all-metal mesoscopic spin valve

Finding a means to generate, control and use spin-polarized currents represents an important challenge for spin-based electronics, or 'spintronics'. Spin currents and the associated phenomenon of spin accumulation can be realized by driving a current from a ferromagnetic electrode into a non-magnetic metal or semiconductor. This was first demonstrated over 15 years ago in a spin injection experiment on a single crystal aluminium bar at temperatures below 77 K. Recent experiments have demonstrated successful optical detection of spin injection in semiconductors, using either optical injection by circularly polarized light or electrical injection from a magnetic semiconductor. However, it has not been possible to achieve fully electrical spin injection and detection at room temperature. Here we report room-temperature electrical injection and detection of spin currents and observe spin accumulation in an all-metal lateral mesoscopic spin valve, where ferromagnetic electrodes are used to drive a spin-polarized current into crossed copper strips. We anticipate that larger signals should be obtainable by optimizing the choice of materials and device geometry.     

Electronic spin transport and spin precession in single graphene layers at room temperature

Electronic transport in single or a few layers of graphene is the subject of intense interest at present. The specific band structure of graphene, with its unique valley structure and Dirac neutrality point separating hole states from electron states, has led to the observation of new electronic transport phenomena such as anomalously quantized Hall effects, absence of weak localization and the existence of a minimum conductivity. In addition to dissipative transport, supercurrent transport has also been observed. Graphene might also be a promising material for spintronics and related applications, such as the realization of spin qubits, owing to the low intrinsic spin orbit interaction, as well as the low hyperfine interaction of the electron spins with the carbon nuclei. Here we report the observation of spin transport, as well as Larmor spin precession, over micrometre-scale distances in single graphene layers. The 'non-local' spin valve geometry was used in these experiments, employing four-terminal contact geometries with ferromagnetic cobalt electrodes making contact with the graphene sheet through a thin oxide layer. We observe clear bipolar (changing from positive to negative sign) spin signals that reflect the magnetization direction of all four electrodes, indicating that spin coherence extends underneath all of the contacts. No significant changes in the spin signals occur between 4.2 K, 77 K and room temperature. We extract a spin relaxation length between 1.5 and 2 mum at room temperature, only weakly dependent on charge density. The spin polarization of the ferromagnetic contacts is calculated from the measurements to be around ten per cent.     

Chiral magnetic order at surfaces driven by inversion asymmetry

Chirality is a fascinating phenomenon that can manifest itself in subtle ways, for example in biochemistry (in the observed single-handedness of biomolecules) and in particle physics (in the charge-parity violation of electroweak interactions). In condensed matter, magnetic materials can also display single-handed, or homochiral, spin structures. This may be caused by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, which arises from spin-orbit scattering of electrons in an inversion-asymmetric crystal field. This effect is typically irrelevant in bulk metals as their crystals are inversion symmetric. However, low-dimensional systems lack structural inversion symmetry, so that homochiral spin structures may occur. Here we report the observation of magnetic order of a specific chirality in a single atomic layer of manganese on a tungsten (110) substrate. Spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy reveals that adjacent spins are not perfectly antiferromagnetic but slightly canted, resulting in a spin spiral structure with a period of about 12 nm. We show by quantitative theory that this chiral order is caused by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and leads to a left-rotating spin cycloid. Our findings confirm the significance of this interaction for magnets in reduced dimensions. Chirality in nanoscale magnets may play a crucial role in spintronic devices, where the spin rather than the charge of an electron is used for data transmission and manipulation. For instance, a spin-polarized current flowing through chiral magnetic structures will exert a spin-torque on the magnetic structure, causing a variety of excitations or manipulations of the magnetization and giving rise to microwave emission, magnetization switching, or magnetic motors.     

Observation of the spin Seebeck effect

The generation of electric voltage by placing a conductor in a temperature gradient is called the Seebeck effect. Its efficiency is represented by the Seebeck coefficient, S, which is defined as the ratio of the generated electric voltage to the temperature difference, and is determined by the scattering rate and the density of the conduction electrons. The effect can be exploited, for example, in thermal electric-power generators and for temperature sensing, by connecting two conductors with different Seebeck coefficients, a device called a thermocouple. Here we report the observation of the thermal generation of driving power, or voltage, for electron spin: the spin Seebeck effect. Using a recently developed spin-detection technique that involves the spin Hall effect, we measure the spin voltage generated from a temperature gradient in a metallic magnet. This thermally induced spin voltage persists even at distances far from the sample ends, and spins can be extracted from every position on the magnet simply by attaching a metal. The spin Seebeck effect observed here is directly applicable to the production of spin-voltage generators, which are crucial for driving spintronic devices. The spin Seebeck effect allows us to pass a pure spin current, a flow of electron spins without electric currents, over a long distance. These innovative capabilities will invigorate spintronics research.     

Persistent sourcing of coherent spins for multifunctional semiconductor spintronics.

Recent studies of n-type semiconductors have demonstrated spin-coherent transport over macroscopic distances, with spin-coherence times exceeding 100 ns; such materials are therefore potentially useful building blocks for spin-polarized electronics ('spintronics'). Spin injection into a semiconductor (a necessary step for spin electronics) has proved difficult; the only successful approach involves classical injection of spins from magnetic semiconductors. Other work has shown that optical excitation can provide a short (<500 ps) non-equilibrium burst of coherent spin transfer across a GaAs/ZnSe interface, but less than 10% of the total spin crosses into the ZnSe layer, leaving long-lived spins trapped in the GaAs layer (ref. 9). Here we report a 'persistent' spin-conduction mode in biased semiconductor heterostructures, in which the sourcing of coherent spin transfer lasts at least 1-2 orders of magnitude longer than in unbiased structures. We use time-resolved Kerr spectroscopy to distinguish several parallel channels of interlayer spin-coherent injection. The relative increase in spin-coherent injection is up to 500% in the biased structures, and up to 4,000% when p-n junctions are used to impose a built-in bias. These experiments reveal promising opportunities for multifunctional spin electronic devices (such as spin transistors that combine memory and logic functions), in which the amplitude and phase of the net spin current are controlled by either electrical or magnetic fields.     

Room-temperature ferromagnetic nanotubes controlled by electron or hole doping

Nanotubes and nanowires with both elemental (carbon or silicon) and multi-element compositions (such as compound semiconductors or oxides), and exhibiting electronic properties ranging from metallic to semiconducting, are being extensively investigated for use in device structures designed to control electron charge. However, another important degree of freedom--electron spin, the control of which underlies the operation of 'spintronic' devices--has been much less explored. This is probably due to the relative paucity of nanometre-scale ferromagnetic building blocks (in which electron spins are naturally aligned) from which spin-polarized electrons can be injected. Here we describe nanotubes of vanadium oxide (VO(x)), formed by controllable self-assembly, that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. The as-formed nanotubes are transformed from spin-frustrated semiconductors to ferromagnets by doping with either electrons or holes, potentially offering a route to spin control in nanotube-based heterostructures.     

Spintronic materials and devices based on antiferromagnetic metals

In this paper, we review our recent experimental developments on antiferromagnet (AFM) spintronics mainly comprising Mn-based noncollinear AFM metals. IrMn-based tunnel junctions and Hall devices have been investigated to explore the manipulation of AFM moments by magnetic fields, ferromagnetic materials and electric fields. Room-temperature tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance based on IrMn as well as FeMn has been successfully achieved, and electrical control of the AFM exchange spring is realized by adopting ionic liquid. In addition, promising spin-orbit effects in AFM as well as spin transfer via AFM spin waves reported by different groups have also been reviewed, indicating that the AFM can serve as an efficient spin current source. To explore the crucial role of AFM acting as efficient generators, transmitters, and detectors of spin currents is an emerging topic in the field of magnetism today. AFM metals are now ready to join the rapidly developing fields of basic and applied spintronics, enriching this area of solid-state physics and microelectronics.     

Electrochemical hydrogen storage of aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Hydrogen storage of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (a-MWNTs),non-aligned MWNTs(n-MWNTs) and graphite electrodes are studied by the electro-chemical measurements .The electrodes are prepared by mixing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) copper powder and ptfe binder in a weight ratio of 1:5:3 and compressing the mixture into porous nickel collector,The results show that the electrochemical hydrogen storage capacity of the a-MWNT electrode is up to 1625 mAh/g corresponding to a high hydrogen storage of 5.7 wt% ,which is 10 times that of graphite electrode and is 13 times that of n-MWNT electrode, suggesting that a-MWNTs are promising materials for electrochemical hydrogen storage.     

半导体中纯自旋流的探测

自旋电子学是利用电子的自旋而非电子的电荷作为信息载体而发展的物理和电子器件研究的分支领域.半导体中自旋流的测量在自旋电子学中起关键作用.本文从自旋流的基本性质出发,简要回顾了目前国际上探测自旋流的实验手段,以及作者最近提出的有关自旋流的光学效应和以此直接测量半导体中纯自旋流的理论.     

NaCl型半金属铁磁体CrCa7Se8的第一性原理研究

本文采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理研究,优化了具有NaCI结构的CrCa7Se8的几何结构．计算了其自旋极化的电子态密度,电荷分布和离子磁矩等电学和磁学性能,并分析了其电子结构,展望了其在自旋电子学中的应用。研究表明,CrCa7Se8在费米面处具有＋100％的自旋极化率,呈现出半金属性,其超胞磁矩为4．00μB,磁矩主要来源于过渡元素CrCa7Se8具有较宽的自旋带隙和较大的超胞磁矩,可作为自旋半导体材料的优质自旋注入材料。同时,它可能具有较高的居里温度,从而在自旋电子学中具有广泛的应用前景。Cr离子的电子结构为eg2↑t2g2↑。     

Enhanced power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells through dual-interface morphology modification

Efficient bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) hole transfer layer (HTL) were fabricated via controlling the spin coating speed of the HTL solution on a particular fluorinated tin oxide substrates of a high roughness. It shows that the functions of the photovoltaic devices increase with the increase of the HTL surface roughness. Then, an imprinting technique was employed to transfer a suitable pattern of nanostructure arrays to the surface of active layers. At the optimized spin coating speed, the photovoltaic devices exhibited a 28.4% increase in efficiency after this imprinting treatment compared with that of nonimprinted photovoltaic devices. It is mainly attributed to the achievement of high interface areas between active layers and electrodes, which not only increases optical absorption by scattering but also facilitates charge carrier collection.     

双碳链体系中自旋过滤效应的第一性原理研究

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论方法研究了平行放置的双碳原子链体系中的自旋输运情况.将双碳原子链置于12个宽度锯齿型石墨烯纳米带组成的双电极中,研究发现:双碳原子链体系中的自旋过滤效果优于单条碳原子链体系中的自旋过滤效果; 更重要的是,在单条碳原子链体系中,当左右电极磁性反平行时,没有自旋过滤效果,双碳链结构彻底改变了单碳链体系中这种情况,即在双碳链体系中,不管2个电极的磁性是平行结构还是反平行结构,自旋过滤效果都近100%,是非常好的自旋过滤电子器件.     

Microwave oscillations of a nanomagnet driven by a spin-polarized current

The recent discovery that a spin-polarized electrical current can apply a large torque to a ferromagnet, through direct transfer of spin angular momentum, offers the possibility of manipulating magnetic-device elements without applying cumbersome magnetic fields. However, a central question remains unresolved: what type of magnetic motions can be generated by this torque? Theory predicts that spin transfer may be able to drive a nanomagnet into types of oscillatory magnetic modes not attainable with magnetic fields alone, but existing measurement techniques have provided only indirect evidence for dynamical states. The nature of the possible motions has not been determined. Here we demonstrate a technique that allows direct electrical measurements of microwave-frequency dynamics in individual nanomagnets, propelled by a d.c. spin-polarized current. We show that spin transfer can produce several different types of magnetic excitation. Although there is no mechanical motion, a simple magnetic-multilayer structure acts like a nanoscale motor; it converts energy from a d.c. electrical current into high-frequency magnetic rotations that might be applied in new devices including microwave sources and resonators.     

非磁性/磁性掺杂剂对SnO2体系的性能调控

本文通过第一性原理计算在GGA + U 框架下系统地研究了非磁性掺杂剂(Li)和磁性掺杂剂(V)以及相应的点缺陷(VO/VSn)掺杂SnO2基稀磁半导体(DMS)的稳定性、电子结构、键合性质、磁性以及光学性质. 计算得到的形成能结果表明, V元素单掺杂体系比Li元素单掺杂体系更稳定. 其中, VO存在的掺杂体系稳定性更高, 而VSn对掺杂体系的稳定性不利. 磁性分析表明, Li掺杂体系的磁矩大于V掺杂体系的磁矩. 当有点缺陷存在时, VSn的加入显著提高了掺杂体系的磁性, 而VO对非磁性金属元素/磁性金属元素掺杂体系的磁性影响不同：当VO存在于Li掺杂体系时, Li原子周围的O原子自旋极化减少, 因此导致磁矩降低;当V掺杂体系中有VO存在, 磁性不仅来源于V原子的自旋极化, 同时来源于VO周围的O原子的自旋极化,因此磁矩增大. 结合电子结构分析可知, Li掺杂体系的磁性是由O-p和Li-p轨道之间的双交换作用产生的, V掺杂体系的磁性是由O-p和V-d轨道之间的双交换作用产生的. 键合分析发现VO的存在可以提高两种金属掺杂体系键(Li-O和V-O)的共价性. 在可见光区域内, Sn15LiO32和Sn15VO32具有较高的光学透明度. 以上这些结果为非磁性金属元素(Li)和磁性金属元素(V)及相应的点缺陷(VO/VSn)掺杂SnO2在自旋电子器件中的应用提供了新的思路.