海歸學者發起的公益學術平臺
分享信息,整合資源
交流學術,偶爾風月
利用電子自旋進行信息處理是半導體自旋電子學的主要目標之一。最近發現的鐵電Rashba半導體(FERSCs)中自旋的電性和非易失性控制有望將存儲、存儲和計算功能結合起來,這些新材料的激發性質來自自旋自由度耦合到電極化的獨特性質,從而極軸本質上打破了反演對稱性(IS)。另一方面,這類材料所需的大自旋-軌道耦合(SOC)也會產生電荷-自旋相互轉換現象,如自旋霍爾效應(SHE)。最近對高對稱性順電體進行的實驗研究表明其具有強的自旋霍爾效應,但是其來源仍然不清楚。
來自美國杜克大學大學的Jagoda Sławińska和北德克薩斯大學的Jagoda Sławińska的團隊,基於密度泛函理論(DFT)的計算,定量地估計兩種材料的低對稱和高對稱結構的自旋霍爾電導(SHCs)。發現鐵電相確實可以增強SHE,而不是順電結構。並從自旋Berry曲率的附加貢獻來解釋這個效應,它起源於極性相的自旋分裂電子態。其次,由於半導體中SHE的實現需要摻雜,研究了極性畸變隨載流子濃度的演化,並估計了維持低對稱相的摻雜臨界水平。通過對這些材料中驅動鐵電性的孤對載流子的分析,發現GeTe中的極性位移可以維持在 1021/cm3以上的臨界空穴濃度,而SnTe中的微小畸變在最低摻雜水平下消失。最後,計算了摻雜結構的自旋霍爾角,證明了自旋霍爾效應確實可以在極性相位中實現。自旋霍爾效應、Rashba自旋織構和鐵電共存於一種材料中,將有助於設計新型的無磁性ELD的一體化自旋電子器件。在實際實現SHE和Rashba效應(RE)電控制等應用方面具有廣闊的前景。該文近期發表於npj Computational Materials 6: 7 (2020),英文標題與摘要如下,點擊左下角「閱讀原文」可以自由獲取論文PDF。
Spin Hall effect in prototype Rashba ferroelectrics GeTe and SnTe
Haihang Wang, Priya Gopal , Silvia Picozzi, Stefano Curtarolo , Marco Buongiorno Nardelli and Jagoda Sławińska
Ferroelectric Rashba semiconductors (FERSCs) have recently emerged as a promising class of spintronics materials. The peculiar coupling between spin and polar degrees of freedom responsible for several exceptional properties, including ferroelectric switching of Rashba spin texture, suggests that the electron’s spin could be controlled by using only electric fields. In this regard, recent experimental studies revealing charge-to-spin interconversion phenomena in two prototypical FERSCs, GeTe and SnTe, appear extremely relevant. Here, by employing density functional theory calculations, we investigate spin Hall effect (SHE) in these materials and show that it can be large either in ferroelectric or paraelectric structure. We further explore the compatibility between doping required for the practical realization of SHE in semiconductors and polar distortions which determine Rashba-related phenomena in FERSCs, but which could be suppressed by free charge carriers. Based on the analysis of the lone pairs which drive ferroelectricity in these materials, we have found that the polar displacements in GeTe can be sustained up to a critical hole concentration of over ~1021/cm3, while the tiny distortions in SnTe vanish at a minimal level of doping. Finally, we have estimated spin Hall angles for doped structures and demonstrated that the spin Hall effect could be indeed achieved in a polar phase. We believe that the confirmation of spin Hall effect, Rashba spin textures and ferroelectricity coexisting in one material will be helpful for design of novel all-in-one spintronics devices operating without magnetic fields.本文系網易新聞·網易號「各有態度」特色內容
媒體轉載聯繫授權請看下方