Current-induced spin polarization in Janus WSSe monolayer

Abstract

Janus engineering of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers breaks the vertical mirror symmetry and induces huge built-in polarization and large Rashba spin-orbit coupling. By performing first-principles calculations, we find that the Rashba spin-orbit coupling induces sizable current-induced spin polarization in both the conduction and valence bands in the Janus WSSe monolayer, which is comparable to that in perovskite oxide interfaces. By constructing the low-energy $\mathbf{k}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\mathbf{p}$ Hamiltonian from the invariant theory, we find a sign change of the current-spin conductivity at chemical potential $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\approx}\ensuremath{-}0.73$ eV, which indicates the flip of spin polarization and is attributed to the competition between the intrinsic Rashba spin-orbit coupling and the hexagonal warping of the valence bands. Our numerical and analytic results suggest that the current-induced spin polarization in the Janus WSSe monolayer is insensitive to temperature and impurity concentration but can be effectively tuned by external biaxial or uniaxial strain. The Janus WSSe monolayer could be a promising candidate to realize flexible two-dimensional spintronics devices.