Pure spin current injection in hydrogenated graphene structures

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of spin-velocity injection (SVI) of a pure spin current (PSC) induced by a linearly polarized light that impinges normally on the surface of two 50\% hydrogenated noncentrosymmetric two-dimensional (2D) graphene structures. The first structure, hydrogenated at only one side, labeled Up, also known as graphone, and the second, labelled Alt, is 25\% hydrogenated at both sides. The hydrogenation opens an energy gap in both structures. We analyze two possibilities: in the first, the spin is fixed along a chosen direction, and the resulting SVI is calculated; in the second, we choose the SVI direction along the surface plane, and calculate the resulting spin orientation. This is done by changing the energy $\hbar\omega$ and polarization angle $\alpha$ of the incoming light. The results are calculated within a full electronic band structure scheme using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) in the Local Density Approximation (LDA). The maxima of the spin-velocities are reached when $\hbar\omega=0.084$\,eV and $\alpha=35^\circ$ for the Up structure, and $\hbar\omega=0.720$\,eV and $\alpha=150^\circ$ for the Alt geometry. We find a speed of 668\,Km/s and 645\,Km/s for the Up and the Alt structures, respectively, when the spin points perpendicularly to the surface. Also, the response is maximized by fixing the spin-velocity direction along a high symmetry axis, obtaining a speed of 688Km/s with the spin pointing at $13^\circ$ from the surface normal, for the Up, and 906 Km/s and the spin pointing at $60^\circ$ from the surface normal, for the Alt system. These speed values are of order of magnitude larger than those of bulk semiconductors, such as CdSe and GaAs, thus making the hydrogenated graphene structures excellent candidates for spintronics applications.