Spin resonance transport properties of a single Au atom in S–Au–S junction and Au–Au–Au junction**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grants No. 2011CB921602) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 20121318158).

Abstract

The spin transport properties of S–Au–S junction and Au–Au–Au junction between Au nanowires are investigated with density functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function. We mainly focus on the spin resonance transport properties of the center Au atom. The breaking of chemical bonds between anchor atoms and center Au atom significantly influences their spin transmission characteristics. We find the 0.8 eV orbital energy shift between anchor S atoms and the center Au atom can well protect the spin state stored in the S–Au–S junction and efficiently extract its spin state to the current by spin resonance mechanism, while the spin interaction of itinerant electrons and the valence electron of the center Au atom in the Au–Au–Au junction can extract the current spin information into the center Au atom. Fermi energy drift and bias-dependent spin filtering properties of the Au–Au–Au junction may transform information between distance, bias, and electron spin. Those unique properties make them potential candidates for a logical nanocircuit.