Spin Battery Research Articles

Limits of a rechargeable spin battery

We discuss how the ideal rechargeable energy accumulator can be made and what the limits for solid-state energy storage are. We show that in theory, spin batteries based on heavy fermions can surpass chemical ones in terms of energy capacitance. The absence of chemical reactions in spin batteries makes them more stable, and also they do not need to be heated in cold conditions. We study how carrier statistics and the density of states affect the energy capacity of the battery. Also, we discuss hypothetical spin batteries based on neutron stars.

Giant enhancement to spin battery effect in superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator systems

We develop a theory of the spin battery effect in superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator (SC/FI) systems taking into account the magnetic proximity effect. We demonstrate that the spin-energy mixing enabled by the superconductivity leads to the enhancement of spin accumulation by several orders of magnitude relative to the normal state. This finding can explain the recently observed giant inverse spin Hall effect generated by thermal magnons in the SC/FI system. We suggest a nonlocal electrical detection scheme which can directly probe the spin accumulation driven by the magnetization dynamics. We predict a giant Seebeck effect converting the magnon temperature bias into the nonlocal voltage signal. We also show how this can be used to enhance the sensitivity of magnon detection even up to the single-magnon level.

Detection of spin current through a quantum dot with Majorana bound states* *Project supported by Natural Science Fund for Colleges and Universities in Hebei Province, China (Grant No. ZD2017031) and the Doctoral Initial Funding of Hebei University of Science and Technology (Grant No. 1181291).

The spin transport properties are theoretically investigated when a quantum dot (QD) is side-coupled to Majorana bound states (MBSs) driven by a symmetric dipolar spin battery. It is found that MBSs have a great effect on spin transport properties. The peak-to-valley ratio of the spin current decreases as the coupling strength between the MBS and the QD increases. Moreover, a non-zero charge current with two resonance peaks appears in the system. In the extreme case where the dot–MBS coupling strength is strong enough, the spin current and the charge current are both constants in the non-resonance peak range. When considering the effect of the Zeeman energy, it is interesting that the resonance peak at the higher energy appears one shoulder. And the shoulder turns into a peak when the Zeeman energy is big enough. In addition, the coupling strength between the two MBSs weakens their effects on the currents of the system. These results are helpful for understanding the MBSs signature in the transport spectra.

Functional Energy Accumulation, Photo- and Magnetosensitive Hybridity in the GaSe-Based Hierarchical Structures

We report on the complex GaSe-based hierarchical structures GaSe(CS(NH2)2), GaSe(SmCl3) and GaSe(CS(NH2)2(SmCl3)) synthesized by an intercalation method. The conductive properties of synthesized clathrates and their relation to hierarchical structural complexity were explored by an impedance spectroscopy technique. The impedance response, thermostimulated discharge spectra, and photo- and magnetoresistive effects are reported. Based on the obtained results, the impurity energy spectra were calculated. A strong low-frequency inductive response, observable in the GaSe(SmCl3) clathrate, makes this material promising for the development of gyrator-free nanodelay lines potentially applicable in nanoelectronics. Hierarchical GaSe(CS(NH2)2(SmCl3)) clathrate, on the other hand, reveals hysteresis of the current–voltage characteristics, apparently confirming an accumulation of electric energy at interphase boundaries. A relevant spin battery effect, observable experimentally in stationary magnetic fields, demonstrates a principal possibility of the electric energy accumulation at a quantum level.

Spin supercurrent in two-dimensional superconductors with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

Spin current is a central theme in spintronics, and its generation is a keen issue. The spin-polarized current injection from the ferromagnet, spin battery, and spin Hall effect have been used to generate spin current, but Ohmic currents in the normal state are involved in all of these methods. On the other hand, the spin and spin current manipulation by the supercurrent in superconductors is a promising route for dissipationless spintronics. Here we show theoretically that, in two-dimensional superconductors with Rashba spin-orbit interaction, the generation of dissipationless bulk spin current by charge supercurrent becomes highly efficient, exceeding that in normal states in the dilute limit, i.e. when the chemical potential is close to the band edge, although the spin density becomes small there. This result manifests the possibility of creating new spintronic devices with long-range coherence.

Water Splitting Devices: Photon‐Induced Spintronic Polaron Channel Modulator of CeO2‐x NP Thin Films Hydrogen Evolution Cells (Adv. Electron. Mater. 1/2019)

The O vacancy and Ce ions of CeO2 generate a small polaron at the surface of CeO2 nanoparticles that serves as a charge transportation channel. In article number 1800570, Yi-Sheng Lai and Yen-Hsun Su succeed in generating spin-polarized charge currents under coherent angular momentum light injection. Without using spin orbital coupling in electrodes, a photogalvanic spin battery is achieved. The polaron modulated spintronic electrons are successfully applied in hydrogen evolution devices, serving as a photogalvanic spin small-polaron cell.

Photon‐Induced Spintronic Polaron Channel Modulator of CeO2‐x NP Thin Films Hydrogen Evolution Cells

AbstractWater splitting cells are the green energy generation and storage devices for saving the energy risk. Hydrogen and oxygen gases are the most important source in fuel cells. Here, a photogalvanic spin battery is observed by generating spin‐polarized charge currents without spin orbital coupling under the irradiation of the coherent circularly h−/−h− circular polarization light as the photogalvanic spin battery in water splitting cells. The polaron generated by the O vacancy and Ce ions at the CeO2 nanoparticle surface corresponding to coherent h−/–h− angular momentum circular polarization light injection is utilized in spintronic electrons generation and a modulator. Polaron channel raises the charge mobility to 2.19 × 1015 m2 (V s)−1. The energy conversion efficiency of the polaron modulated spintronic electrons hydrogen evolution water splitting cell with optical spin injection is as high as 161% and the spin polarization is up to 75%. The polaron modulated spintronic electrons are successfully applied in water splitting and hydrogen evolution devices, serving as a photogalvanic spin small‐polaron cell. The energy conversion efficiency and spintronics controlling systems of the water splitting are well controlled and can provide actual benefits in near future.

Role of magnetic exchange interaction due to magnetic anisotropy on inverse spin Hall voltage at FeSi3%/Pt thin film bilayer interface

In our recent studies inverse spin Hall voltage (ISHE) was investigated by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) using bilayer FeSi3%/Pt thin film prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. In ISHE measurement microwave signal was applied on FeSi3% film along with DC magnetic field. Higher magnetization value along the film-plane was measured by magnetic hysteresis (M-H) loop. Presence of magnetic anisotropy has been obtained by M-H loop which showed easy direction of magnetization when applied magnetic field is parallel to the film plane. The main result of this study is that FMR induced inverse spin Hall voltage 12.6µV at 1.0GHz was obtained across Pt layer. Magnetic exchange field at bilayer interface responsible for field torque was measured 6×1014Ω−1m−2 by spin Hall magnetoresistance. The damping torque and spin Hall angle have been evaluated as 0.084 and 0.071 respectively. Presence of Si atom in FeSi3% inhomogenize the magnetic exchange field among accumulated spins at bilayer interface and feebly influenced by spin torque of FeSi3% layer. Weak field torque suppresses the spin pumping to Pt layer thus low value of inverse spin Hall voltage is obtained. This study provides an excellent opportunity to investigate spin transfer torque effect, thus motivating a more intensive experimental effort for its utilization at maximum potential. The improvement in spin transfer torque may be useful in spin valve, spin battery and spin transistor application.

Nonlinear spin current generation in noncentrosymmetric spin-orbit coupled systems

Spin current plays a central role in spintronics. In particular, finding more efficient ways to generate spin current has been an important issue and studied actively. For example, representative methods of spin current generation include spin polarized current injections from ferromagnetic metals, spin Hall effect, and spin battery. Here we theoretically propose a new mechanism of spin current generation based on nonlinear phenomena. By using Boltzmann transport theory, we show that a simple application of the electric field $\bf{E}$ induces spin current proportional to $\bf{E^2}$ in noncentrosymmetric spin-orbit coupled systems. We demonstrate that the nonlinear spin current of the proposed mechanism is supported in the surface state of three-dimensional topological insulators and two-dimensional semiconductors with the Rashba and/or Dresselhaus interaction. In the latter case, the angular dependence of the nonlinear spin current can be manipulated by the direction of the electric field and by the ratio of the Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions. We find that the magnitude of the spin current largely exceeds those in the previous methods for a reasonable magnitude of the electric field. Furthermore, we show that application of AC electric fields (e.g. terahertz light) leads to the rectifying effect of the spin current where DC spin current is generated. These findings will pave a new route to manipulate the spin current in noncentrosymmetric crystals.

Observation of current-induced, long-lived persistent spin polarization in a topological insulator: A rechargeable spin battery.

Topological insulators (TIs), with their helically spin-momentum-locked topological surface states (TSSs), are considered promising for spintronics applications. Several recent experiments in TIs have demonstrated a current-induced electronic spin polarization that may be used for all-electrical spin generation and injection. We report spin potentiometric measurements in TIs that have revealed a long-lived persistent electron spin polarization even at zero current. Unaffected by a small bias current and persisting for several days at low temperature, the spin polarization can be induced and reversed by a large "writing" current applied for an extended time. Although the exact mechanism responsible for the observed long-lived persistent spin polarization remains to be better understood, we speculate on possible roles played by nuclear spins hyperfine-coupled to TSS electrons and dynamically polarized by the spin-helical writing current. Such an electrically controlled persistent spin polarization with unprecedented long lifetime could enable a rechargeable spin battery and rewritable spin memory for potential applications in spintronics and quantum information.

Thermoelectric unipolar spin battery in a suspended carbon nanotube

A quantum dot formed in a suspended carbon nanotube exposed to an external magnetic field is predicted to act as a thermoelectric unipolar spin battery which generates pure spin current. The built-in spin flip mechanism is a consequence of the spin-vibration interaction resulting from the interplay between the intrinsic spin–orbit coupling and the vibrational modes of the suspended carbon nanotube. On the other hand, utilizing thermoelectric effect, the temperature difference between the electron and the thermal bath to which the vibrational modes are coupled provides the driving force. We find that both magnitude and direction of the generated pure spin current are dependent on the strength of spin-vibration interaction, the sublevel configuration in dot, the temperatures of electron and thermal bath, and the tunneling rate between the dot and the pole. Moreover, in the linear response regime, the kinetic coefficient is non-monotonic in the temperature T and it reaches its maximum when is about one phonon energy. The existence of a strong intradot Coulomb interaction is irrelevant for our spin battery, provided that high-order cotunneling processes are suppressed.

Spin-dependent thermoelectric effect and spin battery mechanism in triple quantum dots with Rashba spin–orbital interaction**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11274208 and 11447170).

We have studied spin-dependent thermoelectric transport through parallel triple quantum dots with Rashba spin–orbital interaction (RSOI) embedded in an Aharonov–Bohm interferometer connected symmetrically to leads using nonequilibrium Green’s function method in the linear response regime. Under the appropriate configuration of magnetic flux phase and RSOI phase, the spin figure of merit can be enhanced and is even larger than the charge figure of merit. In particular, the charge and spin thermopowers as functions of both the magnetic flux phase and the RSOI phase present quadruple-peak structures in the contour graphs. For some specific configuration of the two phases, the device can provide a mechanism that converts heat into a spin voltage when the charge thermopower vanishes while the spin thermopower is not zero, which is useful in realizing the thermal spin battery and inducing a pure spin current in the device.

Electrically controllable spin pumping in graphene via rotating magnetization

We investigate pure spin pumping in graphene by imposing a ferromagnet (F) with rotating magnetization on top of it. Using the generalized scattering approach for adiabatic spin pumping, we obtain the spin current pumped through magnetic graphene to the normal (N) region. This spin current which can be easily controlled by gate voltages, reaches sufficiently large values measurable in current experimental setups. The spin current reaches its maximum when one of the spins is completely filtered because of its vanishing density of states in the ferromagnetic part. In order to study the effect of the ferromagnetic part length on the pumped spin current, the N—F—N structure is considered. It is found that in contrast to the metallic ferromagnetic materials the transverse spin coherence length can be comparable to the length of F. Subsequently, due to the quantum interferences inside the middle F region, the spin current becomes an oscillatory function of in which J is the spin splitting and L is the length of F. Finally controllability of the pumped spin into two different normal sides in the N—F—N hybrid device gives rise to the spin battery effect.

Experimental Demonstration of Room-Temperature Spin Transport in n-Type Germanium Epilayers.

We report an experimental demonstration of room-temperature spin transport in n-type Ge epilayers grown on a Si(001) substrate. By utilizing spin pumping under ferromagnetic resonance, which inherently endows a spin battery function for semiconductors connected with a ferromagnet, a pure spin current is generated in the n-Ge at room temperature. The pure spin current is detected by using the inverse spin-Hall effect of either a Pt or Pd electrode on n-Ge. From a theoretical model that includes a geometrical contribution, the spin diffusion length in n-Ge at room temperature is estimated to be 660 nm. Moreover, the spin relaxation time decreases with increasing temperature, in agreement with a recently proposed theory of donor-driven spin relaxation in multivalley semiconductors.

Heat generation by spin-polarized current in a quantum dot connected to spin battery and ferromagnetic lead**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61274101).

We study theoretically the heat originated from electron–phonon coupling in a spintronic device composed of a semiconductor quantum dot attached to one spin battery and one ferromagnetic lead. It is found that the phenomenon of the negative differential of the heat current, which has previously been predicted in the charge-based device, disappears due to the Pauli exclusion principle resulted from the presence of the spin battery. Under some conditions, huge heat in the heat generation induced by resonant phonon emitting processes also disappears in this spin-based device. Furthermore, we find that the ferromagnetism of the lead can be used to effectively adjust the magnitude of the heat current in different dot level ranges. The proposed system is realizable by current technology and may be useful in designing high-efficiency spintronic components.

Heat generation by spin-polarized current in a quantum-dot spin battery

Abstract We study the heat generation by spin-polarized current due to the electron–phonon coupling in a single-level quantum-dot, which is connected to an external either symmetric or asymmetric dipolar spin battery. We find that the heat generation depends sensitively on the configuration of the spin battery's chemical potentials. In the case of the dot coupled to symmetric spin battery, there is remarkable negative differential of the heat generation, which disappears if the spin battery is asymmetric. We also find that the magnitude of the heat generation in asymmetric spin battery is much larger than that in symmetric one despite of the reduced intensity of the electric current. Moreover, the heat generation is insensitive to the system's temperature, and develops peaks when the dot-lead coupling strength or the intradot Coulomb interaction approaches the phonon's energy quanta.

Vertical spin transport in Al with Pd/Al/Ni80Fe20 trilayer films at room temperature by spin pumping

Spin pumping enables the vertical transport of pure spin current through Al in a Pd/Al/Ni80Fe20(Py) trilayer film, in which the Py acts as a spin battery. The spin current injected into the Al flows through the Al to reach the Pd, resulting in the generation of electromotive forces due to the inverse spin Hall effect in the Pd. The electromotive forces decreased with increasing thickness of the Al layer. A simple model based on the theory by Tserkovnyak et al., allows an estimation of the spin coherence of the vertical spin transport in the Al of 61 nm. This comparatively short coherence is attributed to a reduction in spin pumping efficiency because of the roughness of the Al/Py interface.

Spin-pump-induced spin transport in p-type Si at room temperature.

A spin battery concept is applied for the dynamical generation of pure spin current and spin transport in p-type silicon (p-Si). Ferromagnetic resonance and effective s-d coupling in Ni(80)Fe(20) results in spin accumulation at the Ni(80)Fe(20)/p-Si interface, inducing spin injection and the generation of spin current in the p-Si. The pure spin current is converted to a charge current by the inverse spin Hall effect of Pd evaporated onto the p-Si. This approach demonstrates the generation and transport of pure spin current in p-Si at room temperature.

Devices with electrically tunable topological insulating phases

Solid-state topological insulating phases, characterized by spin-momentum locked edge modes, provide a powerful route for spin and charge manipulation in electronic devices. We propose to control charge and spin transport in the helical edge modes by electrically switching the topological insulating phase in a HgTe/CdTe double quantum well device. We introduce the concept of a topological field-effect-transistor and analyze possible applications to a spin battery, which also realize a set up for an all-electrical investigation of the spin-polarization dynamics in metallic islands.

Spin accumulation in parallel-coupled quantum dots driven by a symmetric dipolar spin battery

By applying a symmetric dipolar spin battery in a parallel-coupled quantum-dot (QD) structure, the spin accumulation in the QDs is investigated. We find that the spin accumulation can be achieved via electrically adjusting the left-right antisymmetry of the QD-lead couplings or introducing different magnetic fluxes through the sub-rings of this system. And, the spin accumulation properties are closely dependent on the number of QDs in this structure. Compared with the electrical method, the magnetic method is more efficient to manipulate the spin accumulation. When the intradot Coulomb interaction is considered, the electrically induced spin accumulation is somewhat suppressed, but in the magnetic method the spin accumulation is efficiently enhanced. We believe that the results can be observed in the experiment of spintronics, which provides an alternative scheme for spin manipulation.