Ferromagnetic Spin Polarization Research Articles

Evolution of Stabilized 1T-MoS2 by Atomic-Interface Engineering of 2H-MoS2 /Fe-Nx towards Enhanced Sodium Ion Storage.

Metallic conductive 1T phase molybdenum sulfide (MoS2 ) has been identified as promising anode for sodium ion (Na+ ) batteries, but its metastable feature makes it difficult to obtain and its restacking during the charge/discharge processing result in part capacity reversibility. Herein, a synergetic effect of atomic-interface engineering is employed for constructing 2H-MoS2 layers assembled on single atomically dispersed Fe-N-C (SA Fe-N-C) anode material that boosts its reversible capacity. The work-function-driven-electron transfer occurs from SA Fe-N-C to 2H-MoS2 via the Fe-S bonds, which enhances the adsorption of Na+ by 2H-MoS2 , and lays the foundation for the sodiation process. A phase transfer from 2H to 1T/2H MoS2 with the ferromagnetic spin-polarization of SA Fe-N-C occurs during the sodiation/desodiation process, which significantly enhances the Na+ storage kinetics, and thus the 1T/2H MoS2 /SA Fe-N-C display a high electronic conductivity and a fast Na+ diffusion rate.

Enhancement of thermoelectric performances in n-type RbCrZ (Z = S, Se, Te) half-metallic ferromagnetic alloys via charge carrier concentration or chemical potential

We used first-principles simulations to examine the magnetic, elastic, and thermoelectric properties of RbCrZ (Z = S, Se, and Te) half-Heusler alloys. Our results indicate that RbCrZ (Z = S, Se, and Te) alloys are completely spin-polarized half-metallic ferromagnets in the ground state. Elastic constants provide mechanical stability. Unlike RbCrS and RbCrSe, RbCrTe is brittle and unable to withstand thermal shocks. RbCrS is the most anisotropic material, while RbCrSe is the most isotropic. The greatest ZT values in the spin-down channel for RbCrS, RbCrSe, and RbCrTe are 0.81355, 0.62249, and 1.02846, respectively. To attain this value, the charge carrier concentration must be lowered to n = - 3.18119 × 1022 cm−3 for RbCrS, n = - 5.32817 × 1022 cm−3 for RbCrSe, and for RbCrTe, the charge carrier concentration must be enhanced to n = - 4.99321 × 1022 cm−3. The decrease of the chemical potential of RbCrS, RbCrSe, and RbCrTe by 0.02, 0.084, and 0.0329 Ryd, respectively, resulted in identical values.

Evidence for new enantiospecific interaction force in chiral biomolecules

Evidence for new enantiospecific interaction force in chiral biomolecules

Spectroscopic signatures of next-nearest-neighbor hopping in the charge and spin dynamics of doped one-dimensional antiferromagnets

We study the impact of next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) hopping on the low-energy collective excitations of strongly correlated doped antiferromagnetic cuprate spin chains. Specifically, we use exact diagonalization and the density matrix renormalization group method to study the single-particle spectral function, the dynamical spin and charge structure factors, and the Cu $L$-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) intensity of the doped $t\text{\ensuremath{-}}t\ensuremath{'}\text{\ensuremath{-}}J$ model for a set of $t\ensuremath{'}$ values. We find evidence that the spin and charge degrees of freedom of the doped holes are not strictly separated anymore as $|t\ensuremath{'}|$ increases and identify the consequences of this in the dynamical response functions. The inclusion of NNN hopping couples the spinon and holon excitations, resulting in the formation of a spin polaron, where a ferromagnetic spin-polarization cloud dresses the doped carrier. The spin polaron manifests itself as additional spectral weight in the dynamical correlation functions, which appear simultaneously in the spin- and charge-sensitive channels. We also demonstrate that RIXS can provide a unique view of the spin polaron, due to its sensitivity to both the spin and charge degrees of freedom.

Spin filtering and spin separation in 2D materials by topological spin Hall effect

The needs of high speed performance electronic devices for various applications require novel materials and new physical phenomena. For these purposes we propose to study new physical effects based on electron scattering on magnetic skyrmions and vortices distributed in a 2D ferromagnetic material. We show that the topological spin Hall effect can be efficiently employed for the filtering, switching, and separation of spin currents. For some values of the parameters (conduction electron concentrations, and skyrmion/vortex sizes) it is possible to separate Hall currents for different electron spin projections as it is like for different carrier charges (electrons and holes) in the normal Hall effect. The calculations are performed using the Boltzmann kinetic equation for the nonequilibrium distribution function and the Lippmann–Schwinger equation for the transition matrix in the whole range of the adiabaticity parameter. The spin filtering due to the skyrmion/vortex scattering can be several orders of magnitude more efficient in the narrow range of the electron concentrations than that of the ordinary ferromagnetic spin polarization in spintronics.

Spin injection through energy-band symmetry matching with high spin polarization in atomically controlled ferromagnet/ferromagnet/semiconductor structures

Electrical injection of spin-polarized electrons from ferromagnets into semiconductors has been generally demonstrated through a tunneling process with insulator barrier layers that can dominate the device performance, including the electric power at the electrodes. Here, we show an efficient spin injection technique for a semiconductor using an atomically controlled ferromagnet/ferromagnet/semiconductor heterostructure with low-resistive Schottky-tunnel barriers. On the basis of symmetry matching of the electronic bands between the top highly spin-polarized ferromagnet and the semiconductor, the magnitude of the spin signals in lateral spin-valve devices can be enhanced by up to one order of magnitude compared to those obtained with conventional ferromagnet/semiconductor structures. This approach provides a new solution for the simultaneous achievement of highly efficient spin injection and low electric power at the electrodes in semiconductor devices, leading to novel semiconductor spintronic architectures at room temperature.

Bulk and surface DFT investigations of the electronic and magnetic properties of CsXNO (X [formula omitted] Mg, Ca and Sr) quaternary Heusler alloys

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of the bulk and (001) surfaces of CsXNO (X = Mg, Ca and Sr) quaternary Heusler alloys are investigated. It is found that all of the compounds are half-metallic ferromagnets with a magnetic moment of 2μB which obeys the Slater–Pauling rule. The half-metallic gaps are calculated to be 0.84, 0.80 and 0.82eV for CsMgNO, CsCaNO and CsSrNO, respectively. It seems that the shift of the bands due to the rather strong p–p exchange interaction leads to half-metallic ferromagnetism in these compounds. They can also maintain their half-metallic properties under great stresses and the calculated Curie temperatures are 705.14, 504.85 and 488.82 K for CsMgNO, CsCaNO and CsSrNO, respectively. The (001) surfaces of the compounds are also simulated using the symmetric slab model. The results of the calculation of surface energies indicate that NO-terminated surface is more stable than CsX-terminated surface. The half-metallicity is also well preserved on the NO-terminated surface, however the bulk half-metallicity is destroyed by the surface states on the CsX-terminated slab. Considering the 100 % ferromagnetic spin polarization in bulk and surface beside high Curie temperature make these materials excellent candidates for spintronic applications.

Strong suppression of Curie temperature of spin-polarized ferromagnet La1−xSrxMnO3 by application of dynamic strain

The ferromagnetic state of the spin-polarized ferromagnet La1−xSrxMnO3 is stabilized in the metallic region by strong coupling between localized spins in the t2g orbital and conduction electrons in the eg orbital. We prepared polycrystalline La1−xSrxMnO3 films (x = 0.15, 0.25, or 0.30) by deposition on an oxidized Si substrate. The three types of La1−xSrxMnO3 films were in the ferromagnetic rhombohedral phase, and their Curie temperatures, TC, evaluated from the midpoint of ac magnetization, were 305 K, 335 K, and 338 K, respectively. By applying expansion-mode acoustic vibration to the crystal structure of La1−xSrxMnO3, we observed a remarkable decrease (as large as 70 K) in TC. The applied structural perturbation causes a decrease in the possibility of conduction electron hopping and an increase in the Jahn–Teller distortion. The former is more effective for decreasing TC than the latter.

Solids of quantum Hall skyrmions in graphene

Partially filled Landau levels host competing orders, with electron solids prevailing close to integer fillings before giving way to fractional quantum Hall liquids as the Landau level fills. Here, we report the observation of an electron solid with noncolinear spin texture in monolayer graphene, consistent with solidification of skyrmions---topological spin textures characterized by quantized electrical charge. In electrical transport, electron solids reveal themselves through a rapid metal-insulator transition in the bulk electrical conductivity as the temperature is lowered, accompanied by the emergence of strongly nonlinear dependence on the applied bias voltage. We probe the spin texture of the solids using a modified Corbino geometry that allows ferromagnetic magnons to be launched and detected. We find that magnon transport is highly efficient when one Landau level is filled ($\nu=1$), consistent with quantum Hall ferromagnetic spin polarization; however, even minimal doping immediately quenches the the magnon signal while leaving the vanishing low-temperature charge conductivity unchanged. Our results can be understood by the formation of a solid of charged skyrmions near $\nu=1$, whose noncolinear spin texture leads to rapid magnon decay. Data near fractional fillings further shows evidence for several fractional skyrmion crystals, suggesting that graphene hosts a vast and highly tunable landscape of coupled spin and charge orders.

Spin polarization and chiral condensation in a ( 2+1 )-flavor Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and baryon chemical potential

We investigate the ferromagnetic (spin polarization) condensation in (2+1) flavor Nambu Jona-Lasinio(NJL) model with non-zero current quark masses at finite temperature and density which may be relevant in the context of neutron stars. The spin polarization condensation arises due to a tensor type interaction which may be generated due to non-perturbative effects in Quantum Chromodynamics(QCD). In this investigation we have shown the interplay between chiral condensate and spin polarization condensation for different values of tensor coupling. Spin polarization in the case of 2+1 flavor is different from two flavor case because of additional F$_8$ condensate associated with $\lambda_8^f$ flavor generator. We find a non-zero value of the two spin condensates in the chirally restored phase. Beyond a certain temperature the spin polarization condensates vanish for rather large quark chemical potentials. The spin condensates affect the chiral phase transition, quark masses, and the quark dispersion relation. The spin polarization condensate appears only in the chiral restored phase for light quarks. For large enough tensor couplings, it is observed that the spin polarization condensate acts as a catalyst for chiral symmetry restoration. Thermodynamic behavior of $F_3$ and $F_8$ are found to be different and they affect the quark masses differently.

Spin polarization in the phase diagram of a Li\u2013Fe\u2013S system

Divalent and trivalent states of Fe ions are known to be stable in inorganic compounds. We focus a novel LixFeS5 cathode, in which the Li content (x) changes from 2 to 10 by an electrochemical technique. As x increases from 2, a Pauli paramagnetic conductive Li2FeS5 phase changes into a superparamagnetic insulating Li10FeS5 phase. Density functional theory calculations suggest that Fe+ ions in a high-x phase are responsible for ferromagnetic spin polarization. Reaching the monovalent Fe ion is significant for understanding microscopic chemistry behind operation as Li-ion batteries and the original physical properties resulting from the unique local structure.

Hydrogen Storage, Magnetism and Electrochromism of Silver Doped FAU Zeolite: First-Principles Calculations and Molecular Simulations.

The complex configuration, H2 adsorption binding energy, magnetic, and optical properties of FAU zeolites with Ag cations loaded by ion exchange in the vacant dielectric cavities were investigated by employing the first-principles calculations with all-electron-relativistic numerical atom-orbitals scheme and the Metropolis Monte Carlo molecular simulations. The visible absorption spectrum peaked at distinct wavelengths arranging from red or green to blue colors when changing the net charge load, due to the produced various redox states of Ag cations exchanging at multiple Li+-substituted sites. The spin population analyses indicate the ferrimagnetic coupling between Al–O–Si framework and Ag cations originates from the major ferromagnetic spin polarization in Ag cation cluster coordinating with sodalite cages, with the net spins appreciably depending on the Ag content and exchange site. The H2 adsorption capacities and binding energies represent significant dependence on the content, location, and electronic property of Ag cations introduced into the FAU zeolites. The evident decrease of H2 adsorption binding energy with increased loading concentration demonstrates repulsive interaction between H2 molecules and heterogeneous adsorption configuration on Ag cations. The adsorption sites of H2 sorted by the binding energy with different adsorption configurations were correlated with exchange sites of Ag cations under different Ag loading to comprehend the H2 adsorption mechanism.

Proximity effect between a superconductor and a partially spin-polarized ferromagnet: Case study of the Pb/Cu/Co2Cr1−xFexAl trilayer

Proximity effect between a superconductor and a partially spin-polarized ferromagnet: Case study of the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Pb</mml:mi><mml:mo>/</mml:mo><mml:mi>Cu</mml:mi><mml:mo>/</mml:mo><mml:mi>Co</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:msub><mml:mi>Cr</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mi>x</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msub><mml:msub><mml:mi>Fe</mml:mi><mml:mi>x</mml:mi></mml:msub><mml:mi>Al</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> trilayer

Transport, Structural and Mechanical Properties of Quaternary FeVTiAl Alloy

The electronic, structural, magnetic and transport properties of FeVTiAl quaternary alloy have been investigated within the framework of density functional theory. The material is a completely spin-polarized half-metallic ferromagnet in its ground state with F-43m structure. The structural stability was further confirmed by elastic constants in the cubic phase with high Young’s modulus and brittle nature. The present study predicts an energy band gap of 0.72 eV in a localized minority spin channel at equilibrium lattice parameter of 6.00 A. The transport properties of the material are discussed based on the Seebeck coefficient, and electrical and thermal conductivity coefficients. The alloy presents large values of Seebeck coefficients, ~39 μV K−1 at room temperature (300 K), and has an excellent thermoelectric performance with ZT = ~0.8.

General boundary conditions for quasiclassical theory of superconductivity in the diffusive limit: application to strongly spin-polarized systems

Boundary conditions in quasiclassical theory of superconductivity are of crucial importance for describing proximity effects in heterostructures between different materials. Although they have been derived for the ballistic case in full generality, corresponding boundary conditions for the diffusive limit, described by Usadel theory, have been lacking for interfaces involving strongly spin-polarized materials, e.g. half-metallic ferromagnets. Given the current intense research in the emerging field of superconducting spintronics, the formulation of appropriate boundary conditions for the Usadel theory of diffusive superconductors in contact with strongly spin-polarized ferromagnets for arbitrary transmission probability and arbitrary spin-dependent interface scattering phases has been a burning open question. Here we close this gap and derive the full boundary conditions for quasiclassical Green functions in the diffusive limit, valid for any value of spin polarization, transmission probability, and spin-mixing angles (spin-dependent scattering phase shifts). Our formulation allows also for complex spin textures across the interface and for channel off-diagonal scattering (a necessary ingredient when the numbers of channels on the two sides of the interface differ). As an example we derive expressions for the proximity effect in diffusive systems involving half-metallic ferromagnets. In a superconductor/half-metal/superconductor Josephson junction we find -junction behavior under certain interface conditions.

Unusual spin correlations in a nanomagnet

We show how atomic-scale exchange phenomena can be controlled and exploited in nanoscale itinerant magnets to substantially improve magnetic properties. Cluster-deposition experiments, first-principle simulations, and analytical calculations are used to demonstrate the effect in Co2Si nanoclusters, which have average sizes varying from about 0.6 to 29.5 nm. The cluster-deposited nanoparticles exhibit average magnetic moments of up to 0.70 μB/Co at 10 K and 0.49 μB/Co at 300 K with appreciable magnetocrystalline anisotropies, in sharp contrast to the nearly vanishing bulk magnetization. The underlying spin correlations and associated cluster-size dependence of the magnetization are explained by a surface induced ferromagnetic spin polarization with a decay length of the order of 1 nm, much larger than the nearest-neighbor interatomic distance in the alloy.

Investigations on the defects of MgN within coherent potential approximation

High spin polarization of half-metallic ferromagnets is crucial for spintronic application. However, the appearance of defects will lead to the decrease of spin polarization. Coherent potential approximation within the full-potential local orbital minimum-basis method is applied to simulate the defect effects of MgN with zinc-blende structure. Our results reveal that the stability is reduced due to the formation of defects, while the majority-spin states across the Fermi level decrease the degree of spin polarization, only the defects at the vacant sites preserve the half metallicity of bulk MgN. In addition, the magnetic moments for N antisite defects obey nearly the Slater–Pauling rule within −0.2≤x≤0 concentration due to their high spin polarization. Thus, our study may provide some valuable hints for the fabrication of magnetoelectronic devices with smaller energy losses by the tune of concentration of atomic impurities.

Time-dependent quantum transport: Causal superfermions, exact fermion-parity protected decay modes, and Pauli exclusion principle for mixed quantum states

We extend the recently developed causal superfermion approach to the real-time diagrammatic transport theory to time-dependent decay problems. Its usefulness is illustrated for the Anderson model of a quantum dot with tunneling rates depending on spin due to ferromagnetic electrodes and/or spin polarization of the tunnel junction. This approach naturally leads to an exact result for one of the time-dependent decay modes for any value of the Coulomb interaction compatible with the wideband limit. We generalize these results to multilevel Anderson models and indicate constraints they impose on renormalization-group schemes in order to recover the exact noninteracting limit.(i) We first set up a second quantization scheme in the space of density operators constructing ``causal'' field superoperators using the fundamental physical principles of causality/probability conservation and fermion-parity superselection (univalence). The time-dependent perturbation series for the time evolution is renormalized by explicitly performing the wideband limit on the superoperator level. As a result, the occurrence of destruction and creation superoperators are shown to be tightly linked to the physical short- and long-time reservoir correlations, respectively. This effective theory takes as a reference a damped local system, which may also provide an interesting starting point for numerical calculations of memory kernels in real time. (ii) A remarkable feature of this approach is the natural appearance of a fermion-parity protected decay mode which can be measured using a setup proposed earlier [Phys. Rev. B 85, 075301 (2012)]. This mode can be calculated exactly in the fully Markovian, infinite-temperature limit by leading-order perturbation theory, but surprisingly persists unaltered for finite temperature, for any interaction and tunneling spin polarization. (iii) Finally, we show how a Liouville-space analog of the Pauli principle directly leads to an exact expression in the noninteracting limit for the time evolution, extending previous works by starting from an arbitrary initial mixed state including spin and pairing coherences and two-particle correlations stored on the quantum dot. This exact result is obtained already in finite-order renormalized perturbation theory, which surprisingly is not quadratic but quartic in the field superoperators, despite the absence of Coulomb interaction. The latter fact we relate to the time evolution of the two-particle component of the mixed state, which is just the fermion-parity operator, a cornerstone of the formalism. We illustrate how the super-Pauli-principle also simplifies problems with nonzero Coulomb interaction.

Controllable 0 − π transition in iron pnictide superconductor junctions with a spacer of strong ferromagnet

We investigate the control of 0−π transition in Josephson junctions consisting of a highly spin-polarized ferromagnet coupled to two iron pnictide superconductors (SCs). It is shown that, a 0−π transition as a function of interband coupling strength is always exhibited, which can be experimentally used to discriminate the s±-wave pairing symmetry in the iron pnictide SCs from the s++-wave one in MgB2. By tuning the doping level in the s±-wave SCs, one can vary the interband coupling strength so as to obtain the controllable 0−π transition. This device may be realized with current technologies and has practical use in Cooper pair spintronics and quantum information.

Inverse proximity effect and influence of disorder on triplet supercurrents in strongly spin-polarized ferromagnets

We discuss the Josephson effect in strongly spin-polarized ferromagnets where triplet correlations are induced by means of spin-active interface scattering, extending our earlier work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 227005 (2009)] by including impurity scattering in the ferromagnetic bulk and the inverse proximity effect in a fully self-consistent way. Our quasiclassical approach accounts for the differences of Fermi momenta and Fermi velocities between the two spin bands of the ferromagnet, and thereby overcomes an important short-coming of previous work within the framework of Usadel theory. We show that non-magnetic disorder in conjunction with spin-dependent Fermi velocities may induce a reversal of the spin-current as a function of temperature.