Thermal Spin Research Articles

Thermal transport and spin–phonon interaction in magnetic Janus Cr2X3S3 (X = Br, I) monolayers

Comprehending the relationship between spin and phonons is essential to regulate the lattice thermal conductivity in 2D magnetic materials. Lattice thermal conductivity is a relevant part to consider in magnetic data storage and the working of spin-based devices. In this article, we examined the origin and effect of spin–phonon coupling (SPC) on the lattice thermal conductivity of pristine CrI3 monolayer-based Janus monolayers Cr2X3S3 (X=Br,I). We find a high SPC in these Janus monolayers due to in-plane Cr–S atomic vibrations. We observe a reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity at Janus monolayer magnetic states (∼52.3% in Cr2Br3S3 and ∼63.9% in Cr2I3S3) compared to its paramagnetic states. The analysis is also conducted to determine which magnetic state has more anharmonicity using potential energy wells. A wide range of 2D magnetic materials can benefit from our results in the future development of spin-based thermal devices.

Fluctuation-induced piezomagnetism in local moment altermagnets

It was recently discovered that, depending on their symmetries, collinear antiferromagnets may break spin degeneracy in momentum space, even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling. Such systems, dubbed altermagnets, have electronic bands with a spin-momentum texture set mainly by the combined crystal-magnetic symmetry. This discovery motivates the question of which novel physical properties derive from altermagnetic order. Here we show that one consequence of altermagnetic order is a fluctuation-driven piezomagnetic response. Using two Heisenberg models of d-wave altermagnets, a checkerboard one and one for rutiles, we determine the fluctuation-induced piezomagnetic coefficients considering temperature-induced transversal spin fluctuations. We establish in addition that magnetic fluctuations induce an anisotropic thermal spin conductivity. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

The thermal transport properties of Boron-doped C2N nanoribbons

In this paper, we focus on the thermal spin transport properties of hydrogen-saturated graphene-like nanoribbons substituted for doped nonmetallic B by using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green's function approach. We find that AC2NNR-H(B) is a distinctly narrow bandgap semiconductor material and exhibits significant spin Seebeck effect, temperature switching effect, and giant magnetoresistance. Surprisingly, the spin Seebeck coefficients can reach 1.16 mV/K and the magnetoresistance value not only reaches 108% at low temperature, but also 104% near room temperature. These unique transport properties can be explained using spin-dependent transmission spectra combined with energy band structure. The current work further extends the theoretical study of graphene-like derivatives and provides new ideas for the construction of spintronic devices.

Localized dopant motion across the 2D Ising phase transition

I investigate the motion of a single hole in 2D spin lattices with square and triangular geometries. While the spins have nearest neighbor Ising spin couplings JJ, the hole is allowed to move only in 1D along a single line in the 2D lattice with nearest neighbor hopping amplitude tt. The non-equilibrium hole dynamics is initialized by suddenly removing a single spin from the thermal Ising spin lattice. I find that for any nonzero spin coupling and temperature, the hole is localized. This is an extension of the thermally induced localization phenomenon [Phys. Rev. Res. 6, 023325 (2024)] to the case, where there is a phase transition to a long-range ordered ferromagnetic phase. The dynamics depends only on the ratio of the temperature to the spin coupling, k_BT / |J|kBT/|J|, and on the ratio of the spin coupling to the hopping J/tJ/t. I characterize these dependencies in great detail. In particular, I find universal behavior at high temperatures, common features for the square and triangular lattices across the Curie temperatures for ferromagnetic interactions, and highly distinct behaviors for the two geometries in the presence of antiferromagnetic interactions due geometric frustration in the triangular lattice.

Separation of Inverse Altermagnetic Spin-Splitting Effect from Inverse Spin Hall Effect in RuO_{2}.

Recently, a significant amount of attention has been attracted toward a third classification of magnetism, altermagnetism, due to the unique physical properties of altermagnetic materials, which are compensated collinear antiferromagnets that host time-reversal symmetry-breaking phenomena like a ferromagnet. In an altermagnetic material, through the nonrelativistic altermagnetic spin-splitting effect (ASSE), a transverse spin current is generated upon charge current injection. However, it is very challenging to experimentally establish the ASSE since it is inevitably mixed with the spin Hall effect due to the relativistic spin-orbit coupling of the material. Additionally, the dependence on the hard-to-probe and hard-to-control Néel vectors makes it even more difficult to observe and establish the ASSE. In this Letter, we utilize the thermal spin injection from the ferrimagnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet and detect an inverse altermagnetic spin-splitting effect (IASSE) in the high-quality epitaxial altermagnetic RuO_{2} thin films. We observe an opposite sign for the spin-to-charge conversion through the IASSE compared to the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). The efficiency of the IASSE is approximately 70% of the ISHE in RuO_{2}. Moreover, we demonstrate that the ASSE or IASSE effect is observable only when the Néel vectors are well aligned. By modifying the Néel vector domains via RuO_{2} crystallinity, we study the ASSE or IASSE unequivocally and quantitatively. Our Letter provides significant insight into the spin-splitting effect in altermagnetic materials.

Theory of the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect induced by thermal spin injection

Theory of the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect induced by thermal spin injection

Enhanced magnon thermal transport in yttrium-doped spin ladder compounds Sr14−xYxCu24O41

Magnons are quasiparticles of spin waves, carrying both thermal energy and spin information. Controlling magnon transport processes is critical for developing innovative magnonic devices used in data processing and thermal management applications in microelectronics. The spin ladder compound Sr14Cu24O41 with large magnon thermal conductivity offers a valuable platform for investigating magnon transport. However, there are limited studies on enhancing its magnon thermal conductivity. Herein, we report the modification of magnon thermal transport through partial substitution of strontium with yttrium (Y) in both polycrystalline and single crystalline Sr14−xYxCu24O41. At room temperature, the lightly Y-doped polycrystalline sample exhibits 430% enhancement in thermal conductivity compared to the undoped sample. This large enhancement can be attributed to reduced magnon-hole scattering, as confirmed by the Seebeck coefficient measurement. Further increasing the doping level results in negligible change and eventually suppression of magnon thermal transport due to increased magnon-defect and magnon-hole scattering. By minimizing defect and boundary scattering, the single crystal sample with x = 2 demonstrates a further enhanced room-temperature magnon thermal conductivity of 19Wm−1K−1, which is more than ten times larger than that of the undoped polycrystalline material. This study reveals the interplay between magnon-hole scattering and magnon-defect scattering in modifying magnon thermal transport, providing valuable insights into the control of magnon transport properties in magnetic materials.

Thermal and Coherent Spin Pumping by Noncollinear Antiferromagnets.

Antiferromagnets attract much interest because of their potential for spintronic applications and open fundamental physics questions, but especially noncollinear antiferromagnets remain relatively unexplored. Here, we formulate the thermal and coherent pumping of spins in noncollinear antiferromagnets|normal metal bilayers. We find that the spin current polarization is a vector with components along both the Néel vector and net magnetic moment. The spin mixing conductance for the coherent spin pumping is a tensor with elements depending on the degree of noncollinearity and interface spin configuration. We explain the controversial sign problem of the antiferromagnetic spin Seebeck effect by interface effects and suggest that interface engineering may enhance the spin pumping efficiency.

Thermally induced localization of dopants in a magnetic spin ladder

I unveil an emergent localization phenomenon pertaining to the motion of a dopant in a thermal spin lattice. This is rendered localized by thermal spin fluctuations, whereby it is in stark constrast to the intrinsic origin of Anderson localization for quenched disorder. The system of interest consists of spin-1/2 particles organized in a two-leg ladder with nearest-neighbor Ising interactions J. The motion of a hole—the dopant—is initialized by suddenly removing a spin from the thermal spin ensemble, which then moves along the ladder via nearest-neighbor hopping t. I find that the hole remains for all values of J/t and for nonzero temperatures. The origin is an effective disorder potential seen by the hole and induced by thermal spin fluctuations. Its length scale is found to match with the underlying spin-spin correlation length at low temperatures. For ferromagnetic couplings (J<0), the associated localization length of the hole increases with decreasing temperature and becomes proportional to the correlation length at low temperatures, asymptotically delocalizing at low temperatures. For antiferromagnetic couplings (J>0), there is a smooth crossover between thermal localization at high temperatures to localization driven by the antiferromagnetic order at low temperatures. At infinite temperatures, the dynamics becomes independent of the sign of the spin coupling, whereby the localization length is a universal function of |J|/t, diverging as (t/J)2 for |J|≪t. Finally, I analyze a setup with Rydberg-dressed atoms, which naturally realizes finite-range Ising interactions, accessible in current experimental setups. I show that the discovered localization phenomenon can be probed on experimentally accessible length- and timescales, providing a strong testing ground for my predictions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Two-Dimensional Ultrathin Fe3Sn2 Kagome Metal with Defect-Dependent Magnetic Property.

Two-dimensional (2D) Fe3Sn2, which is a room-temperature ferromagnetic kagome metal, has potential applications in spintronic devices. However, the systematic synthesis and magnetic study of 2D Fe3Sn2 single crystals have rarely been reported. Here we have synthesized 2D hexagonal and triangular Fe3Sn2 nanosheets by controlling the amount of FeCl2 precursors in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. It is found that the hexagonal Fe3Sn2 nanosheets exist with Fe vacancy defects and show no obvious coercivity. While the triangular Fe3Sn2 nanosheet has obvious hysteresis loops at room temperature, its coercivity first increases and then remains stable with an increase in temperature, which should result from the competition of the thermal activation mechanism and spin direction rotation mechanism. A first-principles calculation study shows that the Fe vacancy defects in Fe3Sn2 can increase the distances between Fe atoms and weaken the ferromagnetism of Fe3Sn2. The resulting 2D Fe3Sn2 nanosheets provide a new choice for spintronic devices.

Topological magnon–polaron transport in a bilayer van der Waals magnet

The stacking of intrinsically magnetic van der Waals materials provides a fertile platform to explore tunable transport effects of magnons, presenting significant prospects for spintronic applications. The possibility of having topologically nontrivial magnons in these systems can further expand the scope of exploration. In this work, we consider a bilayer system with intralayer ferromagnetic exchange and a weak interlayer antiferromagnetic exchange and study the topological magnon-polaron excitations induced by magnetoelastic couplings. Under an applied magnetic field, the system features a metamagnetic transition, where the magnetic ground state changes from antiparallel layers to parallel. We show that the metamagnetic transition is accompanied by a transition of the topological structure of the magnon polarons, which results in discernible changes in the topology induced transport effects. The magnetic-field dependence of the thermal Hall conductivity and spin Nernst coefficient is analyzed with linear response theories.

Significant effects of magnetic electrodes on rhenium phthalocyanine molecules

The investigation focused on examining the spin polarization and thermal spin polarization transport characteristics of dual rhenium phthalocyanine (Re2PC2) molecular junctions. This analysis was conducted using first-principles density-functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function approach. Calculations were performed on molecular junctions in two configurations: one at a non-magnetic electrode (Au) and the other at a magnetic electrode (Ni). A comparison of the spin transport properties of the two electrodes shows significant differences. The magnetic electrode has a notable effect on the spin-polarization and thermal spin-polarization transport properties of the devices. In contrast, the nickel electrode bis-phthalocyanine rhenium molecular device exhibits perfect spin/thermal spin-filtering efficiencies in a parallel structure. The properties of the dual phthalocyanine rhenium molecular devices were significantly affected by the nature of the electrodes. This makes dual rhenium phthalocyanine molecular junctions have great potential for the development of high-performance multifunctional spintronic and spin caloritronic devices.

Spin-fluctuation-induced sign reversal of the spin Hall angle in Pt100−x Co x alloys near the Curie temperature

The spin Hall effect (SHE), typically emerging in non-magnetic metals with strong spin-orbit couplings, has attracted significant attention for its ability to convert a charge current into a spin current, a key feature in power-efficient spintronic devices. Recently, an enhanced SHE has been detected in the magnetic alloys, where the spin Hall conductivity is strongly modified by the dynamical and thermal spin fluctuations. We find that the spin Hall angle ( θSH ) in Pt100−x Co x alloys dramatically changes at the Curie temperature, which is positive in the paramagnetic phase akin to Pt, while negative in the ferromagnetic phase. Such intriguing behavior of θSH stemming from individual and collective fluctuations in the magnetic moments is further substantiated with the full-fledged Monte Carlo simulations. Our work broadens insights into the SHE and highlights the importance of spin fluctuations for the spin-current generation near the ferromagnetic instability point of magnetic alloys.

Measurement of Reverse-Light-Induced Excited Spin State Trapping in Spin Crossover Systems: A Study Case with Zn1−xFex(6-mepy)3tren(PF6)2·CH3CN; x = 0.5%

In an attempt to better understand the physics governing the apparition of reverse-light-induced excited spin state trapping (LIESST) phenomena in spin crossover (SCO) compounds, we have studied the LIESST effect and the possibility of a reverse-LIESST effect in the SCO complex Zn1−xFex(6-mepy)3tren(PF6)2·CH3CN, x = 0.5%. ((6-mepy)3tren = tris{4-[(6-methyl)-2-pyridyl]-3-aza-butenyl}amine)). This complex was chosen as a good candidate to show reverse-LIESST by comparison with its unsolvated analogue, since the introduction of acetonitrile in the structure leads to the stabilisation of the high-spin state and both exhibit a very abrupt thermal spin transition. Indeed, the steep thermal spin transitions of two differently polarised crystals of Zn1−xFex(6-mepy)3tren(PF6)2·CH3CN, x = 0.5% have been characterised in detail in a first step using absorption spectroscopy and no influence of the polarisation was found. These were then fitted within the mean field model to obtain the variation in the enthalpy and entropy and the critical temperatures associated with the process, which are significantly lower with respect to the unsolvated compound due to the incorporation of acetonitrile. In a second step, the light-induced low-spin-to-high-spin transition at low temperatures based on LIESST and its subsequent high-spin-to-low-spin relaxation at different temperatures were characterised by time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, with exponential behaviour in both cases. The stabilisation of the high-spin state due to the presence of acetonitrile was evidenced. Finally, light-induced high-spin-to-low-spin state transition at low temperature based on reverse-LIESST was attempted by time-resolved absorption spectroscopy but the Fe(II) concentration was too low to observe the effect.

Magnetothermal transport in the spin- 12 easy-axis antiferromagnetic chain

By an exact analytical approach we study the magnetothermal transport in the spin-12 easy-axis Heisenberg model, in particular the thermal conductivity and spin Seebeck effect as a function of anisotropy, magnetic field, and temperature. We stress a distinction between the common spin Seebeck effect with fixed boundary conditions and the one (intrinsic) with open boundary conditions. In the open boundary spin Seebeck effect we find exceptional features at the critical fields between the low field antiferromagnetic phase, the gapless one, and the ferromagnetic at high fields. We further study the development of these features as a function of easy-axis anisotropy and temperature. We point out the potential of these results to experimental studies in spin chain compounds—candidates for spin current generation in the field of spintronics. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Effective Influence of an Electric Current on Brillouin Spectra in the NiFe/IrMn Structure

When an electric current flows through the NiFe/IrMn structure, a significant redistribution of the intensities of the direct Stokes and inverse anti-Stokes lines in spectra of Brillouin scattering on thermal spin waves is observed. This is due to a change in the orientation of uniaxial anisotropy and the corresponding easy axis of the exchange shift under the action of the spin–orbit torque in the IrMn antiferromagnet, which in turn affects the dynamics of spin waves in the neighboring ferromagnetic NiFe layer. The detected effect indicates that spin-wave processes in a ferromagnet can be controlled by applying a spin current to change the magnetic anisotropy of the NiFe/IrMn interface.

Above room temperature spin crossover in mononuclear iron(II) complexes featuring pyridyl-benzimidazole bidentate ligands adorned with aliphatic chains.

Two bidentate ligands (L1 = 1-pentyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-benzimidazole and L2 = 1-heptyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-benzimidazole) were employed for the synthesis of five mononuclear Fe(II) coordination compounds 1-5 containing perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate and triflate counterions. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the expected molecular structures of all the reported compounds, revealing a moderately distorted octahedral geometry of {FeN6} coordination chromophores. All five compounds exhibit thermal spin crossover with T1/2 temperatures allocated above 400 K. The theoretical calculations supported the experimental magnetic investigation and helped to explain the electronic structures of the reported complexes with respect to the occurrence of thermal spin state switching. In addition, compound 4 was employed for the preparation of Langmuir-Blodgett films and fabrication of molecular films using the method of spontaneous evaporation of the subphase. While the formation of Langmuir-Blodgett films was unsuccessful due to the instability of the compound at the water/air interface, the latter technique allowed the formation of molecular films of 4 with well-defined thickness and homogeneity.

Enriching 2D transition metal borides via MB XMenes (M = Fe, Co, Ir): Strong correlation and magnetism.

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) FeSe-like anti-MXenes (or XMenes), composed of late d-block transition metal M and p-block nonmetal X elements, have been both experimentally and theoretically investigated. Here, we select three 2D borides FeB, CoB and IrB for a deeper investigation by including strong correlation effects, as a fertile ground for understanding and applications. Using a combination of Hubbard corrected first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo simulations, FeB and CoB are found to be ferro- and anti-ferro magnetic, contrasting with the non-magnetic nature of IrB. The metallic FeB XMene monolayer, superior to most of the MXenes or MBenes, exhibits robust ferromagnetism, driven by intertwined direct-exchange and super-exchange interactions between adjacent Fe atoms. The predicted Curie temperature (TC) of the FeB monolayer via the Heisenberg model reaches an impressive 425 K, with the easy-axis oriented out-of-plane and high magnetic anisotropic energy (MAE). The asymmetry in the spin-resolved transmission spectrum induces a thermal spin current, providing an opportunity for spin filtration. This novel 2D FeB material is expected to hold great promise as an information storage medium and find applications in emerging spintronic devices.

Thermally generated spin current in the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3

We present measurements of thermally generated transverse spin currents in the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 , thereby completing measurements of interconversions among the full triad of thermal gradients, charge currents, and spin currents. We accomplish this by comparing the spin Nernst magneto-thermopower to the spin Hall magnetoresistance for bilayers of Bi 2 Se 3 /CoFeB. We find that Bi 2 Se 3 does generate substantial thermally driven spin currents. A lower bound for the ratio of spin current density to thermal gradient is J s ∇ x T = (4.9 ± 0.9) × 10 6 ( ℏ 2 e ) A m − 2 K μ m − 1 , and a lower bound for the magnitude of the spin Nernst ratio is −0.61 ± 0.11. The spin Nernst ratio for Bi 2 Se 3 is the largest among all materials measured to date, two to three times larger compared to previous measurements for the heavy metals Pt and W. Strong thermally generated spin currents in Bi 2 Se 3 can be understood via Mott relations to be due to an overall large spin Hall conductivity and its dependence on electron energy.

Anisotropy unveiled ∆g spin‐mixing for magnetotransport in conducting polymers

AbstractUnderstanding magnetotransport properties in semiconductors plays a vital role in either developing future spintronic or unveiling the underpinning physics of electronic dynamics. In recent years, the high‐field magnetoconductance (HFM, B ~ 1 T) in polymers has drawn intense discussions and always been attributed to thermal spin polarization (TSP). In this work, the HFMs in several benchmark polymers are proposed to be correlated to the ∆g spin‐mixing effect, determined from their remarkable anisotropy in response to magnetic fields, which cannot be explained only by TSP. It is the fundamental difference between two spins' Lande factors stemming from the random orientations of molecular backbones that contributes to the intense ∆g spin‐mixing effect, leading to HFMs' anisotropy as high as 150%. It is further found that the ∆g spin‐mixing mechanism greatly correlates with the charge transport dynamics in polymers, in which a slow‐ to fast‐hopping crossover was observed and further verified by pressure‐dependent HFMs characteristics.