First-Principles Calculations on Novel Rb-Based Halide Double Perovskites Alloys for Spintronics and Optoelectronic Applications

The outcomes of computational study of electronic, magnetic and optical spectra for A2BX6 (A = Rb;B = Tc, Pb, Pt, Sn, W, Ir, Ta, Sb, Te, Se, Mo, Mn, Ti, Zr and X = Cl, Br) materials have been proceeded utilizing Vanderbilt Ultra Soft Pseudo Potential (US-PP) process. The Rb2PbBr6 and Rb2PbCl6 are found to be a (Г-Г) semiconductors with energy gaps of 0.275 and 1.142 eV, respectively making them promising photovoltaic materials. The metallic behavior of the materials for Rb2BX6 (B = Tc, W, Ir, Ta, Mn, Sb, Mo) has been confirmed showing the attendance of conducting lineaments. The dielectric function is found to be large close to the ultraviolet districts (3.10 - 4.13 eV). The extinction coefficient of the Rb2BX6 has the ability to be used for implements. The band structures and density of states ensure the magnetic semiconductors’ nature of the Rb2Mn (Cl, Br)6 perovskites. The total calculated magnetic moment of Rb2MnCl6 and Rb2MnB6 is 3.00μβ. Advanced spintronic technology requires room-temperature ferromagnetism. The present work confirms that, bromine and chlorine-founded double perovskites are extremely attractive for photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.

Perspectives on exfoliated two-dimensional spintronics

Magnetic orderings, i.e., the spontaneous alignment of electron spins below a critical temperature, have been playing key roles in modern science and technologies for both the wide applications of magnetic recording for information storage and the vibrant potential of solid state electronic spin devices (also known as spintronics) for logic operations. In the past decades, thanks to the development of thin film technologies, magnetic thin films via sputtering or epitaxial growth have made the spintronic devices possible at the industrial scale. Yet thinner materials at lower costs with more versatile functionalities are highly desirable for advancing future spintronics. Recently, van der Waals magnetic materials, a family of magnets that can in principle be exfoliated down to the monolayer limit, seem to have brought tremendous opportunities: new generation van der Waals spintronic devices can be seamlessly assembled with possible applications such as optoelectronics, flexible electronics, and etc. Moreover, those exfoliated spintronic devices can potentially be compatible with the famed metal-oxide field effect transistor architectures, allowing the harness of spin performances through the knob of an electrostatic field.

Spintronics in Two-Dimensional Materials

Spintronics,exploiting the spin degree of electrons as the information vector,is an attractive field for implementing the beyond Complemetary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS)devices.Recently,two-dimensional(2D)materials have been drawing tremendous attention in spintronics owing to their distinctive spin-dependent properties,such as the ultralong spin relaxation time of graphene and the spin-valley locking of transition metal dichalcogenides.Moreover,the related heterostructures provide an unprecedented probability of combining the di erent characteristics via proximity e ect,which could remedy the limitation of individual 2D materials.Hence,the proximity engineering has been growing extremely fast and has made significant achievements in the spin injection and manipulation.Nevertheless,there are still challenges toward practical application;for example,the mechanism of spin relaxation in 2D materials is unclear,and the high-effciency spin gating is not yet achieved.In this review,we focus on 2D materials and related heterostructures to systematically summarize the progress of the spin injection,transport,manipulation,and application for information storage and processing.We also highlight the current challenges and future perspectives on the studies of spintronic devices based on 2D materials.

Spinterface:A new platform for spintronics

Since its discovery in early 2000’s Molecular Spintronics has developed in an established and fructuous research field,achieving a number of outstanding results and unveiling unusual spintronic properties.Typically the most mysterious device element,the interface,in molecular spintronics has on contrary received and enormous attention and even gained a special nickname–the spinterface.Based on significant efforts of many research groups worldwide it has been established its critical role in defining the main functionalities of molecular spintronic devices.Noteworthily the spinterface was found to control the properties of the both components constituting the interface,not only those of the molecular layer but surprisingly also those of the magnetic counterpart.This paper aims to overview the most striking spinterface properties and to highlight the possibilities to promote new device paradigms based on interfacial modulation.

Silicene spintronics——A concise review

Spintronics involves the study of active control and manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. The fascinating spin-resolved properties of graphene motivate numerous researchers to study spintronics in graphene and other two-dimensional(2D) materials. Silicene, the silicon analog of graphene, is considered to be a promising material for spintronics. Here, we present a review of theoretical advances with regard to spin-dependent properties, including the electric field- and exchange field-tunable topological properties of silicene and the corresponding spintronic device simulations.

Reactively sputtered Fe_3 O_4 -based films for spintronics

Half metallic polycrystalline, epitaxial Fe3O4 films and Fe3O4 -based heterostructures for spintronics were fabricated by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. Large tunneling magnetoresistance was found in the polycrystalline Fe3O4 films and attributed to the insulating grain boundaries. The pinning effect of the moments at the grain boundaries leads to a significant exchange bias. Frozen interfacial/surface moments induce weak saturation of the high-field magnetoresistance. The films show a moment rotation related butterfly-shaped magnetoresistance. It was found that in the films, natural growth defects, antiphase boundaries, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy play important roles in high-order anisotropic magnetoresistance. Spin injection from Fe3O4 films to semiconductive Si and ZnO was measured to be 45% and 28.5%, respectively. The positive magnetoresistance in the Fe3O4 -based heterostructures is considered to be caused by a shift of the Fe3O4 e g ↑ band near the interface. Enhanced magnetization was observed in Fe3O4 /BiFeO 3 heterostructures experimentally and further proved by first principle calculations. The enhanced magnetization can be explained by spin moments of the thin BiFeO 3 layer substantially reversing into a ferromagnetic arrangement under a strong coupling that is principally induced by electronic orbital reconstruction at the interface.

Spin-dependent balance equations in spintronics

It is commonly known that the hydrodynamic equations can be derived from the Boltzmann equation. In this paper, we derive similar spin-dependent balance equations based on the spinor Boltzmann equation. Besides the usual charge current, heat current, and pressure tensor, we also explore the characteristic spin accumulation and spin current as well as the spin-dependent pressure tensor and heat current in spintronics. The numerical results of these physical quantities are demonstrated using an example of spin-polarized transport through a mesoscopic ferromagnet.

Progress in organic spintronics

Recent progress in organic spintronics is given an informative overview, covering spin injection, detection, and trans-port in organic spin valve devices, and the magnetic field effect in organic semiconductors （OSCs）. In particular, we focus on our own recent work in spin injection and the organic magnetic field effect （OMFE）.

Artificial neuron and synapse in spintronics devices

Neuromorphic computing is the development of computingschemes inspired by the processing of information in thebrain, which can execute complex tasks very efficiently usingan architecture that is completely different from that of semiconductorchips. Recently, researchers from Tohoku Universityhave realized an artificial neuron and synapse in spintronicsdevices, which are promising for future energy-efficientand adoptive computing systems, as they behave likethe spiking neural network in human brains.

Materials for Spintronics: Magnetic and Transport Properties of Ultrathin (Monolayer Graphene)/MnO(001) and MnO(001) Films

Results of investigations of band structure, Fermi surface and effective masses of charge carriers in the ultrathin (monolayer graphene)/MnO(001) and MnO(001) films are presented using the method of the density functional theory. Features of spin states of valence band and Fermi level as well as an interatomic interaction in these systems are discussed. A magnetic moment at Mn atom is estimated and an effect of spin polarization at atoms of oxygen and carbon has been revealed which natures are discussed. By calculations of structural energies for 2D (monolayer graphene)/MnO(001) and 2D MnO(001) a stability of these systems has been ascertained. In the 2D (monolayer graphene)/MnO(001) and 2D MnO(001) systems the band structure calculations for the 2D systems mentioned above point out that tensor components of effective masses of both electrons and holes are in the ranges of (0.15 - 0.54) m0 and (0.38 - 1.27) m0 respectively. Mobility estimations of two-dimensional charge carriers for a 2D (monolayer graphene)/MnO(001)AF2 heterostructure have been performed.

High-performance spin-filtering and spin-rectifying effects in Blatter radical-based molecular spintronic device

We design a Blatter radical-based molecular spintronic device, and investigate its spin-polarized transport properties using density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function technique. High-performance spin-rectifying and spin-filtering effects are realized. The physical mechanism is explained by the spin-resolved bias voltage-dependent transmission spectra, the energy levels of the corresponding molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian orbitals, and their spatial distributions. The results demonstrate that the Blatter radical has great potential in the development of highperformance multifunctional molecular spintronic devices.

应力调控下基于Skyrmion的晶体管特性

研究了不同应力、磁各向异性常数对电流驱动Skyrmion的动力学特性影响。随着施加应力增大,能够产生稳定Skyrmion的各向异性常数取值范围的上下限增大,即外加应力影响电流驱动时Skyrmion运行的稳定性。设计了一种宽-窄-宽型Skyrmion基晶体管,通过调控应力和各向异性常数来调控晶体管的开关特性。仿真结果表明,当极化电流密度、各向异性常数变化时,晶体管导通状态对应的应力范围也随之变化。研究结果为设计Skyrmion基晶体管及相关逻辑功能器件提供了新思路。

磁子霍尔效应

霍尔效应是凝聚态领域中古老却又极具潜力的研究领域,其起源可以追溯到数百年前.1879年,霍尔发现将载流导体置于磁场中时,磁场带来的洛伦兹力将使得电子在导体的一侧积累,这一新奇的物理现象被命名为霍尔效应.之后,一系列新的霍尔效应被发现,包括反常霍尔效应、量子霍尔效应、自旋霍尔效应、拓扑霍尔效应和平面霍尔效应等.值得注意的是,霍尔效应能够实现不同方向的粒子流之间的相互转化,因此在信息传输过程中扮演着重要的角色.在玻色子体系(如磁子)中,相应的一系列磁子霍尔效应也被发现,他们共同推动了以磁子为基础的自旋电子学的发展.本文回顾了近年来在磁子体系中的霍尔效应,简述其现代半经典的处理方法,包括虚拟电磁场理论和散射理论等.并进一步介绍了磁子霍尔效应的物理起源,概述了不同类型磁子的霍尔效应.最后,对磁子霍尔效应的发展趋势进行了展望.

基于磁性隧道结和双组分多铁纳磁体的超低功耗磁弹模数转换器

本文提出了一种由8个磁性隧道结(magnetic tunnel junction,MTJ)构成的3位磁弹模数转换器(magnetoelastic analog-to-digital converter,MEADC),该转换器中MTJ自由层为双组分多铁纳磁体.通过对多铁纳磁体实施应变介导的电压调控,可以实现零场条件下的确定性磁化翻转.研究发现:对于给定尺寸,给定材料的双组分多铁纳磁体,压电层厚度与双组分多铁纳磁体的临界翻转电压线性相关.基于该原理,通过调整压电层的厚度使得MEADC具有8个不同的电压切换阈值,将模拟信号转换为8个多铁MTJ不同磁化状态组合.同时,设计了锁存比较器和独立的读取电路来检测MTJ的阻态,以此实现了数字信号的输出.Monte Carlo功能模拟表明:该MEADC在室温下写入成功率可达100%;此外,读写电路相互分离,使得压电层厚度与MTJ的输出参考电压无关,因此每个MTJ可设置相同的参考电压,从而具有更高的读取可靠性.微磁仿真和数值模拟分析发现:该MEADC的工作频率可达250 MHz,单次转换能耗仅为20 aJ;与基于Racetr ack技术的磁模数转换器相比,能耗降低了1000倍,采样速率提高了10倍.本文提出的MEADC可为基于自旋电子器件的存算一体电路架构提供重要的技术支撑.

电子在自旋-轨道耦合调制下磁受限半导体纳米结构中的传输时间及其自旋极化

通过考虑构筑在半导体GaAs/Al_(x)Ga_(1–x)As异质结上的磁受限半导体纳米结构中的塞曼效应和自旋-轨道耦合,本文采用理论分析和数值计算相结合的方法研究了电子的传输时间与自旋极化.利用矩阵对角化和改进的转移矩阵方法,数值求解电子的薛定谔方程;采用H.G.Winful理论求电子的居留时间,并计算自旋极化率.由于塞曼效应与自旋-轨道耦合,电子的居留时间明显地与其自旋有关,因此可在时间维度上分离自旋、实现半导体中电子的自旋极化.因为半导体GaAs的有效g-因子很小,电子自旋极化主要源于自旋-轨道耦合,大约为塞曼效应引起的自旋极化的4倍.由于电子的有效势与自旋-轨道耦合的强度有关,电子的居留时间及其自旋极化可通过界面限制电场或应力工程进行有效调控.这些有趣的结果不仅对半导体自旋注入具有参考价值,而且还可为半导体自旋电子学器件应用提供时间电子自旋分裂器.

基于拓扑/二维量子材料的自旋电子器件

拓扑材料和二维材料等新型量子材料,为自旋电子器件的研究与发展提供了新契机.这些量子材料不但有助于提高电荷-自旋转换效率及提供高质量异质结界面,从而改善器件表现,更由于它们丰富的相互作用和耦合关系,能提供新奇物理现象和新的物性调控机制,在自旋电子器件方面具有潜在的应用价值.拓扑材料和二维材料,尤其是层状拓扑材料、二维磁性材料以及它们组成的异质结的相关研究,取得了丰硕的成果,兼顾了启发性与及时的实用性.本文将综述这些新型量子材料的近期研究成果:首先重点介绍拓扑材料在自旋轨道力矩器件中实现的突破;其次着重总结二维磁性材料的特性及其在自旋电子器件中的应用;最后将进一步讨论由拓扑材料/二维磁性材料组成的全范德瓦耳斯异质结的研究进展.

Strain-tuned electronic and valley-related properties in Janus monolayers of SWSiX_(2)(X=N,P,As)

Exploring novel two-dimensional(2D)valleytronic materials has an essential impact on the design of spintronic and valleytronic devices.Our first principles calculation results reveal that the Janus SWSiX_(2)(X=N,P,As)monolayer has excellent dynamical and thermal stability.Owing to strong spin–orbit coupling(SOC),the SWSiX_(2)monolayer exhibits a valence band spin splitting of up to 0.49 eV,making it promising 2D semiconductor for valleytronic applications.The opposite Berry curvatures and optical selection rules lead to the coexistence of valley and spin Hall effects in the SWSiX2 monolayer.Moreover,the optical transition energies can be remarkably modulated by the in-plane strains.Large tensile(compressive)in-plane strains can achieve spin flipping in the SWSiN2 monolayer,and induce both SWSiP_(2)and SWSiAs_(2)monolayers transit from semiconductor to metal.Our research provides new 2D semiconductor candidates for designing high-performance valleytronic devices.

Gate-field control of valley polarization in valleytronics

Valleytronics materials are a kind of special semiconductors which can host multiple symmetry-connected and wellseparated electron or hole pockets in the Brillouin zone when the system is slightly n or p doped. Since the low-energy particles residing in these pockets generally are not easily scattered to each other by small perturbations, they are endowed with an additional valley degree of freedom. Analogous to spin, the valley freedom can be used to process information,leading to the concept of valleytronics. The prerequisite for valleytronics is the generation of valley polarization. Thus,a focus in this field is achieving the electric generation of valley polarization, especially the static generation by the gate electric field alone. In this work, we briefly review the latest progress in this research direction, focusing on the concepts of the couplings between valley and layer, i.e., the valley–layer coupling which permits the gate-field control of the valley polarization, the couplings between valley, layer, and spin in magnetic systems, the physical properties, the novel designing schemes for electronic devices, and the material realizations of the gate-controlled valleytronics materials.

Spin-orbit torque effect in silicon-based sputtered Mn_(3)Sn film

Noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn_(3)Sn has shown remarkable efficiency in charge-spin conversion,a novel magnetic spin Hall effect,and a stable topological antiferromagnetic state,which has resulted in great interest from researchers in the field of spin-orbit torque.Current research has primarily focused on the spin-orbit torque effect of epitaxially grown noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn_(3)Sn films.However,this method is not suitable for large-scale industrial preparation.In this study,amorphous Mn_(3)Sn films and Mn_(3)Sn/Py heterostructures were prepared using magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates.The spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance measurement demonstrated that only the conventional spin-orbit torque effect generated by in-plane polarized spin currents existed in the Mn_(3)Sn/Py heterostructure,with a spin-orbit torque efficiency of 0.016.Additionally,we prepared the perpendicular magnetized Mn_(3)Sn/CoTb heterostructure based on amorphous Mn_(3)Sn film,where the spin-orbit torque driven perpendicular magnetization switching was achieved with a lower critical switching current density(3.9×10^(7)A/cm^(2))compared to Ta/CoTb heterostructure.This research reveals the spin-orbit torque effect of amorphous Mn_(3)Sn films and establishes a foundation for further advancement in the practical application of Mn_(3)Sn materials in spintronic devices.

Challenges and Prospects of Molecular Spintronics

Molecular spintronics,as an emerging field that makes full use of the advantage of ultralong room-temperature spin lifetime and abundant electrical-optical-magnetic properties of molecular semiconductors,has gained wide attention for its great potential for further commercial applications.Despite the significant progress that has been made,there remain several huge challenges that limit the future development of this field.This Perspective provides discussions on the spin transport mechanisms and performances of molecular semiconductors,spinterface effect,and related spin injection in spintronic devices,and current spin-charge interactive functionalities,along with the summarization of the main obstacles of these aspects.Furthermore,we particularly propose targeted solutions,aiming to enhance the spin injection and transport efficiency by molecular design and interface engineering and explore diverse spinrelated functionalities.Through this Perspective,we hope it will help the spintronic community identify the research trends and accelerate the development of molecular spintronics.