Fully spin-polarized, valley-polarized and spin-valley-polarized electron beam splitters utilizing zero-line modes in a three-terminal device

Topological zero-line modes(ZLMs) with spin and valley degrees of freedom give rise to spin, valley and spinvalley transport, which support a platform for exploring quantum transport physics and potential applications in spintronic/valleytronic devices. In this work, we investigate the beam-splitting behaviors of the charge current due to the ZLMs in a three-terminal system. We show that with certain combinations of ZLMs, the incident charge current along the interface between different topological phases can be divided into different polarized currents with unit transmittance in two outgoing terminals. As a result, fully spin-polarized, valley-polarized and spin-valley-polarized electron beam splitters are generated. The mechanism of these splitters is attributed to the cooperative effects of the distribution of the ZLMs and the intervalley and intravalley scatterings that are modulated by the wave-vector mismatch and group velocity mismatch. Interestingly, half-quantized transmittance of these scatterings is found in a fully spin-valley-polarized electron beam splitter.Furthermore, the results indicate that these splitters can be applicable to graphene, silicene, germanene and stanene due to their robustness against the spin–orbit coupling. Our findings offer a new way to understand the transport mechanism and investigate the promising applications of ZLMs.

Temperature-controllable spin-polarized current and spin polarization in a Rashba three-terminal double-quantum-dot device

We propose a Rashba three-terminal double-quantum-dot device to generate a spin-polarized current and manipulate the electron spin in each quantum dot by utilizing the temperature gradient instead of the electric bias voltage. This device possesses a nonresonant tunneling channel and two resonant tunneling channels. The Keldysh nonequilibrium Green＇s function techniques are employed to determinate the spin-polarized current flowing from the electrodes and the spin accumulation in each quantum dot. We find that their signs and magnitudes are well controllable by the gate voltage or the temperature gradient. This result is attributed to the change in the slope of the transmission probability at the Fermi levels in the low-temperature region. Importantly, an obviously pure spin current can be injected into or extracted from one of the three electrodes by properly choosing the temperature gradient and the gate voltages. Therefore, the device can be used as an ideal thermal generator to produce a pure spin current and manipulate the electron spin in the quantum dot.

Faster vortex core switching with lower current density using three-nanocontact spin-polarized currents in a confined structure

We perform micromagnetic simulations on the switching of magnetic vortex core by using spin-polarized currents through a three-nanocontact geometry. Our simulation results show that the current combination with an appropriate current flow direction destroys the symmetry of the total effective energy of the system so that the vortex core can be easier to excite,resulting in less critical current density and a faster switching process. Besides its fundamental significance, our findings provide an additional route to incorporating magnetic vortex phenomena into data storage devices.

Spin-polarized current in double quantum dots

We analyze the transport through asymmetric double quantum dots with an inhomogeneous Zeeman splitting in the presence of crossed dc and ac magnetic fields. A strong spin-polarized current can be obtained by changing the dc magnetic field. It is mainly due to the resonant tunnelling. But for the ferromagnetic right electrode, the electron spin resonance also plays an important role in transport. We show that the double quantum dots with three-level mixing under crossed dc and ac magnetic fields can act not only as a bipolar spin filter but also as a spin inverter under suitable conditions.

Antiresonance induced spin-polarized current generation

According to the one-dimensional antiresonance effect （Wang X R, Wang Y and Sun Z Z 2003 Phys. Rev. B 65 193402）, we propose a possible spin-polarized current generation device. Our proposed model consists of one chain and an impurity coupling to the chain. The energy level of the impurity can be occupied by an electron with a specific spin, and the electron with such a spin is blocked because of the antiresonance effect. Based on this phenomenon our model can generate the spin-polarized current flowing through the chain due to different polarization rates. On the other hand, the device can also be used to measure the generated spin accumulation. Our model is feasible with today＇s technology.

Photon-mediated spin-polarized current in a quantum dot under thermal bias

Spin-polarized current generated by thermal bias across a system composed of a quantum dot （QD） connected to metallic leads is studied in the presence of magnetic and photon fields. The current of a certain spin orientation vanishes when the dot level is aligned to the lead＇s chemical potential, resulting in a 100% spin-polarized current. The spin-resolved current also changes its sign at the two sides of the zero points. By tuning the system＇s parameters, spin-up and spin-down currents with equal strength may flow in opposite directions, which induces a pure spin current without the accompany of charge current. With the help of the thermal bias, both the strength and the direction of the spin-polarized current can be manipulated by tuning either the frequency or the intensity of the photon field, which is beyond the reach of the usual electric bias voltage.

Measurements of ocean wave and current field using dual polarized X-band radar

A new ocean wave and sea surface current monitoring system with horizontally-(HH) and vertically-(VV) polarized X-band radar was developed.Two experiments into the use of the radar system were carried out at two sites,respectively,for calibration process in Zhangzi Island of the Yellow Sea,and for validation in the Yellow Sea and South China Sea.Ocean wave parameters and sea surface current velocities were retrieved from the dual polarized radar image sequences based on an inverse method.The results obtained from dual-polarized radar data sets acquired in Zhangzi Island are compared with those from an ocean directional buoy.The results show that ocean wave parameters and sea surface current velocities retrieved from radar image sets are in a good agreement with those observed by the buoy.In particular,it has been found that the vertically-polarized radar is better than the horizontally-polarized radar in retrieving ocean wave parameters,especially in detecting the significant wave height below 1.0 m.

The effects of electric and magnetic fields on the current spin polarization and magnetoresistance in a ferromagnetic/organic semiconductor/ferromagnetic（FM/OSC/FM） system

From experimental results of spin polarized injection and transport in organic semiconductors（OSCs）,we theoretically study the current spin polarization and magnetoresistance under an electric and a magnetic field in a ferromagnetic/organic semiconductor/ferromagnetic（FM/OSC/FM） sandwich structure according to the spin drift-diffusion theory and Ohm＇s law.From the calculations,it is found that the interfacial current spin polarization is enhanced by several orders of magnitude through tuning the magnetic and electric fields by taking into account the specific characteristics of OSC.Furthermore,the effects of the electric and magnetic fields on the magnetoresistance are also discussed in the sandwich structure.

Spin-polarized transport in a normal/ferromagnetic/normal zigzag graphene nanoribbon junction

We investigate the spin-dependent electron transport in single and double normal/ferromagnetic/normal zigzag graphene nanoribbon （NG/FG/NG） junctions. The ferromagnetism in the FG region originates from the spontaneous magnetization of the zigzag graphene nanoribbon. It is shown that when the zigzag-chain number of the ribbon is even and only a single transverse mode is actived, the single NG/FG/NG junction can act as a spin polarizer and/or a spin analyzer because of the valley selection rule and the spin-exchange field in the FG, while the double NG/FG/NG/FG/NG junction exhibits a quantum switching effect, in which the on and the off states switch rapidly by varying the cross angle between two FG magnetizations. Our findings may shed light on the application of magnetized graphene nanoribbons to spintronics devices.

Progress in manipulating spin polarization for solar hydrogen production

Photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting using semiconductor materials are effective approaches for converting solar energy into hydrogen fuel.In the past few years,a series of photocatalysts/photoelectrocatalysts have been developed and optimized to achieve efficient solar hydrogen production.Among various optimization strategies,the regulation of spin polarization can tailor the intrinsic optoelectronic properties for retarding charge recombination and enhancing surface reactions,thus improving the solar-to-hydrogen(STH)efficiency.This review presents recent advances in the regulation of spin polarization to enhance spin polarized-dependent solar hydrogen evolution activity.Specifically,spin polarization manipulation strategies of several typical photocatalysts/photoelectrocatalysts(e.g.,metallic oxides,metallic sulfides,non-metallic semiconductors,ferroelectric materials,and chiral molecules)are described.In the end,the critical challenges and perspectives of spin polarization regulation towards future solar energy conversion are briefly provided.

Monte Carlo simulation of in-plane spin-polarized transport in GaAs/GaAlAs quantum well in the three-subband approximation

We develop a Monte Carlo （MC） tool incorporated with the three-subband approximation model to investigate the in-plane spln-polarized transport in GaAs/GaAlAs quantum well. Using the tool, the effects of the electron occupation of higher subbands and the intersuhband scattering on the spin dephasing have been studied. Compared with the corresponding results of the simple one-snbband approximation model, the spin dephasing length is reduced four times under 0.125 kV/cm of driving electric field at 300K by the MC tool incorporated with the three-subband approximation model, indicating that the three-subbarld approximation model predicts significantly shorter spin dephasing length with temperature increasing. Our simulation results suggest that the effects of the electron occupation of higher subbands and the intersubband scattering on the spln-dependent transport of GaAs 2-dhuensional electron gas need to be considered when the driving electric field exceeds the moderate value and the lattice temperature is above 100K. The simulation by using the MC tool incorporated with the three-subband approximation model also indicates that, under a eertain driving electric field and lattice temperature, larger channel widths cause spins to be depolarized faster. Ranges of the three components of the spins are different for three different injected spin polarizations due to the anisotropy of spin-orbit interaction.

Spin-polarized quantum transport through an Aharonov-Bohm quantum-dot-ring

In this paper the quantum transport through an Aharonov-Bohm （AB） quantum-dot-ring with two dot-array arms described by a single-band tight-binding Hamiltonian is investigated in the presence of additional magnetic fields applied to the dot-array arms to produce spin flip of electrons. A far richer interference pattern than that in the charge transport alone is found. Besides the usual AB oscillation the tunable spin polarization of the current by the magnetic flux is a new observation and is seen to be particularly useful in technical applications. The spectrum of transmission probability is modulated by the quantum dot numbers on the up-arc and down-arc of the ring, which, however, does not affect the period of the AB oscillation.

Pure spin polarized transport based on Rashba spin orbit interaction through the Aharonov Bohm interferometer embodied four-quantum-dot ring

The spin-polarized linear conductance spectrum and current–voltage characteristics in a four-quantum-dot ring embodied into Aharonov–Bohm （AB） interferometer are investigated theoretically by considering a local Rashba spin–orbit interaction. It shows that the spin-polarized linear conductance and the corresponding spin polarization are each a function of magnetic flux phase at zero bias voltage with a period of 2π, and that Hubbard U cannot influence the electron transport properties in this case. When adjusting appropriately the structural parameter of inter-dot coupling and dot-lead coupling strength, the electronic spin polarization can reach a maximum value. Furthermore, by adjusting the bias voltages applied to the leads, the spin-up and spin-down currents move in opposite directions and pure spin current exists in the configuration space in appropriate situations. Based on the numerical results, such a model can be applied to the design of a spin filter device.

MONTE CARLO SIMULATION OF SPIN-POLARIZED SECONDARY ELECTRONS FROM IRON

A Monte Carlo model considering the electron spin direction and spin asymmetry h as been developed. The energy distribution of the secondary electron polarizatio n and the primary energy dependence of the polarization from Fe are studied. The simulation results show that: (1) the intensity of the spin-up secondary electr ons is larger thanvthat of thevspin-down secondary electrons, suggesting the s econdary electrons are spin polarized; (2) the spin polarization of secondary el ectrons with nearly zero kinetic energy is higher than the average valance spin polarization, Pb=27% for Fe. With increasing kinetic energy, the spin polarizat ion of the secondary electrons decreases to the value of Pb, remaining constant at higher kinetic energies; (3) the spin polarization increases with an increase in the primary energy and reaches a saturation value at higher primary energy i n both the Monte Carlo simulation and experimental results.

Current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization in semiconductor-nanowire/s-wave superconductor junctions with strong spin–orbit coupling

We have studied the characteristics of current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization in semiconductor-nanowire/swave superconductor junctions with strong spin–orbit coupling. It was found that within some parameter regions the magnitude of the current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization density in such structures will increase（or decrease） with the decrease（or increase） of the charge current density, in contrast to that found in normal spin–orbit coupled semiconductor structures. It was also found that the unusual characteristics of the current-induced nonequilibrium spin polarization in such structures can be well explained by the effect of the Andreev reflection.

Passive magnetic shielded spin polarized electron source with optical electron polarimeter

A new GaAs（100） spin polarized electron source with an optical polarimeter, which is employed in the field of polarized electron and gas atom collision, is presented in detail. The apparatus is passive-magnetic-shielded by a box and a cylinder made of nickel-iron-molybdenum soft magnetic alloy without Helmholtz coil arrangement. And a uniformly distributed residual magnetic field of less than 5 × 10^-7T is obtained near the collision area. The spin polarized electron beam is transmitted and focused onto collision point from photocathode by a set of electron optics with more than 25% transmission 95 cm distance through an 1 mm diameter aperture. Construction and operation of the apparatus, such as vacuum and magnetic shielding system, photocathode, laser optics, electron optics and polarimeter are discussed. The polarization of the spin polarized electron beam is determined to be 30.8 ±3.5% measured with a He optical polarimeter.

Polarized spin transport in mesoscopic quantum rings with electron phonon and Rashba spin-orbit coupling

The influence of electron-phonon （EP） scattering on spin polarization of current output from a mesoscopic ring with Rashba spin-orbit （SO） interaction is numerically investigated. There are three leads connecting to the ring at different positionsl unpolarized current is injected to one of them, and the other two are output channels with different bias voltages. The spin polarization of current in the outgoing leads shows oscillations as a function of EP coupling strength owing to the quantum interference of EP states in the ring region. As temperature increases, the oscillations are evidently suppressed, implying decoherence of the EP states. The simulation shows that the magnitude of polarized current is sensitive to the location of the lead. The polarized current depends on the connecting position of the lead in a complicated way due to the spin-sensitive quantum interference effects caused by different phases accumulated by transmitting electrons with opposite spin states along different paths.

Spin-polarized transport through the T-shaped double quantum dots

Using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function and equation-of-motion technique, this paper investigates the spin-polarized transport properties of the T-shaped double quantum dots （DQD） coupled to two ferromagnetic leads. There are both Fano effect and Kondo effect in the system, and due to their mutual interaction, the density of states, the current, and the differential conductance of the system depend sensitively on the spin-polarized strength. Thus the obtained results show that this system is provided with excellent spin filtering property, which indicates that this system may be a candidate for spin valve transistors in the spintronics.

Detecting Spin Bias with Circularly Polarized Light

We theoretically study the spin transport through a two-terminal quantum dot device under the influence of a symmetric spin bias and circularly polarized light. It is found that the combination of the circularly polarized light and the applied spin bias can result in a net charge current. The resultant charge current is large enough to be measured when properly choosing the system parameters. The resultant charge current can be used to deduce the spin bias due to the fact that there exists a simple linear relation between them. When the external circuit is open, a charge bias instead of a charge current can be induced, which is also measurable by present technologies. These findings indicate a new approach to detect the spin bias by using circularly polarized light.

Dependences of spin polarization on the control parameters in the spin-polarized injection through the magnetic p-n junction

Effective spin-polarized injection from magnetic semiconductor （MS） to nonmagnetic semiconductor （NMS） has been highlighted in recent years. In this paper we study theoretically the dependence of nonequilibrium spin polarization （NESP） in NMS during spin-polarized injection through the magnetic p-n junction. Based on the theory in semiconductor physics, a model is established and the boundary conditions are determined in the case of no external spin-polarized injection and low bias. The control parameters that may influence the NESP in NMS are indicated by calculating the distribution of spin polarization. They are the doping concentrations, the equilibrium spin polarization in MS and the bias. The effective spin-polarized injection can be realized more easily by optimizing the above parameters.