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Seeking new order parameters and the related broken symmetry and studying their relationship with phase transition have been important topics in condensed matter physics. Here, by using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we confirm the helical spin texture caused by spin-layer locking in the nodal region in the cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ δ and discover the anisotropy of spin polarizations at nodes along Γ – X and Γ – Y directions. The breaking of C 4 rotational symmetry in electronic spin texture may give deeper insights into understanding the ground state of cuprate superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistent spin helix (PSH) system is considered to have promising applications in energy-conservation spintronics because it supports an extraordinarily long spin lifetime of carriers. Here, we predict that the existence of PSH state in two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric NbOI2 monolayers. Our first-principles calculation results show that there exists Dresselhaus-type spin-orbit coupling (SOC) band splitting near the conduction-band minimum (CBM) of the NbOI2 monolayer. It is revealed that the spin splitting near CBM merely refers to out-of-plane spin configuration in the wave vector space, which gives rise to a long-lived PSH state that can be controlled by reversible ferroelectric polarization. We believe that the coupling characteristics of ferroelectric polarization and spin texture in NbOI2 provide a platform for the realization of fully electric controlled spintronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a generalized Rashba coupling approximation to analytically solve confined two-dimensional electron systems with both the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings in an external magnetic field. A solvable Hamiltonian is obtained by performing a simple change of basis, which has the same form as that with only Rashba coupling. Each Landau state becomes a new displaced-Fock state instead of the original Harmonic oscillator Fock state. Analytical energies are consistent with the numerical ones in a wide range of coupling strength even for a strong Zeeman splitting, exhibiting the validity of the analytical approximation. By using the eigenstates, spin polarization correctly displays a jump at the energy-level crossing point, where the corresponding spin conductance exhibits a pronounced resonant peak. As the component of the Dresselhaus coupling increases, the resonant point shifts to a smaller value of the magnetic field. In contrast to pure Rashba couplings, we find that the Dresselhaus coupling and Zeeman splittings tend to suppress the resonant spin Hall effect. Our method provides an easy-to-implement analytical treatment to two-dimensional electron gas systems with both types of spin–orbit couplings by applying a magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic topology is generally related to the Berry curvature, which can induce the anomalous Hall effect in time-reversal symmetry breaking systems. Intrinsic monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides possesses two nonequivalent K and K′ valleys, having Berry curvatures with opposite signs, and thus vanishing anomalous Hall effect in this system. Here we report the experimental realization of asymmetrical distribution of Berry curvature in a single valley in monolayer WSe2 via applying uniaxial strain to break C3v symmetry. As a result, although the Berry curvature itself is still opposite in K and K′ valleys, the two valleys would contribute equally to nonzero Berry curvature dipole. Upon applying electric field E , the emergent Berry curvature dipole D would lead to an out-of-plane orbital magnetization M ∝ D ⋅ E , which further induces an anomalous Hall effect with a linear response to E2, known as nonlinear Hall effect. We show the strain modulated transport properties of nonlinear Hall effect in monolayer WSe2 with moderate hole-doping by gating. The second-harmonic Hall signals show quadratic dependence on electric field, and the corresponding orbital magnetization per current density M/J can reach as large as 60. In contrast to the conventional Rashba–Edelstein effect with in-plane spin polarization, such current-induced orbital magnetization is along the out-of-plane direction, thus promising for high-efficient electrical switching of perpendicular magnetization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the conductance and average current through a triple-quantum-dot interferometer coupled with two ferromagnetic leads using the nonequilibrium Green's function. The results show that the interference between the resonant process and the non-resonant process leads to the formation of Fano resonance. More Fano resonances can be observed by applying a time-dependent external field. As a Zeeman magnetic field is applied, the spin-up electron transport is depressed in a certain range of electron energy levels. A spin-polarized pulse device can be realized by adjusting the spin polarization parameters of ferromagnetic leads. Moreover, the I–V characteristic curves show that under the influence of Fano resonance, the spin polarization is significantly enhanced by applying a relatively large reverse bias voltage. These results strongly suggest that the spin-polarized pulse device can be potentially applied as a spin-dependent quantum device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was recently noted that in certain nonmagnetic centrosymmetric compounds, spin–orbit interactions couple each local sector that lacks inversion symmetry, leading to visible spin polarization effects in the real space, dubbed "hidden spin polarization (HSP)". However, observable spin polarization of a given local sector suffers interference from its inversion partner, impeding material realization and potential applications of HSP. Starting from a single-orbital tight-binding model, we propose a nontrivial way to obtain strong sector-projected spin texture through the vanishing hybridization between inversion partners protected by nonsymmorphic symmetry. The HSP effect is generally compensated by inversion partners near the Γ point but immune from the hopping effect around the boundary of the Brillouin zone. We further summarize 17 layer groups that support such symmetry-assisted HSP and identify hundreds of quasi-2D materials from the existing databases by first-principle calculations, among which a group of rare-earth compounds LnIO (Ln = Pr, Nd, Ho, Tm, and Lu) serves as great candidates showing strong Rashba- and Dresselhaus-type HSP. Our findings expand the material pool for potential spintronic applications and shed light on controlling HSP properties for emergent quantum phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically investigate the electronic structure and spin polarization properties of Na-doped meridianal tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) by first principles calculations. It is found that the spin density is distributed mainly in the Alq3 part in the Alq3:Na complex. Electron charge transfer takes place from the Na atom to the Alq3 molecule, which induces asymmetric changing of the molecule bond lengths, thus the spin density distribution becomes asymmetric. Spin polarization of the complex originates from the preferable filling of the spin-split nitrogen and carbon p-orbitals because of the different bond length changes of the Alq3 molecule upon Na doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate theoretically the combination effect of an in-plane magnetic field and spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) on the spin and charge transport property of a quasi-one-dimensional quantum wire embedded in the (110) crystallographic plane. We find that the oscillations of the conductance induced by the SOIs become more significant and different for the spin-up and spin-down electrons in the presence of the in-plane magnetic field. The conductance exhibits a significant anisotropic behavior and electrons exhibit out-of-plane spin polarization which can be tuned by an in-plane magnetic field. These features offer us an efficient way to control SOI-induced spin transport using in-plane magnetic fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carrier doping effects on the magnetic properties of defective graphene with a hydrogen chemisorbed single- atom vacancy (H-GSV) are investigated by performing extensive spin-polarized first-principles calculations. The-oretical results show that the quasi-localized pz-derived states around the Fermi level are responsible for the weakened magnetic moment (MM) and magnetic stabilized energy (MSE) of the H-GSV under carrier doping. The mechanism of reduced MSE in the carrier doped H-GSV can be well understood by the Heisenberg magnetic coupling model due to the response of these pz-derived states to the carrier doping. Within the examined range of carrier doping concentration, the total MM of H-GSV is always larger than 1.0with representing the Bohr magneton, which is mainly contributed by the localized sp2 states of the unsaturated C atom around the vacancy. These findings of H-GSV provide fundamental insight into defective graphene and help to understand the related experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing accurate self-assembly is the key for constructing functional materials from a bottom-up approach. At present, it is mainly hindered by building blocks and driving modes. We design a new self-assembly method based on the magnetic coupling between spin-polarized electrons. First-principles calculations show that spin-polarized electrons from different endohedral metallofullerene (EMF) superatoms can pair each other to ensure a one-dimensional extending morphology. Furthermore, without ligand passivation, the EMF superatoms maintain their electronic structures robustly in self-assembly owing to the core-shell structure and the atomic-like electron arrangement rule. Therefore, it should noted that the magnetic coupling of monomeric electron spin polarization can be an important driving mechanism for high-precision self-assembly. These results represent a new paradigm for self-assembly and offer fresh opportunities for functional material construction at the atomic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Off-stoichiometric full-Heusler alloy Co2MnAl thin films with different thicknesses are epitaxially grown on GaAs (001) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. The composition of the films, close to Co1.65Mn1.35Al (CMA), is determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Tunable perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) from 3.41 Merg/cm3 to 1.88 Merg/cm3 with the thickness increasing from 10 nm to 30 nm is found, attributed to the relaxation of residual compressive strain. Moreover, comparing with the ultrathin CoFeB/MgO used in the conventional perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction, the CMA electrode has a higher magnetic thermal stability with more volume involved. The PMA in CMA films is sustainable up to 300°C, compatible with semiconductor techniques. This work provides a possibility for the development of perpendicular magnetized full-Heusler compounds with high thermal stability and spin polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin polarization in ferromagnetic metal/insulator/spin-filter barrier/nonmagnetic metal, referred to as quasi-magnetic tunnel junctions, is studied within the free-electron model. Our results show that large positive or negative spin-polarization can be obtained at high bias in quasi-magnetic tunnel junctions, and within large bias variation regions, the degree of spin-polarization can be linearly tuned by bias. These linear variation regions of spin-polarization with bias are influenced by the barrier thicknesses, barrier heights and molecular fields in the spin-filter (SF) layer. Among them, the variations of thickness and heights of the insulating and SF barrier layers have influence on the value of spin-polarization and the linear variation regions of spin-polarization with bias. However, the variations of molecular field in the SF layer only have influence on the values of the spin-polarization and the influences on the linear variation regions of spin-polarization with bias are slight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate theoretically the spin caloritronic transport properties of a stable 1,3,5-triphenylverdazyl (TPV) radical sandwiched between Au electrodes through different connection fashions. Obvious spin Seebeck effect can be observed in the para-connection fashion. Furthermore, a pure spin current and a completely spin-polarized current can be realized by tuning the gate voltage. Furthermore, a 100% spin polarization without the need of gate voltage can be obtained in the meta-connection fashion. These results demonstrate that TPV radical is a promising material for spin caloritronic and spintronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The γ′-Fe4N films on Cu underlayers are deposited on the glass and Si substrates by dc magnetron reactive sputtering. The effects of Cu underlayer on the structure, morphology and magnetic properties of the γ′-Fe4N films are studied. The single-phase γ′-Fe4N films with Cu underlayers on the glass substrate are obtained, while the mixture of Fe and γ′-Fe4N is observed on the Si substrate. In comparison with the films without Cu underlayers, the grains of the films with Cu underlayers exhibit a non-uniform size distribution and give rise to a rougher surface. The magnetic measurements indicate that the γ′-Fe4N films show a good soft ferromagnetic behavior. The enhanced coercivity in the films with Cu underlayers is observed due to the deterioration of the crystallographic structure as well as the rougher surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical properties of strongly correlated manganites are known to depend sensitively on lattice parameters. We show that in thin film form, the magnetic and transport properties of manganites can be tuned in a wide range using epitaxial strain. Specifically, by systematically varying the strain from negative to positive, we have observed 65%, −33%, 650%, and −17% changes for the saturation magnetization field Hs, saturation magnetization Ms, resistivity, and metal-insulator transition temperature. We explain these results with density functional theory calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study on the current shot noise of a quantum point contact with short channel length is reported. The experimentally measured maximum energy level spacing between the ground and the first excited state of the device reached up to 7.5 meV, probably due to the hard wall confinement by using shallow electron gas and sharp point contact geometry. The two-dimensional non-equilibrium shot noise contour map shows noise suppression characteristics in a wide range of bias voltage. Fano factor analysis indicates spin-polarized transport through a short quantum point contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron beam energy at the Hefei Light Source (HLS) in the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory is highly precisely calibrated by using the method of spin resonant depolarization for the first time. The spin tune and the beam energy are determined by sweeping the frequency of a radial rf stripline oscillating magnetic field to artificially excite a spin resonance and depolarize the beam. The resonance signal is recognized by observing the sudden change of the Touschek loss counting rate of the beam. The possible systematic errors of the experiment are presented and the accuracy of the calibrated energy is shown to be about 10−4. A series of measurements show that the energy stability of the machine is of the order of 9 × 10−3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report our observation of the spin polarized 1S0 → 3P0 clock transition spectrum in an optical lattice clock based on fermionic 87Sr. The atoms are trapped and pre-cooled to about 2 μK with two stages of laser cooling at 461 nm and 689 nm, respectively. Then the atoms are loaded into an optical lattice formed by the interference of counter-propagating laser beams at 813 nm. An external cavity diode laser at 698 nm, which is stabilized to a high finesse cavity with a linewidth of about 5 Hz and a drift rate of less than 0.2 Hz/s, is used to excite the atoms to the 3P0 state. The π-polarized clock transition spectrum of resolvable mF states is obtained by applying a small bias magnetic field along the polarization axis of the probe beam. A spin polarized clock transition spectrum as narrow as 10 Hz with an 80 ms probe pulse is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]