Low-symmetry topological materials for large charge-to-spin interconversion
The spin polarization induced by the spin Hall effect (SHE) in thin films typically points out of the plane. This is rooted on the specific symmetries of traditionally studied systems, not in a fundamental constraint. Recently, experiments on few-layer MoTe2 and WTe2 showed that the reduced symmetry...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:268439 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/268439 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.043230 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Coupling materials Fundamental constraints Interconversions New forms Out-of-plane Spin-orbit couplings Spin-polarization Thin-films Topological materials Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) |
| Sumario: | The spin polarization induced by the spin Hall effect (SHE) in thin films typically points out of the plane. This is rooted on the specific symmetries of traditionally studied systems, not in a fundamental constraint. Recently, experiments on few-layer MoTe2 and WTe2 showed that the reduced symmetry of these strong spin-orbit coupling materials enables a new form of canted spin Hall effect, characterized by concurrent in-plane and out-of-plane spin polarizations. Here, through quantum transport calculations on realistic device geometries, including disorder, we predict a very large gate-tunable SHE figure of merit λsθxy≈1-50 nm in MoTe2 and WTe2 monolayers that significantly exceeds values of conventional SHE materials. This stems from a concurrent long spin diffusion length (λs) and charge-to-spin interconversion efficiency as large as θxy≈80%, originating from momentum-invariant (persistent) spin textures together with large spin Berry curvature along the Fermi contour, respectively. Generalization to other materials and specific guidelines for unambiguous experimental confirmation are proposed, paving the way toward exploiting such phenomena in spintronic devices. These findings vividly emphasize how crystal symmetry and electronic topology can govern the intrinsic SHE and spin relaxation, and how they may be exploited to broaden the range and efficiency of spintronic materials and functionalities. |
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