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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Coherent Spin Pumping Originated from Sub-Terahertz Néel Vector Dynamics in Easy Plane α -Fe 2 O 3 /Pt

We present a thorough study of spin-to-charge current interconversion in bulk and thin films of (0001) 𝛼-Fe2O3/Pt heterostructures by all-optical polarization-controlled microwave excitation at sub-Terahertz frequencies. Our results demonstrate that coherent spin pumping is generated through excitations of both the q-FM and q-AFM modes of antiferromagnetic resonance, provided that the corresponding selection rules are met. Our findings significantly advance current understanding of spin pumping in easy-plane antiferromagnets not only by claiming a substantial contribution from the Néel-vector dynamics of the q-AFM mode but also by experimentally determining the relative strength of the intra- and cross-sublattice components of the spin-mixing conductance, challenging recent reports where the absence of spin pumping from the q-AFM mode in Hematite was interpreted as a complete cancellation between these two components. We also provide an explanation for the previously reported observations and show how the q-AFM spin pumping actually vanishes for thin films, which we speculate being either due to an increased level of inhomogeneities or to insufficient film thickness for the q-AFM mode to fully realize.

Fritjofson, Gregory [University of Central Florida↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electron Spin Polarization and Rectification Driven by Chiral Perylene Diimide-Based Nanodonuts

The chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect allows thin-film layers of chiral conjugated molecules to function as spin filters at ambient temperature. Through solvent-modulated dropcasting of chiral l- and d-perylene diimide (PDI) monomeric building blocks, two types of aggregate morphologies, nanofibers and nanodonuts, may be realized. Spin-diode behavior is evidenced in the nanodonut structures. Stacked PDI units, which form the conjugated core of these nanostructures, dominate the nanodonut–Au electrode contact; in contrast, the AFM tip contacts largely the high-resistance solubilizing alkyl chains of the chiral monomers that form these nanodonuts. Current–voltage responses of the nanodonuts, measured by magnetic conductive AFM (mC-AFM), demonstrate substantial spin polarizations as well as spin current rectification ratios (>10) that exceed the magnitudes of those determined to date for other chiral nanoscale systems. Furthermore, these results underscore the potential for chiral nanostructures, featuring asymmetric molecular junctions, to enable CISS-based nanoscale spin current rectifiers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

The 2020 Skyrmionics Roadmap

The notion of non-trivial topological winding in condensed matter systems represents a major area of present-day theoretical and experimental research. Magnetic materials offer a versatile platform that is particularly amenable for the exploration of topological spin solitons in real space such as skyrmions. First identified in non-centrosymmetric bulk materials, the rapidly growing zoology of materials systems hosting skyrmions and related topological spin solitons includes bulk compounds, surfaces, thin films, heterostructures, nano-wires and nano-dots. This underscores an exceptional potential for major breakthroughs ranging from fundamental questions to applications as driven by an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas between areas in magnetism which traditionally have been pursued rather independently. The skyrmionics roadmap provides a review of the present state of the art and the wide range of research directions and strategies currently under way. These are, for instance, motivated by the identification of the fundamental structural properties of skyrmions and related textures, processes of nucleation and annihilation in the presence of non-trivial topological winding, an exceptionally efficient coupling to spin currents generating spin transfer torques at tiny current densities, as well as the capability to purpose- design broad-band spin dynamic and logic devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Chirality-Induced Spin Selectivity in Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Semiconductors

The movement of charges through a chiral medium results in a spin-polarized charge current. This phenomenon, known as the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, enables control over spin populations without the need for magnetic components and operates at room temperature. CISS has been discovered in a range of chiral media and most prominently studied in chiral organic molecular species. Chiral hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite semiconductors combine the unique and functional aspects of inorganic semiconductors with chiral molecules. The inorganic component borrows the homochirality of the organic component to yield a unique family of highly tunable chiral semiconductors, where the enantiomeric purity is defined by the organic component. Semiconductors already form the backbone of modern-day technologies. Adding chirality and control over spin through CISS provides new avenues for creative technological development. This review is intended to be an introduction to these unique systems and the demonstrations of CISS and spin control.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unconventional Spintronics from Chiral Perovskites

Spintronic devices typically employ heterostructures with ferromagnets which break time-reversal symmetry and have non-vanishing magnetization. With the growing class of materials that support spin-polarized carriers, current, and excitations, it is possible to envision emerging spintronic applications that are not limited to magnetoresistance. Here, chiral perovskites with no net magnetization are considered, where the space-inversion and mirror symmetries are broken to induce chiral structure. The known importance of these perovskites is further expanded by the demonstration of the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS). However, the generation of the spin-polarized carriers across the interface with these chiral perovskites remains to be fully understood. These first-principles studies for 2D PbBr4-based chiral perovskites provide their electronic structure and an orbital-based symmetry analysis, which allows to establish an effective Hamiltonian to elucidate the underlying origin of their chirality. The same analysis is used for the Edelstein effect, responsible for electrical generation of the nonequilibrium spin polarization in many materials, which in chiral perovskites can be a mechanism contributing to CISS. Furthermore, by examining optical properties of chiral perovskites and the opportunity to use them to realize tunable altermagnets, another class of zero-magnetization spintronic materials, a versatile materials platform is put forth for unconventional spintronics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Current-driven transverse domain wall oscillations in perpendicular spin-valve structures

Spin-transfer-driven oscillations of a transverse domain wall confined to a perpendicular spin-valve structure are investigated using a one-dimensional model. The stack consists of a polarizer, nonmagnetic spacer, soft free layer, and pinned magnetic layer. It is found that the domain-wall oscillation frequency is a nonmonotonic, highly asymmetrical function of applied electric current, showing a strong dependence on the current direction and the relative strengths of the interfacial and bulk spin-transfer torques. Micromagnetic analysis reveals that the surprising and atypical oscillator response is due to an interplay between the interfacial spin-transfer torque, the bulk spin-transfer torque, the exchange torque, and the damping torque. The underlying physical and material responses are examined, including the important role of the domain-wall twist. The competitions between the involved torques under different operating conditions suggest that the oscillator could serve as a model system to investigate magnetic and spintronic phenomena at the nanoscale. Finally, the observed current-dependent twisting of the free-layer magnetization about the axis of precession may further be found interesting for investigations of the interaction between spin-polarized current and chiral spin structures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect in chiral assemblies of π -conjugated polymers

Coupling of spin and charge currents to structural chirality in non-magnetic materials, known as chirality-induced spin selectivity, is promising for application in spintronic devices at room temperature. Although the chirality-induced spin selectivity effect has been identified in various chiral materials, its Onsager reciprocal process, the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect, remains unexplored. Here we report the observation of the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect in chiral assemblies of π-conjugated polymers. Using spin-pumping techniques, the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect enables quantification of the magnitude of the longitudinal spin-to-charge conversion driven by chirality-induced spin selectivity in different chiral polymers. By widely tuning conductivities and supramolecular chiral structures via a printing method, we found a very long spin relaxation time of up to several nanoseconds parallel to the chiral axis. Furthermore, our demonstration of the inverse chirality-induced spin selectivity effect suggests possibilities for elucidating the puzzling interplay between spin and chirality, and opens a route for spintronic applications using printable chiral assemblies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Meron, skyrmion, and vortex crystals in centrosymmetric tetragonal magnets

The recent experimental confirmation of a transformation between meron and skyrmion topological spin textures in the chiral magnet Co 8 Zn 9 Mn 3 confirms that the skyrmion crystals discovered in 2009 are just the tip of the iceberg. Crystals of topological textures, including skyrmions, merons, vortices, and monopoles, can be stabilized by combining simple physical ingredients, such as lattice symmetry, frustration, and spin anisotropy. The current challenge is to find the combinations of these ingredients that produce specific topological spin textures. In this work, we report a simple mechanism for the stabilization of meron, skyrmion, and vortex crystals in centrosymmetric tetragonal magnets. In particular, the meron/skyrmion crystals can form even in absence of magnetic field. The application of magnetic field leads to a rich variety of topological spin textures that survive in the long wavelength limit of the theory. When conduction electrons are coupled to the spins, these topological spin textures twist the electronic wave functions to induce Chern insulators and Weyl semimetals for specific band filling fractions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Proximity Spin–Orbit Torque on a Two-Dimensional Magnet within van der Waals Heterostructure: Current-Driven Antiferromagnet-to-Ferromagnet Reversible Nonequilibrium Phase Transition in Bilayer CrI 3

The recently discovered two-dimensional magnetic insulator CrI 3 is an intriguing case for basic research and spintronic applications since it is a ferromagnet in the bulk but an antiferromagnet in bilayer form, with its magnetic ordering amenable to external manipulations. Using the first-principles quantum transport approach, we predict that injecting unpolarized charge current parallel to the interface of the bilayer-CrI 3 /monolayer-TaSe 2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure will induce spin–orbit torque and thereby drive the dynamics of magnetization on the first monolayer of CrI 3 in direct contact with TaSe 2 . By combining the calculated complex angular dependence of spin–orbit torque with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation for classical dynamics of magnetization, we demonstrate that current pulses can switch the direction of magnetization on the first monolayer to become parallel to that of the second monolayer, thereby converting CrI 3 from antiferromagnet to ferromagnet while not requiring any external magnetic field. We explain the mechanism of this reversible current-driven nonequilibrium phase transition by showing that first monolayer of CrI 3 carries current due to evanescent wave functions injected by metallic transition metal dichalcogenide TaSe 2 , while concurrently acquiring strong spin–orbit coupling via such a proximity effect, whereas the second monolayer of CrI 3 remains insulating. Furthermore, the transition can be detected by passing vertical read current through the vdW heterostructure, encapsulated by a bilayer of hexagonal boron nitride and sandwiched between graphite electrodes, where we find a tunneling magnetoresistance of ≃240%.

2D magnetic materials↗
DOE OSTI2023

Spin-related phenomena in spin 3/2 charge carrier holes systems

Charge carrier holes provide a remarkable system for spintronics and quantum information technology. In this review paper, I discuss spin-related phenomena in three-dimensional and low-dimensional hole systems. Special attention is paid to the mutual transformation of heavy and light holes at the boundary of quantum wells and wires that governs values of parameters defining hole spectra in quantum wells, wires and dots, such as effective masses, g-factors and Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit constants. Recently, topological phenomena in condensed matter systems, such as emergence of Majorana zero modes and non-Abelian phases in the fractional quantum Hall effect, sparked considerable interest of researchers. Charge carrier holes turn out to be a remarkable setting for possible observation of these phenomena and advancing topological quantum computing. I discuss the spectra and wavefunctions of two-dimensional holes in magnetic field. While there is a semiclassical range of parameters when heavy and light holes can be described by equidistant Landau levels, ground-level holes and holes in a few low-lying excited states behave as species completely different from electrons. Especially interesting are crossings in hole spectra in magnetic field. Hole–hole interactions can substantially differ from electron–electron interactions. Apart from the difference in exchange splitting, this shows in possible emergence of even denominator fractional quantum Hall state in the ground hole level in magnetic field. I also briefly discuss spintronic phenomena, such as mutual transformation of angular momentum (spin) of holes and electric current, as well as spin-related interference effects in hole transport. Recent developments in a system of Ge hole quantum dots offer new perspectives for hole-based systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accidental persistent spin textures in the proustite mineral family

Persistent spin textures (PSTs) in momentum space have the potential to enable spintronic devices which are currently limited by spin lifetimes in nonmagnetic spin-orbit coupled materials. We perform a first-principles study on the proustite mineral family, Ag 3 ⁢B⁢Q 3 (B = As, Sb; Q = S, Se), and show these chalcogenides exhibit nonsymmetry-protected PSTs, which we refer to as symmetry-assisted PSTs. Chemical substitution can be used to tune the PST quality and properties, e.g., spin lifetime, and we find that a Rashba anisotropy criterion correlates with the PST area and spin lifetime for two of the three proustites examined. Last, we show that a first-order effective SOC Hamiltonian, often used in two-dimensional systems, is insufficient to describe the PST state in all proustites, suggesting that higher order models are necessary to fully describe PSTs in bulk three-dimensional materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Exploring strongly correlated quantum spin systems with quantum computers

At inception, quantum annealing leveraged quantum mechanics for classical optimization tasks. However, as machine coherence increases, the realization of quantum spin systems has emerged as an even more fruitful application of this computational model. Alternatives to the standard gate model deserve exploration, to achieve useful quantum advantage via analog quantum computing. The recent demonstration of so-called coherent quantum annealing with 1,000s of qubits, further expands the potential for this hardware to explore quantum system dynamics where the effects of quantum fluctuations can be carefully controlled and observed directly. Implementing existing celebrated spin models—or in fact new and dedicated ones—into quantum annealers will lead to observation and detection of quantum phenomena not yet observed, or not visualized directly, in experimental physics laboratories. Rather than computing or simulating quantum systems, these quantum computers allow one to simply build quantum systems, and experiment on them in an uniquely controlled way, with characterization down to the constitutive degree of freedom. This provides an unprecedented opportunity for understanding the physics of quantum spin systems. Keywords: Theoretical physics currently abounds of interesting theoretical spin models to explore frustration, strongly correlated spins, spin liquids, fractionalized excitations, and topological matter. However enticing, such models are generally only weak proxies for the properties of actual materials. In quantum annealers these models could be realized and experimented upon. Moreover, many more realistic models of such materials could be realized in quantum annealers. Employed in this way, quantum annealers provide an extraordinary versatile platform to explore quantum effects that are hard to find, detect, and characterize in natural materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Permutable SOS (symmetry operational similarity)

Abstract Based on symmetry consideration, quasi-one-dimensional (1D) objects, relevant to numerous observables or phenomena, can be classified into eight different types. We provide various examples of each 1D type and discuss their symmetry operational similarity (SOS) relationships, which are often permutable. A number of recent experimental observations, including current-induced magnetization in polar or chiral conductors, non-linear Hall effect in polar conductors, spin-polarization of tunneling current to chiral conductors, and ferro-rotational domain imaging with linear gyration are discussed in terms of (permutable) SOS. In addition, based on (permutable) SOS, we predict a large number of new phenomena in low symmetry materials that can be experimentally verified in the future.

Materials Science↗
DOE OSTI2023

Long-range, non-local switching of spin textures in a frustrated antiferromagnet

Abstract Antiferromagnetic spintronics is an emerging area of quantum technologies that leverage the coupling between spin and orbital degrees of freedom in exotic materials. Spin-orbit interactions allow spin or angular momentum to be injected via electrical stimuli to manipulate the spin texture of a material, enabling the storage of information and energy. In general, the physical process is intrinsically local: spin is carried by an electrical current, imparted into the magnetic system, and the spin texture will then rotate in the region of current flow. In this study, we show that spin information can be transported and stored “non-locally" in the material Fe x NbS 2 . We propose that collective modes can manipulate the spin texture away from the flowing current, an effect amplified by strong magnetoelastic coupling of the ordered state. This suggests a novel way to store and transport spin information in strongly spin-orbit coupled magnetic systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Transport in helical Luttinger liquids in the fractional quantum Hall regime

Abstract Domain walls in fractional quantum Hall ferromagnets are gapless helical one-dimensional channels formed at the boundaries of topologically distinct quantum Hall (QH) liquids. Naïvely, these helical domain walls (hDWs) constitute two counter-propagating chiral states with opposite spins. Coupled to an s-wave superconductor, helical channels are expected to lead to topological superconductivity with high order non-Abelian excitations 1–3 . Here we investigate transport properties of hDWs in the ν = 2/3 fractional QH regime. Experimentally we found that current carried by hDWs is substantially smaller than the prediction of the naïve model. Luttinger liquid theory of the system reveals redistribution of currents between quasiparticle charge, spin and neutral modes, and predicts the reduction of the hDW current. Inclusion of spin-non-conserving tunneling processes reconciles theory with experiment. The theory confirms emergence of spin modes required for the formation of fractional topological superconductivity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Noise Erasure in Quantum-Limited Current Amplifiers

Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are extraordinarily sensitive to magnetic flux and thus make excellent current amplifiers for cryogenic applications. One such application of high interest to Sandia is the set-up and state read-out of quantum dot based qubits, where a qubit state is read out from a short current pulse (microseconds to milliseconds long) of approximately 100 pA, a signal that is easily corrupted by noise in the environment. A Parametric SQUID Amplifier can be high bandwidth (in the GHz range), low power dissipation (less than 1pW), and can be easily incorporated into multi-qubit systems. In this SAIL LDRD, we will characterize the noise performance of the parametric amplifier front end -- the SQUID -- in an architecture specific to current readout for spin qubits. Noise is a key metric in amplification, and identifying noise sources will allow us to optimize the system to reduce its effects, resulting in higher fidelity readout. This effort represents a critical step in creating the building blocks of a high speed, low power, parametric SQUID current amplifier that will be needed in the near term as quantum systems with many qubits begin to come on line in the next few years.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

La 2 ⁢O 3 ⁢Mn 2 ⁢Se 2 : A correlated insulating layered d-wave altermagnet

Altermagnets represent a new class of magnetic phases without net magnetization, invariant under a combination of rotation and time reversal. Unlike conventional collinear antiferromagnets (AFM), altermagnets could lead to new correlated states and important material properties deriving from their nonrelativistic spin-split band structure. Indeed, they serve as the magnetic analogue of unconventional superconductors and can yield spin-polarized electrical currents in the absence of external magnetic fields, making them promising candidates for next-generation spintronics. Here, we report altermagnetism in the correlated insulator, magnetically ordered tetragonal oxychalcogenide, L⁢a 2 ⁢O 3⁢ M⁢n 2 ⁢S⁢e 2 . Symmetry analysis reveals a 𝑑 𝑥 2 −𝑦 2 -wave-like spin-momentum locking arising from the M⁢n 2 ⁢O Lieb lattice, supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Magnetic measurements confirm the AFM transition below ∼166K while neutron pair distribution function analysis reveals a 2D short-range magnetic order that persists above the Néel temperature. Single crystals are grown and characterized using x-ray diffraction, optical and electron microscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy to confirm the crystal structure, stoichiometry, and uniformity. Furthermore, our findings establish L⁢a 2⁢ O 3 ⁢M⁢n 2⁢ S⁢e 2 as a model altermagnetic system realized on a Lieb lattice.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

The 20-nm Skyrmion Generated at Room Temperature by Spin-Orbit Torques

The discovery of magnetic skyrmions provides a promising pathway for developing functional spintronic memory and logic devices. Towards the future high-density memory application, nanoscale skyrmions with miniaturized diameters, ideally down to 20 nm are required. Using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism transmission microscopy, nanoscale skyrmions are observed in the [Pt/Co/Ir] 15 multilayer at room temperature. In particular, small skyrmions with minimum diameters approaching 20 nm could be generated by the current-induced spin-orbit torques. Through implementing material specific parameters, the dynamic process of skyrmion generation is further investigated by performing micromagnetic simulations. According to the simulation results, we find that both the tube-like Néel-type skyrmions and the bobber-like Néel-type skyrmions can be electrically generated. In particular, the size of the bobber-like Néel-type skyrmions can be effectively reduced by the spin-orbit torques, which leads to the formation of 20 nm Néel-type skyrmions. In conclusion, our findings could be important for understanding the formation dynamics of nanoscale Néel-type spin textures, skyrmions and bobber in particular, which could also be useful for promoting nanoscale skyrmionic memories and logic devices.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗