We report the electronic, magnetic and transport properties of a prototypical antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronic device. We chose Cr as the active layer because it is the only room-temperature AFM elemental metal. We sandwiched Cr between two non-magnetic metals (Pt or Au) with large spin-orbit coupling. We also inserted a buffer layer of insulating MgO to mimic the structure and finite resistivity of a real device. We found that, while spin-orbit has a negligible effect on the current flowing through the device, the MgO layer plays a crucial role. Its effect is to decouple the Cr magnetic moment from Pt (or Au) and to develop an overall spin magnetization. We have also calculated the spin-polarized ballistic conductance of the device within the Buttiker-Landauer framework, and we have found that for small applied bias our Pt/Cr/MgO/Pt device presents a spin polarization of the current amounting to similar or equal to 25%.
Magnetic Moments and Electron Transport through Chromium-Based Antiferromagnetic Nanojunctions / M. Bragato, S. Achilli, F. Cargnoni, D. Ceresoli, R. Martinazzo, R. Soave, M.I. Trioni. - In: MATERIALS. - ISSN 1996-1944. - 11:10(2018 Oct 18).
Titolo: | Magnetic Moments and Electron Transport through Chromium-Based Antiferromagnetic Nanojunctions |
Autori: | ACHILLI, SIMONA (Secondo) SOAVE, RAFFAELLA (Penultimo) TRIONI, MARIO ITALO (Ultimo) (Corresponding) |
Parole Chiave: | antiferromagnetism; spintronics; electronic transport; DFT; ab initio calculations |
Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: | Settore CHIM/02 - Chimica Fisica |
Data di pubblicazione: | 18-ott-2018 |
Rivista: | |
Tipologia: | Article (author) |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma11102030 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 01 - Articolo su periodico |
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