Electronic and magnetic properties of 2D vanadium-based transition metal dichalcogenides.

In this paper, electronic and magnetic properties of monolayers and bilayers of Vanadium-based transition metal dichalcogenides VX2 (X = S, Se, Te) in the H phase are investigated theoretically using methods based on DFT calculations as well as analytical methods based on effective spin Hamiltonians. The band structure has been computed for all systems, and then the results have been used to determine exchange parameters and magnetic anisotropy constants. These parameters are subsequently used for the determination of the Curie temperatures, hysteresis curves, and energy of spin-wave excitations. In the latter case, we compare analytical results based on effective spin Hamiltonian with those determined numerically by Quantum ATK software and find a good agreement. The determined Curie temperature for VTe2 monolayers and bilayers is below the room temperature (especially that for bilayers), while for the other two materials, i.e. for VS2 and VSe2, it is above the room temperature, in agreement with available experimental data.

Optimization of spin Hall magnetoresistance in heavy-metal/ferromagnetic-metal bilayers.

We present experimental data and their theoretical description on spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in bilayers consisting of a heavy metal (H) coupled to in-plane magnetized ferromagnetic metal (F), and determine contributions to the magnetoresistance due to SMR and anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in five different bilayer systems: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], W/Co, and Co/Pt. The devices used for experiments have different interfacial properties due to either amorphous or crystalline structures of constitutent layers. To determine magnetoresistance contributions and to allow for optimization, the AMR is explicitly included in the diffusion transport equations in the ferromagnets. The results allow determination of different contributions to the magnetoresistance, which can play an important role in optimizing prospective magnetic stray field sensors. They also may be useful in the determination of spin transport properties of metallic magnetic heterostructures in other experiments based on magnetoresistance measurements.

Hartman effect for spin waves in exchange regime.

Hartman effect for spin waves tunnelling through a barrier in a thin magnetic film is considered theoretically. The barrier is assumed to be created by a locally increased magnetic anisotropy field. The considerations are focused on a nanoscale system operating in the exchange-dominated regime. We derive the formula for group delay τgr of a spin wave packet and show that τgr saturates with increasing barrier width, which is a signature of the Hartman effect predicted earlier for photonic and electronic systems. In our calculations, we consider the general boundary conditions which take into account different strength of exchange coupling between the barrier and its surrounding. As a system suitable for experimental observation of the Hartman effect we propose a CoFeB layer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy induced by a MgO overlayer.

Publisher Correction: Influence of intermixing at the Ta/CoFeB interface on spin Hall angle in Ta/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML version of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Influence of intermixing at the Ta/CoFeB interface on spin Hall angle in Ta/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures.

When a current is passed through a non-magnetic metal with strong spin-orbit coupling, an orthogonal spin current is generated. This spin current can be used to switch the magnetization of an adjacent ferromagnetic layer or drive its magnetization into continuous precession. The interface, which is not necessarily sharp, and the crystallographic structure of the nonmagnetic metal can both affect the strength of current-induced spin-orbit torques. Here, we investigate the effects of interface intermixing and film microstructure on spin-orbit torques in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Co40Fe40B20/MgO trilayers with different Ta layer thickness (5 nm, 10 nm, 15 nm), greater than the spin diffusion length. Effective spin-orbit torques are determined from harmonic Hall voltage measurements performed at temperatures ranging from 20 K to 300 K. We account for the temperature dependence of damping-like and field-like torques by including an additional contribution from the Ta/CoFeB interface in the spin diffusion model. Using this approach, the temperature variations of the spin Hall angle in the Ta underlayer and at the Ta/CoFeB interface are determined separately. Our results indicate an almost temperature-independent spin Hall angle of [Formula: see text] in Ta and a strongly temperature-dependent [Formula: see text] for the intermixed Ta/CoFeB interface.

Zigzag nanoribbons of two-dimensional silicene-like crystals: magnetic, topological and thermoelectric properties.

The effects of electron-electron and spin-orbit interactions on the ground-state magnetic configuration and on the corresponding thermoelectric and spin thermoelectric properties in zigzag nanoribbons of two-dimensional hexagonal crystals are analysed theoretically. The thermoelectric properties of quasi-stable magnetic states are also considered. Of particular interest is the influence of Coulomb and spin-orbit interactions on the topological edge states and on the transition between the topological insulator and conventional gap insulator states. It is shown that the interplay of both interactions also has a significant impact on the transport and thermoelectric characteristics of the nanoribbons. The spin-orbit interaction also determines the in-plane magnetic easy axis. The thermoelectric properties of nanoribbons with in-plane magnetic moments are compared to those of nanoribbons with edge magnetic moments oriented perpendicularly to their plane. Nanoribbons with ferromagnetic alignment of the edge moments are shown to reveal spin thermoelectricity in addition to the conventional one.

Effects of transverse magnetic anisotropy on current-induced spin switching.

Spin-polarized transport through bistable magnetic adatoms or single-molecule magnets (SMMs), which exhibit both uniaxial and transverse magnetic anisotropy, is considered theoretically. The main focus is on the impact of transverse anisotropy on transport characteristics and the adatom's or SMM's spin. In particular, we analyze the role of quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM) in the mechanism of the current-induced spin switching, and show that the QTM phenomenon becomes revealed as resonant peaks in the average values of the molecule's spin and in the charge current. These features appear at some resonant fields and are observable when at least one of the electrodes is ferromagnetic.

Spin Hall and spin Nernst effects due to intrinsic spin-orbit coupling in monolayer and bilayer graphene.

We consider intrinsic contributions to the spin Hall and spin Nernst effects in monolayer and bilayer graphene. The spin Hall (Nernst) effect consists in the generation of transverse spin current by longitudinal electric field (temperature gradient). The relevant electronic spectrum for monolayer and bilayer graphene has been obtained from the corresponding effective Hamiltonians. Both spin Hall and spin Nernst conductivities have been determined within the linear response theory and Green function formalism. The influence of an external vertical voltage between the two atomic sheets in the case of a bilayer graphene is also analyzed and discussed. This voltage can generally lead to a phase transition between the topological insulator phase and conventional insulator. In the case of bilayer graphene, the main focuss is on an asymmetrical case, with different spin-orbit parameters in the two atomic sheets. Such a difference may be generated by different atomic planes adjacent to bilayer graphene on its both sides.

Interplay of the Kondo effect and spin-polarized transport in magnetic molecules, adatoms, and quantum dots.

We study the interplay of the Kondo effect and spin-polarized tunneling in a class of systems exhibiting uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. Using the numerical renormalization group method we calculate the spectral functions and linear conductance in the Kondo regime. We show that the exchange coupling between conducting electrons and localized magnetic core generally leads to suppression of the Kondo effect. We also predict a nontrivial dependence of the tunnel magnetoresistance on the strength of exchange coupling and on the anisotropy constant.

Kondo-Dicke resonances in electronic transport through double quantum dots.

Electronic transport through a system of two quantum dots coupled to external leads is considered theoretically. The dots are assumed to be in the Kondo regime, and the infinite-U mean-field slave-boson approach is used to obtain basic transport characteristics. Density of states and electron transmission probability in the Kondo regime are considered and calculated numerically. Both quantities are shown to exhibit features that are typical of the Dicke resonance.

Spin polarization and relaxation in a semiconductor with impurity absorption of circularly polarized light.

The approach based on kinetic equations is used to describe spin polarization of conduction electrons in a semiconductor doped with d or f atoms and subject to circularly polarized radiation. In the stationary state we find analytical expressions for the spin polarization of band electrons, ρ(e), and spin polarization of electrons in the impurity levels, ρ(i). It is shown that the degree of spin polarization of the band electrons is mainly determined by the polarization type of the light. On the basis of numerical results we conclude that ρ(e) and ρ(i) are practically independent of the long-term relaxation processes in the subsystem of magnetic impurities.