RESUMEN
Graphite has been intensively studied, yet its electron spins dynamics remains an unresolved problem even 70 years after the first experiments. The central quantities, the longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation times were postulated to be equal, mirroring standard metals, but T1 has never been measured for graphite. Here, based on a detailed band structure calculation including spin-orbit coupling, we predict an unexpected behavior of the relaxation times. We find, based on saturation ESR measurements, that T1 is markedly different from T2. Spins injected with perpendicular polarization with respect to the graphene plane have an extraordinarily long lifetime of 100 ns at room temperature. This is ten times more than in the best graphene samples. The spin diffusion length across graphite planes is thus expected to be ultralong, on the scale of ~ 70 µm, suggesting that thin films of graphite - or multilayer AB graphene stacks - can be excellent platforms for spintronics applications compatible with 2D van der Waals technologies. Finally, we provide a qualitative account of the observed spin relaxation based on the anisotropic spin admixture of the Bloch states in graphite obtained from density functional theory calculations.
RESUMEN
As conventional electronics approaches its limits 1 , nanoscience has urgently sought methods of fast control of electrons at the fundamental quantum level 2 . Lightwave electronics 3 -the foundation of attosecond science 4 -uses the oscillating carrier wave of intense light pulses to control the translational motion of the electron's charge faster than a single cycle of light5-15. Despite being particularly promising information carriers, the internal quantum attributes of spin 16 and valley pseudospin17-21 have not been switchable on the subcycle scale. Here we demonstrate lightwave-driven changes of the valley pseudospin and introduce distinct signatures in the optical readout. Photogenerated electron-hole pairs in a monolayer of tungsten diselenide are accelerated and collided by a strong lightwave. The emergence of high-odd-order sidebands and anomalous changes in their polarization direction directly attest to the ultrafast pseudospin dynamics. Quantitative computations combining density functional theory with a non-perturbative quantum many-body approach assign the polarization of the sidebands to a lightwave-induced change of the valley pseudospin and confirm that the process is coherent and adiabatic. Our work opens the door to systematic valleytronic logic at optical clock rates.
RESUMEN
Interfacial spin-orbit torques (SOTs) enable the manipulation of the magnetization through in-plane charge currents, which has drawn increasing attention for spintronic applications. The search for material systems providing efficient SOTs, has been focused on polycrystalline ferromagnetic metal/non-magnetic metal bilayers. In these systems, currents flowing in the non-magnetic layer generate-due to strong spin-orbit interaction-spin currents via the spin Hall effect and induce a torque at the interface to the ferromagnet. Here we report the observation of robust SOT occuring at a single crystalline Fe/GaAs (001) interface at room temperature. We find that the magnitude of the interfacial SOT, caused by the reduced symmetry at the interface, is comparably strong as in ferromagnetic metal/non-magnetic metal systems. The large spin-orbit fields at the interface also enable spin-to-charge current conversion at the interface, known as spin-galvanic effect. The results suggest that single crystalline Fe/GaAs interfaces may enable efficient electrical magnetization manipulation.
RESUMEN
We report the observation of the anisotropic polar magneto-optical Kerr effect in thin layers of epitaxial Fe/GaAs(001) at room temperature. A clear twofold symmetry of the Kerr rotation angle depending on the orientation of the linear polarization of the probing laser beam with respect to the crystallographic directions of the sample is detected for ultrathin magnetic films saturated out of the film plane. The amplitude of the anisotropy decreases with increasing Fe film thickness, suggesting that the interfacial region is the origin of the anisotropy. The twofold symmetry is fully reproduced by model calculations based on an interference of interfacial Bychkov-Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling.
RESUMEN
The desire for higher information capacities drives the components of electronic devices to ever smaller dimensions so that device properties are determined increasingly more by interfaces than by the bulk structure of the constituent materials. Spintronic devices, especially, benefit from the presence of interfaces--the reduced structural symmetry creates emergent spin-orbit fields that offer novel possibilities to control device functionalities. But where does the bulk end, and the interface begin? Here we trace the interface-to-bulk transition, and follow the emergence of the interfacial spin-orbit fields, in the conducting states of a few monolayers of iron on top of gallium arsenide. We observe the transition from the interface- to bulk-induced lateral crystalline magnetoanisotropy, each having a characteristic symmetry pattern, as the epitaxially grown iron channel increases from four to eight monolayers. Setting the upper limit on the width of the interface-imprinted conducting channel is an important step towards an active control of interfacial spin-orbit fields.
RESUMEN
A periodically driven system with spatial asymmetry can exhibit a directed motion facilitated by thermal or quantum fluctuations. This so-called ratchet effect has fascinating ramifications in engineering and natural sciences. Graphene is nominally a symmetric system. Driven by a periodic electric field, no directed electric current should flow. However, if the graphene has lost its spatial symmetry due to its substrate or adatoms, an electronic ratchet motion can arise. We report an experimental demonstration of such an electronic ratchet in graphene layers, proving the underlying spatial asymmetry. The orbital asymmetry of the Dirac fermions is induced by an in-plane magnetic field, whereas the periodic driving comes from terahertz radiation. The resulting magnetic quantum ratchet transforms the a.c. power into a d.c. current, extracting work from the out-of-equilibrium electrons driven by undirected periodic forces. The observation of ratchet transport in this purest possible two-dimensional system indicates that the orbital effects may appear and be substantial in other two-dimensional crystals such as boron nitride, molybdenum dichalcogenides and related heterostructures. The measurable orbital effects in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field provide strong evidence for the existence of structure inversion asymmetry in graphene.
RESUMEN
Spin-transfer torque in asymmetric spin valves can destabilize both parallel and antiparallel configurations and can lead to precessional modes also in the absence of an external magnetic field. We find a bistable precessional regime in such systems and show that thermal fluctuations can excite transitions (telegraph noise) between the corresponding oscillatory regimes that are well separated by irreversible paths at low temperatures. Because of the thermally induced transitions, the frequency of the resulting current-driven oscillations is different from that obtained at very low temperatures. We also show that the power spectrum in the bistable region is dominated by the out-of-plane oscillatory mode.
RESUMEN
Spin-transfer torque in spin valves usually destabilizes one of the collinear configurations (either parallel or antiparallel) and stabilizes the second one. Apart from this, balance of the spin-transfer and damping torques can lead to steady precessional modes. In this Letter we show that in some asymmetric nanopillars, spin current can destabilize both parallel and antiparallel configurations. As a result, stationary precessional modes can occur at zero magnetic field. The corresponding phase diagram as well as frequencies of the precessional modes have been calculated in the framework of macrospin model. The relevant spin-transfer torque has been calculated in terms of the macroscopic model based on spin diffusion equations.
