No Arabic abstract
We develop a two-channel resistor model for simulating spin transport with general applicability. Using this model, for the case of graphene as a prototypical material, we calculate the spin signal consistent with experimental values. Using the same model we also simulate the charge and spin- dependent 1/f noise, both in the local and nonlocal four-probe measurement schemes, and identify the noise from the spin-relaxation resistances as the major source of spin-dependent 1/f noise.
We report the first measurement of 1/f type noise associated with electronic spin transport, using single layer graphene as a prototypical material with a large and tunable Hooge parameter. We identify the presence of two contributions to the measured spin-dependent noise: contact polarization noise from the ferromagnetic electrodes, which can be filtered out using the cross-correlation method, and the noise originated from the spin relaxation processes. The noise magnitude for spin and charge transport differs by three orders of magnitude, implying different scattering mechanisms for the 1/f fluctuations in the charge and spin transport processes. A modulation of the spin-dependent noise magnitude by changing the spin relaxation length and time indicates that the spin-flip processes dominate the spin-dependent noise.
The two spin-channel model is generalized to the case of transport of ferromagnetic excitations in electric conductors and insulators. The two channels are defined by reducing the ferromagnetic degrees of freedom to a bivaluated variable, i.e. to an effective spin one-half. The reduction is performed after defining the local magnetic configuration space by a sphere $Sigma_x$, and integrating the relevant physical quantities over the two hemispheres $Sigma_x^{uparrow}$ and $Sigma_x^{downarrow}$. The configuration space is then extended to the $x$ direction for non-uniform magnetization excitations. The transport equations for both magnetic moments and magnetic energy are deduced, including the relaxation from one channel to the other. The heat transport equations for ferromagnets is deduced.
We calculate current (shot) noise in a metallic diffusive conductor generated by spin imbalance in the absence of a net electric current. This situation is modeled in an idealized three-terminal setup with two biased ferromagnetic leads (F-leads) and one normal lead (N-lead). Parallel magnetization of the F-leads gives rise in spin-imbalance and finite shot noise at the N-lead. Finite spin relaxation results in an increase of the shot noise, which depends on the ratio of the length of the conductor ($L$) and the spin relaxation length ($l_s$). For $Lgg l_s$ the shot noise increases by a factor of two and coincides with the case of the anti-parallel magnetization of the F-leads.
Using time-resolved Faraday rotation, the drift-induced spin-orbit Field of a two-dimensional electron gas in an InGaAs quantum well is measured. Including measurements of the electron mobility, the Dresselhaus and Rashba coefficients are determined as a function of temperature between 10 and 80 K. By comparing the relative size of these terms with a measured in-plane anisotropy of the spin dephasing rate, the Dyakonv-Perel contribution to spin dephasing is estimated. The measured dephasing rate is significantly larger than this, which can only partially be explained by an inhomogeneous g-factor.
We calculate the frequency-dependent shot noise in the edge states of a two-dimensional topological insulator coupled to a magnetic impurity with spin $S=1/2$ of arbitrary anisotropy. If the anisotropy is absent, the noise is purely thermal at low frequencies, but tends to the Poissonian noise of the full current $I$ at high frequencies. If the interaction only flips the impurity spin but conserves those of electrons, the noise at high voltages $eVgg T$ is frequency-independent. Both the noise and the backscattering current $I_{bs}$ saturate at voltage-independent values. Finally, if the Hamiltonian contains all types of non-spin-conserving scattering, the noise at high voltages becomes frequency-dependent again. At low frequencies, its ratio to $2eI_{bs}$ is larger than 1 and may reach 2 in the limit $I_{bs}to 0$. At high frequencies it tends to 1.