Spin filtering by a periodic nanospintronic devices

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a linear chain of diamond-like nanostructures with tunable Rashba spin-orbit interaction and Aharonov-Bohm flux can act as an effective spin filter by selecting a single fully polarized ballistic mode.

Contribution

It introduces a novel nanospintronic device design that combines electric and magnetic field tuning to achieve spin filtering in a linear chain of diamond-like elements.

Findings

Selective propagation of a fully polarized ballistic mode.

Other modes become evanescent under certain conditions.

Device can function as a tunable spin filter.

Abstract

For a linear chain of diamond-like elements, we show that the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (which can be tuned by a perpendicular gate voltage) and the Aharonov-Bohm flux (due to a perpendicular magnetic field) can combine to select only one propagating ballistic mode, for which the electronic spins are fully polarized along a direction that can be tuned by the electric and magnetic fields and by the electron energy. All the other modes are evanescent. For a wide range of parameters, this chain can serve as a spin filter.