Single Spin Transport Spectroscopy - Current Blockade and Spin Decay

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for a single-electron transistor coupled to a localized spin, enabling detailed characterization of spin properties through transport measurements and noise analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a method to extract spin parameters like size, coupling strength, g-factor, and decay time from transport blockade phenomena in a single-electron transistor.

Findings

Quantitative extraction of spin decay time T₁ from transport data

Identification of blockade phenomena linked to spin properties

Relevance to spin-resolved microscopy and nanomagnet transport

Abstract

We present a theory of a single-electron transistor exchange-coupled to a localized spin. We show how to gain detailed quantitative knowledge about the attached spin such as spin size, exchange coupling strength, Land\'e g-factor, and spin decay time $T_1$ by utilizing a robust blockade phenomenon of DC magnetotransport with accompanying noise enhancement. Our studies are of particular relevance to spin-resolved scanning single-electron transistor microscopy, electronic transport through nanomagnets, and the effect of hyperfine interaction on transport electrons by surrounding nuclear spins.