Readout of carbon nanotube vibrations based on spin-phonon coupling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a spin-based detection method for carbon nanotube vibrations leveraging curvature-induced spin-orbit interaction, enabling frequency and amplitude readout through spin-resonance and current measurements.

Contribution

It presents a novel scheme for detecting nanotube vibrations via spin-phonon coupling and proposes a practical readout method using Pauli spin blockade.

Findings

Leakage current peaks at specific magnetic fields indicate resonance.

Vibration amplitude affects off-resonant current levels.

The method enables frequency and amplitude detection of nanotube vibrations.

Abstract

We propose a scheme for spin-based detection of the bending motion in suspended carbon-nanotubes, using the curvature-induced spin-orbit interaction. We show that the resulting effective spin-phonon coupling can be used to down-convert the high-frequency vibration-modulated spin-orbit field to spin-flip processes at a much lower frequency. This vibration-induced spin-resonance can be controlled with an axial magnetic field. We propose a Pauli spin blockade readout scheme and predict that the leakage current shows pronounced peaks as a function of the external magnetic field. Whereas the resonant peaks allow for frequency readout, the slightly off-resonant current is sensitive to the vibration amplitude.