Graphene-based spin switch device via modulated Rashba field and strain

TL;DR

This paper explores a graphene nanoribbon device with gate-controlled Rashba spin-orbit coupling and strain, demonstrating tunable spin transport for potential spintronic and strain sensor applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel graphene-based spin switch device utilizing independent gate control and strain to modulate spin-resolved conductance.

Findings

Switching gate sign controls spin transmission.

Strain significantly affects spin-polarized conductance.

Device potential for spin-based mechanical strain sensors.

Abstract

We investigate the spin-resolved transport in a two-terminal zigzag graphene nanoribbon device with two independent gate induced Rashba spin-orbit coupling regions and in the presence of strain. By employing a recursive Green's function technique to the tight-binding model for the graphene nanoribbon, we calculate the spin-resolved conductance of the system. We show that by switching the sign of one of the gates it is possible to select which spin component will be transmitted. Moreover, our results show that an uniaxial strain applied to the nanoribbon plays a significant role in the transport, providing and additional manner to control the spin-polarized conductance. This makes the present system a potential candidate for future implementations of spin-based mechanical strain sensors.