# Photo-spintronics of spin-orbit active electric weak links

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that carbon nanotubes can act as photo-spintronic transducers, generating pure spin currents via circularly polarized microwaves, with tunability through mechanical deformation of the nanotube.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel photo-spintronic device using carbon nanotubes as weak links, enabling control of spin currents without charge flow.

## Key findings

- Carbon nanotubes can generate pure spin currents under microwave irradiation.
- Spin-orbit interactions in nanotubes are sensitive to mechanical deformation.
- The device allows for nanomechanical tuning of spintronic signals.

## Abstract

We show that a carbon nanotube can serve as a functional electric weak link performing photo-spintronic transduction. A spin current, facilitated by strong spin-orbit interactions in the nanotube and not accompanied by a charge current, is induced in a device containing the nanotube weak link by circularly polarized microwaves. Nanomechanical tuning of the photo-spintronic transduction can be achieved due to the sensitivity of the spin-orbit interaction to geometrical deformations of the weak link.