Electrically Controlled Spin Injection from Giant Rashba Spin-Orbit Conductor BiTeBr

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the giant Rashba spin-orbit conductor BiTeBr can electrically inject spin polarization into graphene-based devices at room temperature, offering a magnetic-field-free method for spin control in spintronics.

Contribution

It introduces BiTeBr as a novel, all-electric spin injector leveraging its giant Rashba spin splitting, advancing spintronic device integration without magnetic fields.

Findings

BiTeBr creates bulk spin polarization at room temperature.

BiTeBr acts as a current-controlled spin injector in graphene devices.

First demonstration of BiTeBr's spin injection capabilities in spintronics.

Abstract

Ferromagnetic materials are the widely used source of spin-polarized electrons in spintronic devices, which are controlled by external magnetic fields or spin-transfer torque methods. However, with increasing demand for smaller and faster spintronic components, utilization of spin-orbit phenomena provides promising alternatives. New materials with unique spin textures are highly desirable since all-electric creation and control of spin polarization is expected, where the strength, as well as an arbitrary orientation of the polarization, can be defined without the use of a magnetic field. In this work, we use a novel spin-orbit crystal BiTeBr for this purpose. Owning to its giant Rashba spin splitting, bulk spin polarization is created at room temperature by an electric current. Integrating BiTeBr crystal into graphene-based spin valve devices, we demonstrate for the first time that it acts as a current-controlled spin injector, opening new avenues for future spintronic applications in integrated circuits.