Nanodevices engineering and spin transport properties of MnBi2Te4 monolayer

TL;DR

This study explores the design of nanodevices based on MnBi2Te4 monolayers, revealing their spin transport properties and multifunctional capabilities for next-generation spintronic applications through first-principles calculations.

Contribution

It introduces novel nanodevices using MnBi2Te4 monolayers and demonstrates their spin-dependent transport properties and multifunctionality, advancing 2D magnetic material applications.

Findings

Strong rectifying and spin filtering effects in pn-junction diodes and FETs

Negative differential resistive (NDR) effect in pip- and nin-junction FETs

High light response and tunable currents in MnBi2Te4 monolayer devices

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials are essential for the development of the next-generation spintronic technologies. Recently, layered van der Waals (vdW) compound MnBi2Te4 (MBT) has attracted great interest, and its 2D structure has been reported to host coexisting magnetism and topology. Here, we design several conceptual nanodevices based on MBT monolayer (MBT-ML) and reveal their spin-dependent transport properties by means of the first-principles calculations. The pn-junction diodes and sub-3-nm pin-junction field-effect transistors (FETs) show a strong rectifying effect and a spin filtering effect, with an ideality factor n close to 1 even at a reasonably high temperature. In addition, the pip- and nin-junction FETs give an interesting negative differential resistive (NDR) effect. The gate voltages can tune currents through these FETs in a large range. Furthermore, the MBT-ML has a strong response to light. Our results uncover the multifunctional nature of MBT-ML, pave the road for its applications in diverse next-generation semiconductor spin electric devices.