Spin gaps in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Nanoribbons with atomic Adsorbates

TL;DR

This study investigates how atomic adsorbates influence spin transport and polarization in edge-functionalized transition metal dichalcogenide nanoribbons, revealing key factors for optimizing spintronic device performance.

Contribution

It introduces a protocol combining DFT and NEGF to evaluate spin-filtering in functionalized nanoribbons, highlighting the role of adsorbates and magnetic ordering in spin transport.

Findings

Atomic adsorbates significantly alter electronic and magnetic properties.

Spin gaps near the Fermi level predict current spin polarization.

Ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases impact spin transport differently.

Abstract

Edge-functionalized Transition Metal dichalcogenide nanoribbons of the zigzag type (zTMDCNRs) are explored in terms of their spin transmission properties. Specifically, systems of the type 5-zWXYNR + nA (X, Y = S, Se; n = 0, 1, 2; A = H, B, C, N, O), involving five rows of a zWXY unit, are investigated as transmission elements between semi-infinite electrodes, to identify atomic adsorbates and adsorption conditions for maximizing the spin polarization of current traversing the ribbons. Janus counterparts of these units, asymmetric structures comprising a transition metal layer sandwiched by two different chalcogen layers, are included in this study. In all cases considered, density functional theory (DFT) modeling, involving the hybrid Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE) exchange-correlation functional, is combined with the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) approach to determine both spin and charge transport properties. The effect of the selected atomic absorbates on the geometric, electronic, and magnetic properties of 5-zWXYNR (X, Y = S, Se) is evaluated. A protocol to assess the spin-filtering capacity of 5-zWXYNR + nad as a function of the nature and the density of atomic adsorbates, is formulated in terms of band structure analysis of the respective electrode units. Spin gaps emerging close to the Fermi energy of the electrode are shown to provide an effective predictor for the degree of current spin polarization achieved by any of the transmission systems studied here. For any adsorbate configuration considered, ferromagnetic (FM) as well as antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering is examined, and the impact of the magnetic phase on the spin transport properties is discussed. A spin-selective negative differential resistance effect is identified for specific nanoribbon systems.