Half-metallic properties of atomic chains of carbon-transition metal compounds

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that one-dimensional chains of carbon-transition metal compounds exhibit half-metallic behavior, with potential for spintronic applications due to their stable, tunable electronic and magnetic properties.

Contribution

It reveals the half-metallic properties of atomic chains of carbon-transition metal compounds and shows their stability and tunability for nanospintronics.

Findings

Chains are semiconductors for one spin and metallic for the opposite.

Spins are fully polarized at the Fermi level with integer magnetic moments.

Chains remain stable at high temperatures and under moderate strain.

Abstract

We found that magnetic ground state of one-dimensional atomic chains of carbon-transition metal compounds exhibit half-metallic properties. They are semiconductors for one spin-direction, but show metallic properties for the opposite direction. The spins are fully polarized at the Fermi level and net magnetic moment per unit cell is an integer multiple of Bohr magneton. The spin-dependent electronic structure can be engineered by changing the number of carbon and type of transition metal atoms. These chains, which are stable even at high temperature and some of which keep their spin-dependent electronic properties even under moderate axial strain, hold the promise of potential applications in nanospintronics.