Spintronics for future information technologies: spin currents in topological insulators controlled
The illustration depicts the characteristic spin orientation (arrows) of electrons in a topological insulator (below). Using an initial circular polarised laser pulse, the spins are excited and point up or down. This can be proven by a second linearly polarised laser pulse (above).
An international team headed by HZB researcher Jaime Sánchez-Barriga has shown how spin-polarised currents can be initiated in a controlled manner within samples of topological insulator material. In addition, they were able to manipulate the orientation of the spins of these currents. They thereby demonstrated that this class of materials is suitable for data processing based on spin. The work has been published in the renowned periodical Physical Review B and was selected as “Editor’s Suggestion” article.
Future information technologies should employ considerably less energy for processing data. One exciting class of materials for this comprises topological insulators. Topological insulators are distinguished by their electrons at the surface being extremely mobile, while the bulk material within is an insulator and does not conduct. Since electrons also simultaneously carry a magnetic moment (spin), topological insulators might also make “spintronic” components feasible. Spintronic components would not be based on the movement of charge carriers like electrons (as in semiconductor components), but instead on the transport or manipulation of their spins. This would require considerably less energy.
An international team headed by HZB physicist Jaime Sánchez-Barriga has now shown how the spins of the electrons in topological insulators can be controlled. The team investigated samples of antimony-telluride, a topological insulator, using circularly polarised laser light. They were able to initiate and direct currents of electrons whose spins were oriented in parallel (i. e., spin-polarised currents) using the “rotational direction” of the laser light. In addition, they were successful in changing the orientation of the spins as well. The team was made up of experimentalists from the Max Born Institute in Berlin and Lomonossow University Moscow, together with theoreticians from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). The work has been published in the renowned journal Physical Review B and was selected as “Editor’s Suggestion” article.
“If you were to utilise magnetically doped topological insulators, you could also probably store this spin information”, explains Oliver Rader, who heads the research group for green spintronics at HZB. “To investigate this however, and also be able to explore the dynamic behaviour of the magnetic moments in particular, ultra-short light pulses in the soft X-ray region are needed. These kinds of experiments can become standard with the planned upgrade of the BESSY II synchrotron source to BESSY-VSR”, he hopes.
Ultrafast spin-polarization control of Dirac fermions in topological insulators, J. Sánchez-Barriga, E. Golias, A. Varykhalov, J. Braun, L. V. Yashina, R. Schumann, J. Minár, H. Ebert, O. Kornilov, and O. Rader
Phys. Rev. B 93, 155426
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.155426
Link to the Editor's Suggestion
- A new way to control the magnetic properties of rare earth elementsThe special properties of rare earth magnetic materials are due to the electrons in the 4f shell. Until now, the magnetic properties of 4f electrons were considered almost impossible to control. Now, a team from HZB, Freie Universität Berlin and other institutions has shown for the first time that laser pulses can influence 4f electrons- and thus change their magnetic properties. The discovery, which was made through experiments at EuXFEL and FLASH, opens up a new way to data storage with rare earth elements.
- BESSY II shows how solid-state batteries degradeSolid-state batteries have several advantages: they can store more energy and are safer than batteries with liquid electrolytes. However, they do not last as long and their capacity decreases with each charge cycle. But it doesn't have to stay that way: Researchers are already on the trail of the causes. In the journal ACS Energy Letters, a team from HZB and Justus-Liebig-Universität, Giessen, presents a new method for precisely monitoring electrochemical reactions during the operation of a solid-state battery using photoelectron spectroscopy at BESSY II. The results help to improve battery materials and design.
- HZB magazine lichtblick - the new issue is out!In his search for the perfect catalyst, HZB researcher Robert Seidel is now getting a tailwind – thanks to a ERC Consolidator Grant. In the cover story, we explain why the X-ray source BESSY II plays an important role for his research.