New twists in spintronics: anomalous Hall effect, spin-helix transistors, and topological thermoelectrics

Datum

11.06.2013

Zeit

16:40 - 18:10

Sprecher

Prof. Dr. Jairo Sinova

Zugehörigkeit

Texas A&M University

Serie

TUD Physikalisches Kolloquium

Sprache

en

Hauptthema

Physik

Andere Themen

Physik

Host

Prof. Dr. Carsten Timm, Fachrichtung Physik

Beschreibung

Understanding the origin and properties of the different phases of materials and how to control them is at the heart of condensed matter physics. One of the grand challenges of the field is controlling spin-dependent properties without using magnetic fields. To do so, one can resort to the spin-orbit coupling (SOC), which is one of the few echoes of special relativity in condensed-matter physics that connects the spin and charge of the electron. While the weak SOC regime is relatively well understood, the strong SOC regime remains one of the most theoretically challenging at a fundamental level. The study of this regime has given rise to new physical insights in established phenomena, such as the anomalous Hall effect, and new emerging frontier fields, such as topological insulators. We have learned how to exploit SOC to create new paradigms of spin control in complex materials and discover new unexpected links between seemingly disparate ideas as topology, materials science, ferromagnetism, and thermoelectricity. I will broadly describe joint theoretical and experimental efforts on how we use SOC to control transport and other materials properties. I will also show in some detail new theory insights on the anomalous Hall effect [1,2], the realization of a spin-transistor by exploiting the recent spin-helix state [3,4] and a new proposal on how to increase thermoelectric efficiency originating from the topological properties of the band structure imparted by the strong SOC in topological insulators [5].
 
[1] N. Nagaosa et al., Rev. of Mod. Phys. 82, 1539 (2010).
[2] K. Olejnik et al., submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.
[3] J. Wunderlich et al., Science 330, 1801 (2010).
[4] J. Wunderlich et al., Nature Physics 5, 675 (2009).
[5] O. A. Tretiakov et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 073108 (2010); 99, 113110 (2011).

Links

• http://tu-dresden.de/veranstaltungen/termin?id=TUD517a1dc2460cc

Letztmalig verändert: 11.06.2013, 09:52:34