Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction
Abstract A P-N junction engineered within a Dirac cone system acts as a gate tunable angular filter based on Klein tunneling. For a 3D topological insulator with a substantial bandgap, such a filter can produce a charge-to-spin conversion due to the dual effects of spin-momentum locking and momentum...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35623-5 |
| _version_ | 1797806686123065344 |
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| author | Yunkun Xie Hamed Vakili Samiran Ganguly Avik W. Ghosh |
| author_facet | Yunkun Xie Hamed Vakili Samiran Ganguly Avik W. Ghosh |
| author_sort | Yunkun Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract A P-N junction engineered within a Dirac cone system acts as a gate tunable angular filter based on Klein tunneling. For a 3D topological insulator with a substantial bandgap, such a filter can produce a charge-to-spin conversion due to the dual effects of spin-momentum locking and momentum filtering. We analyze how spins filtered at an in-plane topological insulator PN junction (TIPNJ) interact with a nanomagnet, and argue that the intrinsic charge-to-spin conversion does not translate to an external gain if the nanomagnet also acts as the source contact. Regardless of the nanomagnet’s position, the spin torque generated on the TIPNJ is limited by its surface current density, which in turn is limited by the bulk bandgap. Using quantum kinetic models, we calculated the spatially varying spin potential and quantified the localization of the current versus the applied bias. Additionally, with the magnetodynamic simulation of a soft magnet, we show that the PN junction can offer a critical gate tunability in the switching probability of the nanomagnet, with potential applications in probabilistic neuromorphic computing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:11:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-05cab8f3ffc64e12a5340ca88b8b35f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:11:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-05cab8f3ffc64e12a5340ca88b8b35f92023-06-11T11:14:58ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-06-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-35623-5Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junctionYunkun Xie0Hamed Vakili1Samiran Ganguly2Avik W. Ghosh3School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of VirginiaDepartment of Physics, University of VirginiaSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of VirginiaSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of VirginiaAbstract A P-N junction engineered within a Dirac cone system acts as a gate tunable angular filter based on Klein tunneling. For a 3D topological insulator with a substantial bandgap, such a filter can produce a charge-to-spin conversion due to the dual effects of spin-momentum locking and momentum filtering. We analyze how spins filtered at an in-plane topological insulator PN junction (TIPNJ) interact with a nanomagnet, and argue that the intrinsic charge-to-spin conversion does not translate to an external gain if the nanomagnet also acts as the source contact. Regardless of the nanomagnet’s position, the spin torque generated on the TIPNJ is limited by its surface current density, which in turn is limited by the bulk bandgap. Using quantum kinetic models, we calculated the spatially varying spin potential and quantified the localization of the current versus the applied bias. Additionally, with the magnetodynamic simulation of a soft magnet, we show that the PN junction can offer a critical gate tunability in the switching probability of the nanomagnet, with potential applications in probabilistic neuromorphic computing.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35623-5 |
| spellingShingle | Yunkun Xie Hamed Vakili Samiran Ganguly Avik W. Ghosh Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction Scientific Reports |
| title | Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction |
| title_full | Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction |
| title_fullStr | Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction |
| title_short | Anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3D topological insulator PN junction |
| title_sort | anatomy of nanomagnetic switching at a 3d topological insulator pn junction |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35623-5 |
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