Caetano RA. Spin-Current and Spin-Splitting in Helicoidal Molecules Due to Spin-Orbit Coupling.
Sci Rep 2016;
6:23452. [PMID:
27009836 PMCID:
PMC4806306 DOI:
10.1038/srep23452]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of organic materials in spintronic devices has been seriously considered after recent experimental works have shown unexpected spin-dependent electrical properties. The basis for the confection of any spintronic device is ability of selecting the appropriated spin polarization. In this direction, DNA has been pointed out as a potential candidate for spin selection due to the spin-orbit coupling originating from the electric field generated by accumulated electrical charges along the helix. Here, we demonstrate that spin-orbit coupling is the minimum ingredient necessary to promote a spatial spin separation and the generation of spin-current. We show that the up and down spin components have different velocities that give rise to a spin-current. By using a simple situation where spin-orbit coupling is present, we provide qualitative justifications to our results that clearly point to helicoidal molecules as serious candidates to integrate spintronic devices.
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