Optimal charge-to-spin conversion in Graphene on Transition Metal Dichalogenides

by Manuel Offidani (University of York Department of Physics-CMP Heslington, York, UK YO10 5DD)

Wednesday 14 Feb 2018, 16:00 → 17:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dip. di Fisica - Edificio G. Marconi)

The perspective of harnessing the spin degree of freedom by all-electrical means has intrigued scientists over the last decade. Very recent experimental and theoretical works [1] have suggested graphene on transition metal dichalcogenides (G/TMD) as a strong candidate for an ideal spintronics platform. In such a Van der Waals heterostructure, strong interfacial proximity effects endow Dirac fermions with additional strong orbital and spin—orbital interactions, enabling spin manipulation in graphene-based systems. We study charge-to-spin interconversion in the generalised Dirac-Rashba model relevant to G/TMD. We provide a intuitive semiclassical picture and a rigorous quantum formalism to understand the rich spin/charge interplay of these systems. We show the establishment of a large current-induced spin-polarization (commonly known as inverse spin-Galvanic or Edelstein effect), which is extremely robust against thermal excitation and disorder strength.