Giant magnetoresistance in zigzag MoS2 nanoribbons

Using first principles calculations based on density functional theory, we investigated the transport properties of zigzag MoS2 nanoribbons with parallel and antiparallel spin configurations. The results show that the parallel configuration has conventional metallic properties while the antiparallel configuration presents semiconductor properties. Consequently, the conduction calculations predict that the zigzag MoS2 nanoribbons exhibit the giant magnetoresistance effect with a value over four orders of magnitude at room temperature by altering the configuration from the parallel to the antiparallel spin junction. By analyzing the spin-resolved band structures of zigzag MoS2 nanoribbons, we clarify that the orbital mismatching near the Fermi level between spin up and spin down is a key factor to generate this large magnetoresistance. Our results indicate that the giant magnetoresistance effect in the zigzag MoS2 nanoribbons remains robust to the change in the ribbon widths and lengths.