Extrinsic Rashba spin-orbit coupling effect on silicene spin polarized field effect transistors

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Spin field-effect transistors (spin FETs) face challenges like spin injection mismatch and limited spin lifetime.
• Existing spin FET designs often struggle with efficiency and energy consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and investigate a novel silicene-based spin FET as a potential solution to current limitations.
• To explore the spin-dependent transport properties of silicene nanoribbons under various conditions.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) method.
• Simulating spin-dependent conductance in zigzag silicene nanoribbons connected to magnetized leads.
• Analyzing the effects of Rashba spin-orbit coupling and gate voltage.

Main Results:

• A controllable spin current and spin filter effect were achieved with the Rashba effect.
• The device exhibits tunable ON/OFF states based on Rashba effect presence and lead configuration.
• Silicene-based spin FETs show reduced mismatch conductivity and energy consumption compared to traditional designs.
• Higher current and spin-charge ratio were observed in silicene compared to graphene-based spin FETs.

Conclusions:

• Silicene is a promising material for next-generation spin FETs, offering enhanced performance.
• The proposed silicene-based spin FET design overcomes key limitations of current spin electronic devices.
• This work paves the way for more efficient and powerful spintronic applications.