1 School of Information Science Technology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China; 2 School of Physics and Electronic Information, Yan'an University, Yan'an 716000, China
Abstract The spin-dependent electronic transport properties of a zigzag zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoribbon are studied by using density functional theory with non-equilibrium Green's functions. We calculate the spin-polarized band structure, projected density of states, Bloch states, and transmission spectrum of the ZnO nanoribbon. It is determined that all Bloch states are located at the edge of the ZnO nanoribbon. The spin-up transmission eigenchannels are contributed from Zn 4s orbital, whereas the spin-down transmission eigenchannels are contributed from Zn 4s and O 2p orbitals. By analyzing the current-voltage curves for the opposite spins of the ZnO nanoribbon device, negative differential resistance (NDR) and spin filter effect are observed. Moreover, by constructing the ZnO nanoribbon modified by the Zn-edge defect, the spin-up current is severely suppressed because of the destruction of the spin-up transmission eigenchannels. However, the spin-down current is preserved, thus resulting in the perfect spin filter effect. Our results indicate that the ZnO nanoribbon modulated by the edge defect is a practical design for a spin filter.
(Electronic transport in nanoscale materials and structures)
Fund: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61664008 and 11604286) and the Scientific Technological Innovation Team of Yan'an City, China (Grant No. 2017CXTD-01).
Altmetric calculates a score based on the online attention an article receives. Each coloured thread in the circle represents a different type of online attention. The number in the centre is the Altmetric score. Social media and mainstream news media are the main sources that calculate the score. Reference managers such as Mendeley are also tracked but do not contribute to the score. Older articles often score higher because they have had more time to get noticed. To account for this, Altmetric has included the context data for other articles of a similar age.