Spin-switching effect and giant magnetoresistance in quantum structure of monolayer MoS₂ nanoribbons with ferromagnetic electrode

Abstract

Spintronics is a new type of electronics based on electron spin rather than charge as the information carrier, which can be stored and calculated by regulating and manipulating the spin. The discovery and application of the giant magnetoresistance effect opens the door to the application of electron spin properties. Realizing on-demand control of spin degree of freedom for spin-based devices is essential. The two-dimensional novel material, monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) (MoS₂ is a typical example from the family of TMD materials), has become an excellent platform for studying spintronics due to its novel physical properties, such as direct band gap and strong spin-orbit coupling. Obtaining high spin polarization and achieving controllability of degrees of freedom are fundamental problems in spintronics. In this paper, we construct the monolayer zigzag MoS₂ nanoribbon quantum structure of electrically controlled ferromagnetic electrode to solve this problem. Based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function method, the regulation of the magnetic exchange field and electrostatic barrier on the spin transport in parallel configuration and anti-parallel configuration are studied. It is found that in the parallel structure, spin transport is obviously related to the magnetic exchange field, and 100% spin filtering can occur near the Fermi energy level to obtain pure spin current. When an additional electric field is applied to the middle region, the spin filtering effect is more significant. Therefore, the spin switching effect can be achieved by regulating the incident energy. In addition, it is also found that within a specific energy range, electrons in the parallel configuration are excited to participate in transport, while electrons in the anti-parallel structure are significantly inhibited. Consequently, a noticeable giant magnetoresistance effect can be obtained in this quantum structure. Moreover, it can be seen that the magnetic exchange field strength can effectively modulate the giant magnetoresistance effect. These results provide valuable theoretical references for the development of giant magnetoresistance devices and spin filters based on monolayer zigzag MoS₂ nanoribbons.