Low-dimensional half-metallic materials: theoretical simulations and design

5 years ago

Low-dimensional half-metallic materials: theoretical simulations and design

Jinlong Yang, Xingxing Li

Spintronics, which uses the spin of electrons for information processing, is viewed as one of the most promising next-generation information technology with high speed and low energy consumption. To generate pure spins for subsequent spin transport and manipulation, a half-metallic material with 100% spin polarization around the Fermi level is highly desired. Half metal features a unique electronic structure, with one spin channel metallic while keeping the other spin channel insulating. In order to minimize the size of spintronic devices and achieve high integration density, low-dimensional half-metallic materials are eagerly pursued in recent years, although they are still at an early stage of theoretical predictions and corresponding experimental verifications remain challenging. Intrinsic half-metallicity in low dimension is found to be very limited and we still lack a general scheme to achieve such materials. Alternatively, the large number of emerging nanomaterials and their easy tunability by external stimuli provide another opportunity to realize low-dimensional half-metals. In this article, we attempt to give a brief review of designing low-dimensional half-metals from theoretical aspect, and analyze the basic ideas and strategies used in the design process. Proposals on future developments are also presented. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2017, 7:e1314. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1314 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Various schemes to achieve low-dimensional half-metals

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1314