Spin-flip inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy in atomic chains

Aaron Hurley, Nadjib Baadji, and Stefano Sanvito
Phys. Rev. B 84, 035427 – Published 25 July 2011

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the spin transport properties of monoatomic magnetic chains with a focus on the spectroscopical features of the I-V curve associated with spin-flip processes. Our calculations are based on the s-d model for magnetism with the electron transport treated at the level of the nonequilibrium Green’s function formalism. Inelastic spin-flip scattering processes are introduced perturbatively via the first Born approximation, and an expression for the associated self-energy is derived. The computational method is then applied to describe the I-V characteristics and its derivatives of one-dimensional chains of Mn atoms, and the results are then compared to available experimental data. We find a qualitative and quantitative agreement between the calculated and the experimental conductance spectra. Significantly we are able to describe the relative intensities of the spin excitation features in the I-V curve, by means of a careful analysis of the spin transition selection rules associated with the atomic chains.

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  • Received 15 March 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.035427

©2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Aaron Hurley, Nadjib Baadji, and Stefano Sanvito

  • School of Physics and Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

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Issue

Vol. 84, Iss. 3 — 15 July 2011

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