Spintronic Devices Based on Topological Insulators

拓扑绝缘体的表面态是特殊的，因为电流直接引起自旋极化，自旋极化的方向与电流方向垂直锁定。这使得它成为自旋电子学应用的一个很有前途的平台。在过去的几年里，首席研究员在材料和器件开发方面对TI研究领域做出了一系列重要贡献。在这些成果的基础上，该项目专注于自旋电子器件的制造和表征，目的是测试/演示TIS的自旋电子学功能。具体地说，该项目涉及以下两个目标：(I)基于我们提出的新机制，实现自旋晶体管操作，以演示通过静电门控操纵自旋；(Ii)采用弹道自旋输运机制，显著提高自旋产生的效率。这些目标的实现将使我们能够在具体的基础上评估TIS在自旋电子应用方面的潜力，为基于TIS的未来技术提供基础。

The surface states of topological insulators (TIs) are peculiar in that electrical currents directly induce spin polarization whose direction is perpendicularly locked to the current direction. This makes TIs a promising platform for spintronic applications. In the past few years, the Principal Investigator has made a series of important contributions to the TI research field in terms of both materials and device developments. Building on those achievements, this project focuses on fabrication and characterization of spintronic devices aimed at testing/demonstrating spintronic functions of TIs. Specifically, the project addresses the following two objectives: (I) realize the spin transistor operation to demonstrate the manipulation of spins via electrostatic gating based on the new mechanism proposed by us; (II) approach the ballistic spin transport regime to significantly enhance the efficiency of spin generation. Achievements of these objectives will enable us to evaluate the potential of TIs for spintronic applications on a concrete basis, providing foundations for future technologies based on TIs.