Zigzag Graphene Nanoribbon Based Transistor with Tunable Spin Polarization

Synopsis

The possibility of graphene based magnetism attracted much attention over the years. Although pristine graphene is not magnetic, broken sublattice symmetry may induce magnetism in carbon-based nanostructures. In particular, as large number of theoretical studies confirmed, zigzag graphene nanoribbons are expected to have antiferromagnetically coupled magnetized edges. Gapful and magnetic nature of these nanostructures make them a potential candidate for electronic and spintronic applications.

In a recent experimental study, Vancsó et al. proposed a zigzag graphene nanoribbon based field effect transistor that has control over both charge and spin currents [1]. Furthermore, they also showed that, even at room temperature, electronic and spintronic properties of this switch is robust against disordered edge geometry.

[1]  P. Vancsó, I. Hagymási and L. Tapasztó, 2D Mater. 4 (2017) 024008.