[16a-D419-1~11] 10.2 Fundamental and exploratory device technologies for spin

▼ [16a-D419-5] Gate-tunable and chirality-dependent charge-to-spin conversion in Tellurium nanowires

〇(P)Francesco Calavalle^1,2, Manuel Suarez-Rodriguez¹, Beatriz Martin-Garcia^1,5, Annika Johansson^3,4, Diogo Vaz¹, Haozhe Yang¹, Igor V. Maznichenko³, Sergey Ostanin³, Aurelio Mateo-Alonso^5,6, Andrey Chuvilin^1,5, Ingrid Mertig³, Marco Gobbi^1,5,7, Felix Casanova^1,5, Luis E. Hueso^1,5 (1.CIC nanogune BRTA, 2.Kyoto University, 3.Martin Luther Univ. Halle-Wittenberg, 4.Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, 5.IKERBASQUE, 6.POLYMAT (UPV/EHU), 7.CFM CSIC-UPV/EHU)

Keywords:Chirality, Magnetochiral anisotropy, Unidirectional Magnetoresistance

Charge-to-spin interconversion (CSI) phenomena enable the electrical generation of spin currents without magnetic elements, a fundamental step towards the next generation of spintronic devices¹. In the last decade, it became clear that such CSI mechanisms are strictly correlated to the system’s symmetries². Chiral materials, with their lack of mirror and inversion symmetries, are an ideal playground for exploring this relation between symmetry, electronic transport and CSI effects³. For instance, chiral organic molecules have been intensively studied to electrically generate spin-polarized currents⁴, but their complexity and poor electronic conductivity limits their potential for fundamental investigation and practical use. Conversely, chiral inorganic materials such as tellurium have the simplest chiral structure and excellent electrical conductivity^5,6, but their potential for enabling the electrical control of spin polarization in devices remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate the all-electrical generation, manipulation and detection of spin polarization in chiral single-crystalline tellurium nanowires. By recording a large (up to 7%) and chirality-dependent unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR), we show that the orientation of the electrically generated spin polarization is determined by the nanowire handedness and uniquely follows the current direction, while its magnitude can be manipulated by an electrostatic gate. Our results pave the way for the development of chirality-based spintronic devices.