The spin-valley currents in silicene-based normal/sublattice-dependent ferromagnetic/normal junction are investigated. Unlike that in graphene, the pseudo Dirac mass in silicene is generated by spin-orbit interaction and tunable by applying electric or exchange fields into it. This is due to silicon-based honeycomb lattice having buckled structure. As a result, it is found that the junction leads to currents perfectly split into four groups, spin up (down) in k- and k′-valleys, when applying different values of the electric field, considered as a perfect spin-valley polarization (PSVP) for electronic application. The PSVP is due to the interplay of spin-valley-dependent Dirac mass and chemical potential in the barrier. The PSVP also occurs only for the energy comparable to the spin-orbit energy gap. This work reveals potential of silicene for spinvalleytronics applications.
Physical property of pseudo spin of electrons in graphene is investigated. In contrast to recent description [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106 (2011)116803], we show that pseudo spin in graphene is not completely a real angular momentum. The pseudo spin only in the direction perpendicular to graphene sheet is real angular momentum, while the pseudo spin parallel to graphene plane is still not real angular momentum. Interestingly, it is also shown that the Newtonian-like force and pseudo spin torque of massive Dirac electrons in graphene under strain field mimic gravitomagnetic force and gravitomagnetic spin torque, respectively. This is due to the equivalence of pseudo spin and velocity operators of 2+1 dimensional massive electrons in graphene, different from that in real 3+1 dimensional Dirac fields. This work reveals new physical property of graphene as a pseudo gravitomagnetic material.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.