Electron Transport at the Interface Between a Ferromagnetic Insulator and a Topological Insulator

Author

Ma, M.J. ; Jalil, M.B.A. ; Tan, S.G. ; Siu, Z.B.

Author_Institution

Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Nat. Univ. of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Volume

48

Issue

11

fYear

2012

Firstpage

3398

Lastpage

3401

Abstract

We perform a theoretical study of the electron transport through a normal metal-topological insulator-normal metal (NM-TI-NM) system, where a ferromagnetic insulator (FI) layer is deposited on top of the TI. The spin conductance of the system is analyzed as a function of parameters such as the strength of exchange coupling between the surface states of the TI and the magnetic moments of the FI layer, as well as the dimension of the TI channel. We find that the strength of the spin conductance can be optimized by tuning the parameters.

Keywords

MIM structures; exchange interactions (electron); ferromagnetic materials; insulating thin films; interface magnetism; interface states; magnetic moments; magnetic thin films; magnetoresistance; surface conductivity; surface magnetism; surface states; topological insulators; exchange coupling strength; ferromagnetic insulator; interface electron transport; magnetic moments; normal metal-topological insulator-normal metal system; spin conductance; surface states; Couplings; Educational institutions; Electrodes; Magnetization; Wave functions; Ferromagnetic insulator; spin conductance; topological insulator;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TMAG.2012.2196686

Filename

6332761