Spin-filtered edge states in graphene

Abstract

Spin orbit coupling changes graphene, in principle, into a two-dimensional topological insulator, also known as quantum spin Hall insulator. One of the expected consequences is the existence of spin-filtered edge states that carry dissipationless spin currents and undergo no back-scattering in the presence of non-magnetic disorder, leading to quantization of conductance. Whereas, due to the small size of spin orbit coupling in graphene, the experimental observation of these remarkable predictions is unlikely, the theoretical understanding of these spin-filtered states is shedding light on the electronic properties of edge states in other two-dimensional quantum spin Hall insulators. Here we review the effect of a variety of perturbations, like curvature, disorder, edge reconstruction, edge crystallographic orientation, and Coulomb interactions on the electronic properties of these spin filtered states.

9 pages, 10 figures

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Edge states in graphene-like systems
• In-gap impurity states as the hallmark of the Quantum Spin Hall phase
• Transport through quantum spin Hall insulator/metal junctions in graphene ribbons
• Coherent control of current injection in zigzag graphene nanoribbons
• Charge and spin polarized currents in mesoscopic rings with Rashba spin-orbit interactions coupled to an electron reservoir
• Controlling edge states in the Kane-Mele model via edge chirality
• Limited robustness of edge magnetism in zigzag graphene nanoribbons with electrodes
• Particle-hole symmetry broken solutions in graphene nanoribbons: a multi-orbital, mean-field perspective