Room Temperature Electrical Detection of Spin Polarized Currents in Topological Insulators

Abstract

Topological insulators (TIs) are a new class of quantum materials that exhibit spin momentum locking (SML) of massless Dirac fermions in the surface states. Usually optical methods, such as angle and spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, have been employed to observe the helical spin polarization in the surface states of three-dimensional (3D) TIs up to room temperatures. Recently, spin polarized surface currents in 3D TIs were detected by electrical methods using ferromagnetic (FM) contacts in a lateral spin-valve measurement geometry. However, probing the spin texture with such electrical approaches is so far limited to temperatures below 125K, which restricts its application potential. Here we demonstrate the room temperature electrical detection of the spin polarization on the surface of Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ due to SML by employing spin sensitive FM tunnel contacts. The current-induced spin polarization on the Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ surface is probed at room temperature by measuring a spin-valve signal while switching the magnetization direction of the FM detector. The spin signal increases linearly with current bias, reverses sign with current direction, exhibits a weak temperature dependence and decreases with higher TI thickness, as predicted theoretically. Our results demonstrate the electrical detection of the spin polarization on the surface of 3D TIs, which could lead to innovative spin-based quantum information technology at ambient temperatures.

Incl. Supplementary information

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• Interface symmetry and spin control in topological insulator-semiconductor heterostructures
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• Electrical detection of surface spin polarization of candidate topological Kondo insulator SmB6
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• Opposite current-induced spin polarizations in bulk-metallic Bi2Se3 and bulk-insulating Bi2Te2Se topological insulator thin flakes
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• Growth of Ultrathin Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ Films by Molecular Beam Epitaxy
• Electrical detection of spin-polarized current in topological insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3
• Charge-spin conversion signal in WTe2 van der Waals hybrid devices with a geometrical design
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• Surface Step Defect in 3D Topological Insulators: Electric Manipulation of Spin and Quantum Spin Hall Effect
• Room temperature nonlocal detection of charge-spin interconversion in a topological insulator
• Large-Scale Epitaxial Integration of Single-Crystalline BiSb Topological Insulator on GaAs (111)A
• Charge-induced artifacts in non-local spin transport measurements: How to prevent spurious voltage signals
• Topological Insulators-Based Magnetic Heterostructure
• Resonant Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Induced by Magnetic Proximity
• Transport signatures of surface potentials on three-dimensional topological insulators
• Detection of current induced spin polarization in epitaxial Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$ thin film
• Large Magnetoresistance at Room Temperature in Ferromagnet/Topological Insulator Contacts
• Rectification in Spin-Orbit Materials Using Low Energy Barrier Magnets
• The influence of anisotropic Rashba spin-orbit coupling on current-induced spin polarization in graphene
• Surface state transport in double-gated and magnetized topological insulators with hexagonal warping effects
• Interplay between Topological States and Rashba States as Manifested on Surface Steps at Room Temperature
• Correspondence: Reply to "On the understanding of current-induced spin polarization of 3D topological insulators"