Electron spin transport driven by surface plasmon polariton

Abstract

We propose a mechanism of angular momentum conversion from optical transverse spin in surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) to conduction electron spin. Free electrons in the metal follow the transversally spinning electric field of SPP, and the resulting orbital motions create inhomogeneous static magnetisation in the metal. By solving the spin diffusion equation in the SPP, we find that the magnetisation field generates an electron spin current. We show that there exists a resonant condition where the spin current is resonantly enhanced, and the polarisation of the spin current is flipped. Our theory reveals a novel functionality of SPP as a spin current source.

References in corpus (9)

• Experimental observation of the spin-Hall effect in a two dimensional spin-orbit coupled semiconductor system
• Room Temperature Reversible Spin Hall Effect
• Quantum spin Hall effect of light
• Does a Surface Polariton Have Spin?
• Universal spin-momentum locking of evanescent waves
• Optical momentum and angular momentum in complex media: From the Abraham-Minkowski debate to unusual properties of surface plasmon-polaritons
• Electric current induced unidirectional propagation of surface plasmon-polaritons
• Intrinsic transverse spin angular momentum of fiber eigenmodes
• Dissipation Effect on Optical Force and Torque near Interfaces

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Chirality as Generalized Spin-Orbit Interaction in Spintronics
• Optically induced electron spin currents in the Kretschmann configuration
• Transverse spin angular momentum of space-time surface plasmon polariton wave packet
• Microscopic analysis of the energy, momentum and spin distributions in a surface plasmon-polariton wave
• Designing rotational motion of charges on plasmonic nanostructures excited by circularly polarized light
• Motion-induced spin transfer
• Spin Current Generation by a Surface Plasmon Polariton