Unconventional Spin Valve Based on Normal Metal/Chiral Molecule/Altermagnet Junctions
arXiv:2607.11788 · doi:10.1103/cb58-jw6p
The paper proposes a spin valve composed of a normal metal, a chiral molecule, and an altermagnet, and uses nonequilibrium Green's function calculations to show that its conductance and magnetoresistance can be tuned by the altermagnet’s Néel vector and molecular length.
Abstract
Chiral molecules have attracted broad interdisciplinary interest for their ability to produce highly spin-polarized current. This phenomenon, known as the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect, holds great potential in the field of spintronics. Here, we propose to combine chiral molecules with altermagnets to construct highly efficient and tunable spin valves. Using the nonequilibrium Green's function method and the Landauer-Büttiker formula, we obtain the conductance and the magnetoresistance of a normal metal/chiral molecule/altermagnet spin valve. Our theoretical results reveal that the conductance of the spin valve can be effectively tuned by reorienting the Néel vector of the altermagnet, and the magnetoresistance of the spin valve increases with molecular length and altermagnetic anisotropy. Moreover, the magnetoresistance vanishes for achiral molecules or in the absence of molecular spin-orbit coupling. Our work paves the way for developing efficient, controllable, and stray-field-free spintronic devices.
11 pages, 8 figures