Pure spin current generation with photogalvanic effects in h-BN/graphene/h-BN van der Waals vertical heterostructures

Abstract

We have computationally demonstrated a new method for generating pure spin current with the photogalvanic effect (PGE) by constructing transport junctions using h-BN/graphene/h-BN van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure leads. It has been observed that the pure spin current without any accompanying charge current induced by the PGE can consistently be obtained, regardless of photon energy and polarization/helicity angle, as well as the specific type of polarization (linear, circular, or elliptical). The mechanism lies in the structural inversion symmetry and real space spin polarization antisymmetry of the junctions. We also found that pure spin current can be generated whether we decrease or increase the interlayer distance by applying compressive or tensile strain to the h-BN/graphene/h-BN vdW vertical heterostructure leads. Additionally, by increasing the h-BN sheets on both sides of the graphene nanoribbons for the two leads, we observed large spin splitting and were able to generate a pure spin current. These findings provide a new approach for achieving pure spin current in graphene nanoribbons and highlight the significance of vdW heterostructures in designing spintronic devices.