arXiv subjects

S. Pramanik

Publications and source records attributed to S. Pramanik.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2011

Fabrication of hexagonally ordered nanopores in anodic alumina: An alternative pretreatment

Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) or anodic alumina template containing hexagonally ordered nanopores has been widely used over the last decade for the development of numerous functional nanostructures such as nanoscale sensors, computing networks and memories. The long range pore order requires the starting aluminum surface to be extremely smooth. Electropolishing is the most commonly used method for surface planarization prior to anodization. While prevalent, this method has several limitations in terms of throughput, polishing area and requirement of special experimental setups, which introduce additional speed bottlenecks in the intrinsically slow AAO-based nanofabrication process. In this work we report a new generation of the so-called "chemical polishing" approach which circumvents these stumbling blocks in the pretreatment phase and offers a viable, simpler, safer and faster alternative to electropolishing. These benefits are obtained without sacrificing the quality of the final AAO template. In this work we have (a) identified the optimum parameter regime for chemical polishing and (b) determined process conditions for which a novel parallel nanoridge configuration self-assembles and extends over a distance of several microns. Such patterns can be used as a mask for fabricating nanocrossbars, which are the main structural components in myriad nanoscale memories and crosspoint architectures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Transverse spin relaxation time in organic molecules: A possible platform for fault tolerant room temperature quantum computing

We report measurement of the ensemble averaged transverse spin relaxation time (T2*) in bulk and few molecules of the organic semiconductor tris(8-hydroxyquinolinolato aluminum) or Alq3. This system exhibits two characteristic T2* times, the longer of which is temperature-independent and the shorter is temperature-dependent, indicating that the latter is most likely limited by spin-phonon interaction. Based on the measured data, we infer that the single particle T2 time is long enough to meet Knill's criterion for fault tolerant quantum computing, even at room temperature. Alq3 is also an optically active organic and we propose a simple optical scheme for spin qubit read out. Moreover, we found that the temperature-dependent T2* time is considerably shorter in bulk Alq3 powder than in few molecules confined in 1-2 nm sized cavities, which is suggestive of a new type of ``phonon bottleneck effect''. This is very intriguing for organic molecules where carriers are always localized over individual molecules but the phonons are delocalized.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

The inequality of charge and spin diffusion coefficients

Since spin and charge are both carried by electrons (or holes) in a solid, it is natural to assume that charge and spin diffusion coefficients will be the same. Drift-diffusion models of spin transport typically assume so. Here, we show analytically that the two diffusion coefficients can be vastly different in quantum wires. Although we do not consider quantum wells or bulk systems, it is likely that the two coefficients will be different in those systems as well. Thus, it is important to distinguish between them in transport models, particularly those applied to quantum wire based devices

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Single spin universal Boolean logic

Recent advances in manipulating single electron spins in quantum dots have brought us close to the realization of classical logic gates based on representing binary bits in spin polarizations of single electrons. Here, we show that a linear array of three quantum dots, each containing a single spin polarized electron, and with nearest neighbor exchange coupling, acts as the universal NAND gate. The energy dissipated during switching this gate is the Landauer-Shannon limit of kTln(1/p) [T = ambient temperature and p = intrinsic gate error probability]. With present day technology, p = 1E-9 is achievable above 1 K temperature. Even with this small intrinsic error probability, the energy dissipated during switching the NAND gate is only ~ 21 kT, while today's nanoscale transistors dissipate about 40,000 - 50,000 kT when they switch.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Spin relaxation in a nanowire organic spin valve: Observation of extremely long spin relaxation times

We report spin valve behavior in an organic nanowire consisting of three layers - cobalt, Alq3 and nickel - all nominally 50 nm in diameter. Based on the data, we conclude that the dominant spin relaxation mechanism in Alq3 is the Elliott-Yafet mode. Despite the very short momentum relaxation time, the spin relaxation time is found to be very long - at least a few milliseconds - and relatively temperature independent up to 100 K. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an organic nanoscale spin valve, as well as the first determination of the primary spin relaxation mechanism in organics. The unusually long spin relaxation time makes these materials ideal platforms for some areas of spintronics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Issues pertaining to D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation in quantum wire channels

We elucidate the origin and nature of the D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation in a quantum wire structure, showing (analytically) that there are three necessary conditions for it to exist: (i) transport must be multi-channeled, (ii) there must be a Rashba spin orbit interaction in the wire, and (iii) there must also be a Dresselhaus spin orbit interaction. Therefore, the only effective way to completely eliminate the D'yakonov-Perel' relaxation in compound semiconductor channels with structural and bulk inversion asymmetry is to ensure strictly single channeled transport. In view of that, recent proposals in the literature that advocate using multi-channeled quantum wires for spin transistors appear ill-advised.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Spin fluctuations and spin noise

We have theoretically studied the temporal fluctuations and the resulting kinetic noise in the average spin polarization of an electron ensemble drifting in a quantum wire under a high electric field. Electrons are initially injected in the wire from a ferromagnetic contact with all their spins polarized along the wire axis. The average spin polarization of the ensemble decays during transport because of D'yakonov-Perel' relaxation caused by both Rashba and Dresselhaus interactions. Once steady state is reached, the average spin fluctuates randomly around zero. The time average of this fluctuation is zero. The autocorrelation function of this fluctuation approximates a Lorentzian and so does the spectral density. To our knowledge, this is the first study of spin fluctuations and "spin noise" in a nanostructure.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Decay of spin polarized hot carrier current in a quasi one-dimensional spin valve structure

We study the spatial decay of spin polarized hot carrier current in a spin-valve structure consisting of a semiconductor quantum wire flanked by half-metallic ferromagnetic contacts. The current decays because of D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation in the semiconductor caused by Rashba spin orbit interaction. The associated relaxation length is found to decrease with increasing lattice temperature (in the range 30-77 K) and exhibit a non-monotonic dependence on the electric field driving the current. The relaxation lengths are several tens of microns which are at least an order of magnitude larger than what has been theoretically calculated for two-dimensional structures at comparable temperatures, Rashba interaction strengths and electric fields. This improvement is a consequence of one-dimensional carrier confinement that does not necessarily suppress carrier scattering, but nevertheless suppresses D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Magnetoelectric subbands and eigenstates in the presence of Rashba and Drresselhaus spin orbit interactions in a quantum wire

We derive the eigenenergies and eigenstates of electrons in a quantum wire subjected to an external magnetic field. These are calculated in the presence of spin orbit interactions arising from the Rashba (structural inversion asymmetry) and Dresselhaus (bulk inversion asymmetry) effects. We consider three cases: the external magnetic field is oriented (i) along the axis of the wire, (ii) perpendicular to the axis but parallel to the electric field associated with structural inversion asymmetry (Rashba effect), and (iii) perpendicular to the axis as well as the electric field. In all cases, the dispersions of the eigenenergies are non-parabolic and the subbands do not have a fixed spin quantization axis (meaning that the spin polarization of the electron is wavevector dependent). Except in the second case, the dispersion diagrams are also, in general, asymmetric about the energy axis.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Spin transport in nanowires

We study high-field spin transport of electrons in a quasi one-dimensional channel of a $GaAs$ gate controlled spin interferometer (SPINFET) using a semiclassical formalism (spin density matrix evolution coupled with Boltzmann transport equation). Spin dephasing (or depolarization) is predominantly caused by D'yakonov-Perel' relaxation associated with momentum dependent spin orbit coupling effects that arise due to bulk inversion asymmetry (Dresselhaus spin orbit coupling) and structural inversion asymmetry (Rashba spin orbit coupling). Spin dephasing length in a one dimensional channel has been found to be an order of magnitude higher than that in a two dimensional channel. This study confirms that the ideal configuration for a SPINFET is one where the ferromagnetic source and drain contacts are magnetized along the axis of the channel. The spin dephasing length in this case is about 22.5 microns at lattice temperature of 30K and 10 microns at lattice temperature of 77 K for an electric field of 2 kV/cm. Spin dephasing length has been found to be weakly dependent on the driving electric field and strongly dependent on the lattice temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗