Regensburg 2007 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 10: Spinelectronics/Spininjection in Heterostructures

MA 10.2: Talk

Monday, March 26, 2007, 15:30–15:45, H23

First-principles calculations of conduction electron’s spin relaxation time — •Dmitry Fedorov, Peter Zahn, and Ingrid Mertig — Institut für Physik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle, D-06099 Halle/Saale, Germany

To inject, transfer and detect spin currents in the framework of spintronics, it is decisive to know how long conduction electrons ’keep’ their spin state. As it was proposed by Elliott [1] and Yafet [2] and later confirmed by any experimental investigations, the dominant relaxation mechanism at low temperatures is caused by spin-orbit interaction of the conduction electrons with impurities.

We have performed ab initio calculations of the spin relaxation time of conduction electrons in transition metals containing different types of impurities. A screened KKR Green’s function method based on density functional theory was applied to these studies. The obtained results are in good agreement with conduction electron spin resonance (CESR) experiments.

[1] R.J. Elliott, Phys. Rev. 96, 266 (1954)

[2] Y. Yafet, in Solid State Physics, Vol. 14, F. Seitz and D. Turnbull, Eds. (Academic Press, New York, 1963)