Pure Spin Photocurrent in an Altermagnetic Photovoltaic Battery
Abstract
Abstract Altermagnets, featuring momentum-dependent spin splitting without net magnetization, provide a promising platform for spintronic functionalities beyond conventional ferromagnets and antiferromagnets. Here, we propose an altermagnetic spin photovoltaic battery consisting of a nonmagnetic centrosymmetric semiconductor sandwiched between two altermagnetic electrodes. Using first-principles quantum-transport simulations, we show that a V2Te2O/ZnSe/V2Te2O junction supports a pure spin photocurrent for opposite Néel vectors in the two altermagnetic electrodes, with spin-up and spin-down photocurrents equal in magnitude and opposite in sign. The effect persists under both linearly and circularly polarized light and remains tunable with photon energy and polarization angle. Our results establish a realistic route toward light-driven pure spin-current generation in altermagnetic junctions.
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Authors: Qiang Li, Shibo Fang, Zongmeng Yang, Xingyue Yang, Jianhua Wang, Rui Peng, Lin Zhu, Shuhua Wang, Dexing Liu, Min Zhang, Dahua Ren, Mai Zhang, Han Zhang, Yee Sin Ang
Institutions: Peking University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Zhejiang University of Technology, Tiangong University, Northwest University, North West Agriculture and Forestry University, Minzu University of China, King University, Nanyang Technological University, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Singapore University of Technology and Design