Improvement of tunneling magnetoresistance and spin-valley polarization in magnetic silicene superlattices induced by structural disorder

It is well known that the unavoidable variation of the heights and widths of the barriers (structural disorder) in semiconductor superlattices and superlattices based on two-dimensional materials degrades important physical properties such as the electronic transport and the thermoelectric response. Here, we show that the structural disorder contrary to what is expected improves the magnetoresistive and spin-valleytronic properties of magnetic silicene superlattices. We reach this conclusion by studying the impact of the random variations of the width and strength of the magnetic barriers on the tunneling magnetoresistance and spin-valley polarization. The theoretical treatment is based on a Dirac-like Hamiltonian, the transfer matrix method, and the Landauer-Buttiker formalism to describe silicene electrons, to obtain the transmittance, and to obtain the conductance, respectively. Our results indicate that structural disorder effects improve the magnetoresistance response and the spin-valley polarization by eliminating the conductance oscillations caused by the periodic magnetic modulation as well as by differentiating the response of the conductance for the parallel and antiparallel magnetization configuration. These results could be useful in designing versatile devices with magnetoresistive and spin-valleytronic capabilities. Particularly, magnetic silicene superlattices with moderate structural disorder are more convenient than perfect or nearly perfect ones.

Automated summary

Contrary to expectations, this study finds that structural disorder can improve the magnetoresistive and spin-valleytronic properties of magnetic silicene superlattices. The results show that structural disorder eliminates conductance oscillations and differentiates the conductance response for parallel and antiparallel magnetization configuration, thus enhancing the magnetoresistance response and spin-valley polarization. Magnetic silicene superlattices with moderate structural disorder are more convenient for designing versatile devices with magnetoresistive and spin-valleytronic capabilities.