Spin-resolved Fano resonances induced large spin Seebeck effects in graphene-carbon-chain junctions

We propose a high-efficiency thermospin device constructed by a carbon atomic chain sandwiched between two ferromagnetic (FM) zigzag graphene nanoribbon electrodes. In the low-temperature regime, the magnitude of the spin figure of merit is nearly equal to that of the corresponding charge figure of merit. This is attributed to the appearances of spin-resolved Fano resonances in the linear conductance spectrum resulting from the quantum interference effects between the localized states and the expanded states. The spin-dependent Seebeck effect is obviously enhanced near these Fano resonances with the same spin index; meanwhile, the Seebeck effect of the other spin component has a smaller value due to the smooth changing of the linear conductance with the spin index. Thus, a large spin Seebeck effect is achieved, and the magnitude of the spin figure of merit can reach 1.2 at T = 25 K. Our results indicate that the FM graphene-carbon-chain junctions can be used to design the high-efficiency thermospin devices. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.