Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle, Germany.
Phys Rev Lett. 2010 May 7;104(18):186403. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.186403. Epub 2010 May 6.
We present an ab initio description of the spin Hall effect in metals. Our approach is based on density functional theory in the framework of a fully relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method and the solution of a linearized Boltzmann equation including the scattering-in term (vertex corrections). The skew scattering mechanism at substitutional impurities is considered. Spin-orbit coupling in the host as well as at the impurity atom and the influence of spin-flip processes are fully taken into account. A sign change of the spin Hall effect in Cu and Au hosts is obtained as a function of the impurity atom, and even light elements like Li can cause a strong effect. It is shown that the gigantic spin Hall effect in Au can be caused by skew scattering at C and N impurities which are typical contaminations in a vacuum chamber.
我们提出了一种金属中自旋霍尔效应的从头算描述。我们的方法基于密度泛函理论，在完全相对论的 Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker 方法的框架内，并求解包括散射项（顶点修正）在内的线性化 Boltzmann 方程。我们考虑了替代杂质的斜散射机制。在宿主中和杂质原子中的自旋轨道耦合以及自旋翻转过程的影响都被完全考虑在内。作为杂质原子的函数，我们得到了 Cu 和 Au 宿主中自旋霍尔效应的符号变化，甚至像 Li 这样的轻元素也能产生很强的效应。结果表明，Au 中的巨大自旋霍尔效应可以归因于 C 和 N 杂质的斜散射，这些杂质是真空室内的典型污染物。
