Controlling the helicity of light by electrical magnetization switching

Pambiang Abel Dainone (1) , Nicholas Figueiredo Prestes (2) , Pierre Renucci (3) , Alexandre Bouché (1) , Martina Morassi (4) , Xavier Devaux (1) , Markus Lindemann (5) , Jean-Marie George (2) , Henri Jaffrès (2) , Aristide Lemaitre (4) , Bo Xu (6) , Mathieu Stoffel (1) , Tongxin Chen (1) , Laurent Lombez (3) , Delphine Lagarde (3) , Guangwei Cong (7) , Tianyi Ma (8) , Philippe Pigeat (1) , Michel Vergnat (1) , Hervé Rinnert (1) , Xavier Marie (3) , Xiufeng Han (8) , Stephane Mangin (1) , Juan-Carlos Rojas-Sánchez (1) , Jian-Ping Wang (9) , Matthew C Beard (10) , Nils C Gerhardt (5) , Igor Žutić (11) , Yuan Lu (1)

1 IJL - Institut Jean Lamour
2 Laboratoire Albert Fert (ex-UMPhy Unité mixte de physique CNRS/Thales)
3 LPCNO - Laboratoire de physique et chimie des nano-objets
4 C2N - Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies
5 RUB - Ruhr University Bochum = Ruhr-Universität Bochum
6 IOS - Institute of semiconductors [Chinese Academy of Sciences - Beijing]
7 AIST - National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
8 UCAS - University of Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing]
9 UMN - University of Minnesota [Twin Cities]
10 NREL - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
11 SUNY Buffalo - University at Buffalo [SUNY]

Controlling the intensity of emitted light and charge current is the cornerstone of transferring and processing information . On the other hand, robust information storage and magnetic random-access memories are implemented using the carrier’s spin and the associated magnetization in ferromagnets . The missing link between the respective disciplines of photonics, electronics, and spintronics, is to modulate the circular polarization of the emitted light, rather than its intensity, by the electrically-controlled magnetization. Here we demonstrate that this missing link is established at room temperature and zero-applied magnetic field in light-emitting diodes2, , , , , , through the transfer of angular momentum between photons, electrons, and ferromagnets. With spin-orbit torque , , , , a charge current generates also a spin current to electrically switch the magnetization. This switching determines the spin orientation of injected carriers into semiconductors, where the transfer of angular momentum from the electron spin to photon controls the circular polarization of the emitted light2. For the first time, the spin-photon conversion with the nonvolatile control of magnetization opens paths to seamlessly integrate information transfer, processing, and storage. Our results offer breakthroughs towards electrically-controlled ultrafast modulation of circular polarization and spin injection with magnetization dynamics for the next-generation information-communication technology , including space-light data transfer. Remarkably, the same operating principle in scaled-down structures or employing two-dimensional materials, provides transformative opportunities for quantum information processing with spin-controlled single-photon sources, as well as well for implementing novel spin-dependent time-resolved spectroscopies.

Mots clés: Spin light emitting diode; Circular polarization; Spin-orbit torque; Electrical magnetization switching; Optical telecommunication

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Pambiang Abel Dainone, Nicholas Figueiredo Prestes, Pierre Renucci, Alexandre Bouché, Martina Morassi, et al.. Controlling the helicity of light by electrical magnetization switching. Nature, 2024, 627 (8005), pp.783-788. ⟨10.1038/s41586-024-07125-5⟩. ⟨hal-04530065⟩