Staff directory
Juan Francisco Sierra García
CSIC Tenured Scientist
juan.sierra(ELIMINAR)@icn2.cat
Physics and Engineering of Nanodevices
- ORCID: 0000-0002-5438-0534
Publications
2024
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Spin-Orbit Torques and Magnetization Switching in (Bi,Sb)2Te3/Fe3GeTe2 Heterostructures Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Guillet, Thomas; Galceran, Regina; Sierra, Juan F; Belarre, Francisco J; Ballesteros, Belen; Costache, Marius V; Dosenovic, Djordje; Okuno, Hanako; Marty, Alain; Jamet, Matthieu; Bonell, Frederic; Valenzuela, Sergio O Nano Letters; 24 (3): 822 - 828. 2024. 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c03291.
2022
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Heat dissipation in few-layer MoS2and MoS2/hBN heterostructure
Arrighi A., Del Corro E., Urrios D.N., Costache M.V., Sierra J.F., Watanabe K., Taniguchi T., Garrido J.A., Valenzuela S.O., Sotomayor Torres C.M., Sledzinska M. 2D Materials; 9 (1, 015005) 2022. 10.1088/2053-1583/ac2e51. IF: 7.103
State-of-the-art fabrication and characterisation techniques have been employed to measure the thermal conductivity of suspended, single-crystalline MoS2 and MoS2/hBN heterostructures. Two-laser Raman scattering thermometry was used combined with real time measurements of the absorbed laser power. Measurements on MoS2 layers with thicknesses of 5 and 14 nm exhibit thermal conductivity in the range between 12 Wm-1 K-1 and 24 Wm-1 K-1. Additionally, after determining the thermal conductivity of the latter MoS2 sample, an hBN flake was transferred onto it and the effective thermal conductivity of the heterostructure was subsequently measured. Remarkably, despite that the thickness of the hBN layer was less than a hal of the thickness of the MoS2 layer, the heterostructure showed an almost eight-fold increase in the thermal conductivity, being able to dissipate more than ten times the laser power without any visible sign of damage. These results are consistent with a high thermal interface conductance G between MoS2 and hBN and an efficient in-plane heat spreading driven by hBN. Indeed, we estimate G ∼ 70 MW m-2 K-1 for hBN layer thermal conductivity of 450 Wm-1 K-1 which is significantly higher than previously reported values. Our work therefore demonstrates that the insertion of hBN layers in potential MoS2-based devices holds the promise for efficient thermal management. © 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.
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Passivation of Bi2Te3 Topological Insulator by Transferred CVD-Graphene: Toward Intermixing-Free Interfaces
Galceran, R; Bonell, F; Camosi, L; Sauthier, G; Gebeyehu, ZM; Esplandiu, MJ; Arrighi, A; Aguirre, IF; Figueroa, AI; Sierra, JF; Valenzuela, SO Advanced Materials Interfaces; 9 (36) 2022. 10.1002/admi.202201997. IF: 6.389
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Resolving spin currents and spin densities generated by charge-spin interconversion in systems with reduced crystal symmetry
Camosi L., Světl’ík J., Costache M.V., Savero Torres W., Fernández Aguirre I., Marinova V., Dimitrov D., Gospodinov M., Sierra J.F., Valenzuela S.O. 2D Materials; 9 (3, 035014) 2022. 10.1088/2053-1583/ac6fec.
The ability to control the generation of spins in arbitrary directions is a long-sought goal in spintronics. Charge to spin interconversion (CSI) phenomena depend strongly on symmetry. Systems with reduced crystal symmetry allow anisotropic CSI with unconventional components, where charge and spin currents and the spin polarization are not mutually perpendicular to each other. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that the CSI in graphene-WTe2 induces spins with components in all three spatial directions. By performing multi-terminal nonlocal spin precession experiments, with specific magnetic fields orientations, we discuss how to disentangle the CSI from the spin Hall and inverse spin galvanic effects. © 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.
2021
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Control of spin-charge conversion in van der Waals heterostructures
Galceran R., Tian B., Li J., Bonell F., Jamet M., Vergnaud C., Marty A., García J.H., Sierra J.F., Costache M.V., Roche S., Valenzuela S.O., Manchon A., Zhang X., Schwingenschlögl U. APL Materials; 9 (10, 100901) 2021. 10.1063/5.0054865. IF: 5.096
The interconversion between spin and charge degrees of freedom offers incredible potential for spintronic devices, opening routes for spin injection, detection, and manipulation alternative to the use of ferromagnets. The understanding and control of such interconversion mechanisms, which rely on spin-orbit coupling, is therefore an exciting prospect. The emergence of van der Waals materials possessing large spin-orbit coupling (such as transition metal dichalcogenides or topological insulators) and/or recently discovered van der Waals layered ferromagnets further extends the possibility of spin-to-charge interconversion to ultrathin spintronic devices. Additionally, they offer abundant room for progress in discovering and analyzing novel spin-charge interconversion phenomena. Modifying the properties of van der Waals materials through proximity effects is an added degree of tunability also under exploration. This Perspective discusses the recent advances toward spin-to-charge interconversion in van der Waals materials. It highlights scientific developments which include techniques for large-scale growth, device physics, and theoretical aspects. © 2021 Author(s).
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Van der Waals heterostructures for spintronics and opto-spintronics
Sierra J.F., Fabian J., Kawakami R.K., Roche S., Valenzuela S.O. Nature Nanotechnology; 16 (8): 856 - 868. 2021. 10.1038/s41565-021-00936-x. IF: 39.213
The large variety of 2D materials and their co-integration in van der Waals heterostructures enable innovative device engineering. In addition, their atomically thin nature promotes the design of artificial materials by proximity effects that originate from short-range interactions. Such a designer approach is particularly compelling for spintronics, which typically harnesses functionalities from thin layers of magnetic and non-magnetic materials and the interfaces between them. Here we provide an overview of recent progress in 2D spintronics and opto-spintronics using van der Waals heterostructures. After an introduction to the forefront of spin transport research, we highlight the unique spin-related phenomena arising from spin–orbit and magnetic proximity effects. We further describe the ability to create multifunctional hybrid heterostructures based on van der Waals materials, combining spin, valley and excitonic degrees of freedom. We end with an outlook on perspectives and challenges for the design and production of ultracompact all-2D spin devices and their potential applications in conventional and quantum technologies. © 2021, Springer Nature Limited.
2020
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Control of Spin-Orbit Torques by Interface Engineering in Topological Insulator Heterostructures
Bonell F., Goto M., Sauthier G., Sierra J.F., Figueroa A.I., Costache M.V., Miwa S., Suzuki Y., Valenzuela S.O. Nano Letters; 20 (8): 5893 - 5899. 2020. 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01850. IF: 11.238
(Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 topological insulators (TIs) are gathering increasing attention owing to their large charge-to-spin conversion efficiency and the ensuing spin-orbit torques (SOTs) that can be used to manipulate the magnetization of a ferromagnet (FM). The origin of the torques, however, remains elusive, while the implications of hybridized states and the strong material intermixing at the TI/FM interface are essentially unexplored. By combining interface chemical analysis and spin-transfer ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) measurements, we demonstrate that intermixing plays a critical role in the generation of SOTs. By inserting a suitable normal metal spacer, material intermixing is reduced and the TI properties at the interface are largely improved, resulting in strong variations in the nature of the SOTs. A dramatic enhancement of a field-like torque, opposing and surpassing the Oersted-field torque, is observed, which can be attributed to the non-equilibrium spin density in Rashba-split surface bands and to the suppression of spin memory loss. These phenomena can play a relevant role at other interfaces, such as those comprising transition metal dichalcogenides. © 2020 American Chemical Society.
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Magnetism, spin dynamics, and quantum transport in two-dimensional systems
Savero Torres W., Sierra J.F., Benítez L.A., Bonell F., García J.H., Roche S., Valenzuela S.O. MRS Bulletin; 45 (5): 357 - 365. 2020. 10.1557/mrs.2020.121. IF: 5.061
Two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials offer a unique platform to explore mesoscopic phenomena driven by interfacial and topological effects. Their tunable electric properties and bidimensional nature enable their integration into sophisticated heterostructures with engineered properties, resulting in the emergence of new exotic phenomena not accessible in other platforms. This has fostered many studies on 2D ferromagnetism, proximity-induced effects, and quantum transport, demonstrating their relevance for fundamental research and future device applications. Here, we review ongoing progress in this lively research field with special emphasis on spin-related phenomena. © Materials Research Society 2020.
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Preface
Juan F Sierra, Paolo Bondavalli Journal Of Physics-Materials; 3 (3, 30301) 2020. 10.1088/2515-7639/ab8187. IF: 0.000
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Tunable room-temperature spin galvanic and spin Hall effects in van der Waals heterostructures
Benítez L.A., Savero Torres W., Sierra J.F., Timmermans M., Garcia J.H., Roche S., Costache M.V., Valenzuela S.O. Nature Materials; 19 (2): 170 - 175. 2020. 10.1038/s41563-019-0575-1. IF: 38.663
Spin–orbit coupling stands as a powerful tool to interconvert charge and spin currents and to manipulate the magnetization of magnetic materials through spin-torque phenomena. However, despite the diversity of existing bulk materials and the recent advent of interfacial and low-dimensional effects, control of this interconversion at room temperature remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate strongly enhanced room-temperature spin-to-charge interconversion in graphene driven by the proximity of WS2. By performing spin precession experiments in appropriately designed Hall bars, we separate the contributions of the spin Hall and the spin galvanic effects. Remarkably, their corresponding conversion efficiencies can be tailored by electrostatic gating in magnitude and sign, peaking near the charge neutrality point with an equivalent magnitude that is comparable to the largest efficiencies reported to date. Such electric-field tunability provides a building block for spin generation free from magnetic materials and for ultra-compact magnetic memory technologies. © 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
2019
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Investigating the spin-orbit interaction in van der Waals heterostructures by means of the spin relaxation anisotropy
Benítez L.A., Sierra J.F., Savero Torres W., Timmermans M., Costache M.V., Valenzuela S.O. APL Materials; 7 (12, 120701) 2019. 10.1063/1.5124894. IF: 4.296
Graphene offers long spin propagation and, at the same time, a versatile platform to engineer its physical properties. Proximity-induced phenomena, taking advantage of materials with large spin-orbit coupling or that are magnetic, can be used to imprint graphene with large spin-orbit coupling and magnetic correlations. However, full understanding of the proximitized graphene and the consequences on the spin transport dynamics requires the development of unconventional experimental approaches. The investigation of the spin relaxation anisotropy, defined as the ratio of lifetimes for spins pointing out of and in the graphene plane, is an important step in this direction. This review discusses various methods for extracting the spin relaxation anisotropy in graphene-based devices. Within the experimental framework, current understanding on spin transport dynamics in single-layer and bilayer graphene is presented. Due to increasing interest, experimental results in graphene in proximity with high spin-orbit layered materials are also reviewed. © 2019 Author(s).
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Spin communication over 30 μm long channels of chemical vapor deposited graphene on SiO2
Gebeyehu Z.M., Parui S., Sierra J.F., Timmermans M., Esplandiu M.J., Brems S., Huyghebaert C., Garello K., Costache M.V., Valenzuela S.O. 2D Materials; 6 (3, 034003) 2019. 10.1088/2053-1583/ab1874. IF: 7.343
We demonstrate a high-yield fabrication of non-local spin valve devices with room-temperature spin lifetimes of up to 3 ns and spin relaxation lengths as long as 9 μm in platinum-based chemical vapor deposition (Pt-CVD) synthesized single-layer graphene on SiO2/Si substrates. The spin-lifetime systematically presents a marked minimum at the charge neutrality point, as typically observed in pristine exfoliated graphene. However, by studying the carrier density dependence beyond n ∼ 5 × 1012 cm-2, via electrostatic gating, it is found that the spin lifetime reaches a maximum and then starts decreasing, a behavior that is reminiscent of that predicted when the spin-relaxation is driven by spin-orbit interaction. The spin lifetimes and relaxation lengths compare well with state-of-the-art results using exfoliated graphene on SiO2/Si, being a factor two-to-three larger than the best values reported at room temperature using the same substrate. As a result, the spin signal can be readily measured across 30 μm long graphene channels. These observations indicate that Pt-CVD graphene is a promising material for large-scale spin-based logic-in-memory applications. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.
2018
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Strongly anisotropic spin relaxation in graphene-transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures at room temperature
Benítez L.A., Sierra J.F., Savero Torres W., Arrighi A., Bonell F., Costache M.V., Valenzuela S.O. Nature Physics; 14 (3): 303 - 308. 2018. 10.1038/s41567-017-0019-2. IF: 22.727
A large enhancement in the spin-orbit coupling of graphene has been predicted when interfacing it with semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides. Signatures of such an enhancement have been reported, but the nature of the spin relaxation in these systems remains unknown. Here, we unambiguously demonstrate anisotropic spin dynamics in bilayer heterostructures comprising graphene and tungsten or molybdenum disulphide (WS2, MoS2). We observe that the spin lifetime varies over one order of magnitude depending on the spin orientation, being largest when the spins point out of the graphene plane. This indicates that the strong spin-valley coupling in the transition metal dichalcogenide is imprinted in the bilayer and felt by the propagating spins. These findings provide a rich platform to explore coupled spin-valley phenomena and offer novel spin manipulation strategies based on spin relaxation anisotropy in two-dimensional materials. © 2017 The Author(s).
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Thermoelectric spin voltage in graphene
Sierra J.F., Neumann I., Cuppens J., Raes B., Costache M.V., Valenzuela S.O. Nature Nanotechnology; 13 (2): 107 - 111. 2018. 10.1038/s41565-017-0015-9. IF: 37.490
In recent years, new spin-dependent thermal effects have been discovered in ferromagnets, stimulating a growing interest in spin caloritronics, a field that exploits the interaction between spin and heat currents 1,2 . Amongst the most intriguing phenomena is the spin Seebeck effect 3-5, in which a thermal gradient gives rise to spin currents that are detected through the inverse spin Hall effect 6-8 . Non-magnetic materials such as graphene are also relevant for spin caloritronics, thanks to efficient spin transport 9-11, energy-dependent carrier mobility and unique density of states 12,13 . Here, we propose and demonstrate that a carrier thermal gradient in a graphene lateral spin valve can lead to a large increase of the spin voltage near to the graphene charge neutrality point. Such an increase results from a thermoelectric spin voltage, which is analogous to the voltage in a thermocouple and that can be enhanced by the presence of hot carriers generated by an applied current 14-17 . These results could prove crucial to drive graphene spintronic devices and, in particular, to sustain pure spin signals with thermal gradients and to tune the remote spin accumulation by varying the spin-injection bias. © 2017 The Author(s).
2017
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Spin precession in anisotropic media
Raes B., Cummings A.W., Bonell F., Costache M.V., Sierra J.F., Roche S., Valenzuela S.O. Physical Review B; 95 (8, 085403) 2017. 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.085403. IF: 3.836
We generalize the diffusive model for spin injection and detection in nonlocal spin structures to account for spin precession under an applied magnetic field in an anisotropic medium, for which the spin lifetime is not unique and depends on the spin orientation. We demonstrate that the spin precession (Hanle) line shape is strongly dependent on the degree of anisotropy and on the orientation of the magnetic field. In particular, we show that the anisotropy of the spin lifetime can be extracted from the measured spin signal, after dephasing in an oblique magnetic field, by using an analytical formula with a single fitting parameter. Alternatively, after identifying the fingerprints associated with the anisotropy, we propose a simple scaling of the Hanle line shapes at specific magnetic field orientations that results in a universal curve only in the isotropic case. The deviation from the universal curve can be used as a complementary means of quantifying the anisotropy by direct comparison with the solution of our generalized model. Finally, we applied our model to graphene devices and find that the spin relaxation for graphene on silicon oxide is isotropic within our experimental resolution. © 2017 American Physical Society.
2016
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Determination of the spin-lifetime anisotropy in graphene using oblique spin precession
Raes B., Scheerder J.E., Costache M.V., Bonell F., Sierra J.F., Cuppens J., Van De Vondel J., Valenzuela S.O. Nature Communications; 7 ( 11444) 2016. 10.1038/ncomms11444. IF: 11.329
We determine the spin-lifetime anisotropy of spin-polarized carriers in graphene. In contrast to prior approaches, our method does not require large out-of-plane magnetic fields and thus it is reliable for both low-and high-carrier densities. We first determine the in-plane spin lifetime by conventional spin precession measurements with magnetic fields perpendicular to the graphene plane. Then, to evaluate the out-of-plane spin lifetime, we implement spin precession measurements under oblique magnetic fields that generate an out-of-plane spin population. We find that the spin-lifetime anisotropy of graphene on silicon oxide is independent of carrier density and temperature down to 150 K, and much weaker than previously reported. Indeed, within the experimental uncertainty, the spin relaxation is isotropic. Altogether with the gate dependence of the spin lifetime, this indicates that the spin relaxation is driven by magnetic impurities or random spin-orbit or gauge fields.
2015
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Hot-Carrier Seebeck Effect: Diffusion and Remote Detection of Hot Carriers in Graphene
Sierra J.F., Neumann I., Costache M.V., Valenzuela S.O. Nano Letters; 15 (6): 4000 - 4005. 2015. 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00922. IF: 13.592
We investigate hot carrier propagation across graphene using an electrical nonlocal injection/detection method. The device consists of a monolayer graphene flake contacted by multiple metal leads. Using two remote leads for electrical heating, we generate a carrier temperature gradient that results in a measurable thermoelectric voltage V
NL across the remaining (detector) leads. Due to the nonlocal character of the measurement, VNL is exclusively due to the Seebeck effect. Remarkably, a departure from the ordinary relationship between Joule power P and VNL , VNL ∼ P, becomes readily apparent at low temperatures, representing a fingerprint of hot-carrier dominated thermoelectricity. By studying VNL as a function of bias, we directly determine the carrier temperature and the characteristic cooling length for hot-carrier propagation, which are key parameters for a variety of new applications that rely on hot-carrier transport. (Figure Presented). © 2015 American Chemical Society.
2014
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Fingerprints of inelastic transport at the surface of the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3: Role of electron-phonon coupling
Costache, M.V.; Neumann, I.; Sierra, J.F.; Marinova, V.; Gospodinov, M.M.; Roche, S.; Valenzuela, S.O. Physical Review Letters; 2014. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.086601. IF: 7.728
2013
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Enhanced spin accumulation at room temperature in graphene spin valves with amorphous carbon interfacial layers
Neumann, I.; Costache, M.V.; Bridoux, G.; Sierra, J.F.; Valenzuela, S.O. Applied Physics Letters; 2013. 10.1063/1.4820586. IF: 3.794