New spin-filtering mechanism through atomic chains without magnetic field: first-principles study

We investigated a new one-dimensional (1D) Rashba system, Bi-adsorbed In atomic chains, using first-principles calculations. One of the most stable structures in the system shows unconventional spin textures, which is the reversal of the spin polarization direction in Rashba bands. This result suggests a new spin-filtering mechanism through atomic chains. Similar mechanisms to ours, 1D spin filter, have been proposed already. However, our mechanism has a great advantage; previous spin-filtering mechanisms require the external magnetic field, whereas ours does not need the magnetic field. This feature is suitable for spintronic applications.