The defect impacts of zigzag SiC nanoribbons in the spin devices

Abstract In this work, electronic structures and spin transport characteristics of SiC zigzag nanoribbons with defects have been studied by spin-polarized first-principles calculations. It is found that the transport channel of the zigzag SiC nanoribbon device in parallel configurations is located in the edge of nanoribbons. The spin currents can be turned on or off by specific edge defects. As to the antiparallel configuration, all the SiC nanoribbon devices exhibit a perfect dual spin filtering effect, which is immune to the position of defects. By transmission spectra calculations, the corresponding mechanisms of these peculiar effects were explained. The results from this work might indicate a promising pathway for developing spin filters with SiC nanoribbons.