Eur. Phys. J. B (2018) 91: 37
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2018-80499-8

Calculation method of spin accumulations and spin signals in nanostructures using spin resistors

SPINTEC, CEA-INAC/CNRS/Univ. Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France

^a e-mail: alain.marty@cea.fr

Received: 30 August 2017
Received in final form: 1 November 2017
Published online: 12 February 2018

Abstract

Determination of spin accumulations and spin currents is essential for a deep understanding of spin transport in nanostructures and further optimization of spintronic devices. So far, they are easily obtained using different approaches in nanostructures composed of few elements; however their calculation becomes complicated as the number of elements increases. Here, we propose a 1-D spin resistor approach to calculate analytically spin accumulations, spin currents and magneto-resistances in heterostructures. Our method, particularly applied to multi-terminal metallic nanostructures, provides a fast and systematic mean to determine such spin properties in structures where conventional methods remain complex.