2023/08/31 by Mathieu Lamblin, Lamblin, Mathieu, V. Da Costa +22
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides #FOS: Physical sciences #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Semiconductor materials and devices
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2308.16592
openalex publication_date 2023/08/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02
An electrical current that flows across individual atoms can generate exotic quantum transport signatures in model junctions built using atomic tip or lateral techniques. So far, however, a viable industrial pathway for atom-driven devices has been lacking. Here, we demonstrate that a commercialized device platform can fill this nanotechnological gap. According to conducting tip atomic force microscopy, inserting C atoms into the MgO barrier of a magnetic tunnel junction generates nanotransport paths. Within magnetotransport experiments, this results in quantum interferences, and in Pauli spin blockade effects linked to tunneling magnetoresistance peaks that can be electrically controlled. We report an additional persistent memory effect that we attribute to the charging of a single "gating" C atom that is adjacent to a single C atom forming the microscale junction's effective nanotranport path. Local magnetometry experiments confirm the secondary role of magnetic stray fields on the C atoms. Our results show that, to exhibit atom-level properties, a device need not be nanoscaled, and position MgO tunneling spintronics as a promising platform to industrially implement quantum technologies.