Gate-voltage controlled electronic transport through a ferromagnet/normal/ferromagnet junction on the surface of a topological insulator

Abstract

We investigate the electronic transport properties of a ferromagnet/normal/ferromagnet junction on the surface of a topological insulator with a gate voltage exerted on the normal segment. It is found that the conductance oscillates with the width of normal segment and gate voltage, and the maximum of conductance gradually decreases while the minimum of conductance approaches zero as the width increases. The conductance can be controlled by tuning the gate voltage like a spin field-effect transistor. It is found that the magnetoresistance ratio can be very large, and can also be negative owing to anomalous transport. In addition, when there exists a magnetization component in the surface plane, it is shown that only the component parallel to the junction interface has an influence on the conductance.