title: Improved all-carbon spintronic device design.
abstract: The discovery of magnetism in carbon structures containing zigzag edges has stimulated new directions in the development and design of spintronic devices. However, many of the proposed structures are designed without incorporating a key phenomenon known as topological frustration, which leads to localized non-bonding states (free radicals), increasing chemical reactivity and instability. By applying graph theory, we demonstrate that topological frustrations can be avoided while simultaneously preserving spin ordering, thus providing alternative spintronic designs. Using tight-binding calculations, we show that all original functionality is not only maintained but also enhanced, resulting in the theoretically highest performing devices in the literature today. Furthermore, it is shown that eliminating armchair regions between zigzag edges significantly improves spintronic properties such as magnetic coupling.
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Engineering Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bullard
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Piauí, CEP 64049-550, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo Costa
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Girão
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 USA.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.affiliation: 1] Materials Science and Engineering Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA [2] Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Meunier