Enhanced valley-resolved thermoelectric transport in a magnetic silicene superlattice

Abstract

Electrons in two-dimensional crystals with a honeycomb lattice structure possess a valley degree of freedom in addition to charge and spin, which has revived the field of valleytronics. In this work we investigate the valley-resolved thermoelectric transport through a magnetic silicene superlattice. Since spin is coupled to the valley, this device allows a coexistence of the insulating transmission gap of one valley and the metallic resonant band of the other, resulting in a strong valley polarization P _v . P _v oscillates with the barrier strength V with its magnitude greatly enhanced by the superlattice structure. In addition, a controllable fully valley polarized transport and an on/off switching effect in the conductance spectra are obtained. Furthermore, the spin- and valley-dependent thermopowers can be controlled by V , the on-site potential difference between A and B sublattices and Fermi energy, and enhanced by the superlattice structure. Enhanced valley-resolved thermoelectric transport and its control by means of gate voltages make the magnetic silicene superlattice attractive in valleytronics applications.

Keywords

• valleytronics
• magnetic silicene superlattice
• thermoelectric transport
• 73.63.-b
• 73.50.Lw
• 72.15.Jf