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Ferroelectric switchable intrinsic nonlinear pure spin Hall current
Phys. Rev. B 114, L171108 – Published 14 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8htr-q899
Abstract
The generation and control of pure spin Hall currents are central to low-dissipation spintronics. However, effectively manipulating spin Hall currents via nonvolatile means remains challenging, severely hindering their application in spintronics. Here, we show that the intrinsic nonlinear spin Hall effect, driven by a quantum metric dipole, enables a pure spin Hall current in ferroelectrics because the transverse net charge flow is prohibited by time-reversal or crystalline symmetries. We further demonstrate that ferroelectric polarization provides an all-electric means to reverse the nonlinear pure spin Hall current. By systematically enumerating all gray point groups and performing first-principles calculations, we identify five groups enabling such reversibility as well as a series of two-dimensional ferroelectrics, including , SnSe, SnTe, , and . Importantly, the pure spin Hall currents in these candidates are exclusively polarized along the out-of-plane direction and exhibit a uniform spin texture during transport, thereby maintaining a long spin lifetime of carriers. Our findings reveal a mechanism for a ferroelectric switchable pure spin Hall current, opening a route toward low-dissipation spintronics in ferroelectrics.
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