Inversion of spin-current rectification in magnetic co-oligomer diodes

•The concept of inversion of spin-current rectification are proposed and discussed based on magnetic co-oligomer diodes.•Two competitive mechanisms in determining the rectifying direction are revealed according to different frontier orbitals.•Inversion of spin-current rectification may be achieved by changing the molecular length or applying a gate voltage.

The authors propose an inversion of spin-current rectification in magnetic co-oligomer diodes by investigating the rectification mechanism and rectifying direction theoretically. The results reveal two potential rectification mechanisms with opposite rectifying directions in magnetic co-oligomers, where the determined rectifying direction of each mechanism further varies relying on the involved frontier molecular orbital. The theoretical analysis indicates that an inversion of spin-current rectification, either in the form of inverted preferred amplitude or inverted spin polarization of the current, may be achieved by exchanging the dominant rectification mechanism or adjusting the involved conducting orbital. The inversion of rectification is demonstrated numerically in the subsequent current-voltage calculation by means of changing the molecular length or applying a gate voltage. This work indicates an intriguing prospect of magnetic co-oligomers as molecular spin diodes with controllable rectifying direction.

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