Spin polarized I-V characteristics and shot noise of Pt atomic wires

Abstract

We report a first-principles investigation of spin polarized transport properties of Pt atomic chains in contact with two semi-infinite Pt slabs along the (111) direction. Our approach is based on the nonequilibrium Green's function coupled with density functional theory so that the Coulomb interaction is included in the calculation of current and shot noise on the Hartree level. For Pt atomic chains with different numbers of Pt atoms, we calculate the spin polarized I-V curve and shot noise. Our results show that the current increases almost linearly with bias for all Pt atomic structures. The calculated Fano factors are comparable to the recent experimental data and show sub-Poissonian behavior. © 2011 American Physical Society.