Current-induced pseudospin polarization in silicene

Abstract

The pseudospin polarization induced by an external electric field in silicene in the presence of weakly spinindependent impurities is considered theoretically in the linear response regime based on Green's function method. We study the effects of the interplay between the sublattice potential and the intrinsic spin orbit coupling on the pseudospin polarization. We show that the pseudospin polarization perpendicular to the electric field is independent of the impurity parameter, while the pseudospin polarization in the direction of the electric field is sensitive to the impurity parameter. The dependences of the pseudospin polarizations on the chemical potential are studied.