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Engineered chirality of one-dimensional nanowires

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The origin and function of chirality in DNA, proteins, and other building blocks of life represent a central question in biology. Observations of spin polarization and magnetization associated with electron transport through chiral molecules, known collectively as the chiral induced spin selectivity effect, suggest that chirality improves electron transfer. Using reconfigurable nanoscale control over conductivity at the LaAlO 3 /SrTiO 3 interface, we create chiral electron potentials that explicitly lack mirror symmetry. Quantum transport measurements on these chiral nanowires reveal enhanced electron pairing persisting to high magnetic fields (up to 18 tesla) and oscillatory transmission resonances as functions of both magnetic field and chemical potential. We interpret these resonances as arising from an engineered axial spin-orbit interaction within the chiral region. The ability to create one-dimensional electron waveguides with this specificity creates opportunities to test, via analog quantum simulation, theories about chirality and spin-polarized electron transport in one-dimensional geometries.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx4761
Authors: Megan Briggeman, Elliott Mansfield, Johannes Kombe, François Damanet, Hyungwoo Lee, Yuhe Tang, Muqing Yu, Sayanwita Biswas, Jianan Li, Mengchen Huang, Chang-Beom Eom, Patrick Irvin, Andrew J. Daley, Jeremy Levy
Institutions: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Quantum Institute, University of Strathclyde, University of Liège, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Oxford
Language: English
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
OpenAlex ID: W4411258900
FWCI: 1.852
Cites: 30
Cited by: 5
Related to: 10