Peculiarities of spin polarization inversion at a thiophene/cobalt interface

We perform ab initio calculations to investigate the spin polarization at the interface between a thiophene molecule and cobalt substrate. We find that the reduced symmetry in the presence of a sulfur atom (in the thiophene molecule) leads to a strong spatial dependence of the spin polarization of the molecule. The two carbon atoms far from the sulfur acquire a polarization opposite to that of the substrate, while the carbon atoms bonded directly to sulfur possess the same polarization as the substrate. We determine the origin of this peculiar spin interface property as well as its impact on the spin transport. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4798255]