Complete spin polarization of degenerate electrons in semiconductors near ferromagnetic contacts

A theory of spin-polarized electron transport in ferromagnet/semiconductor heterostructures, based on a unified semiclassical description of ballistic and diffusive transport in semiconductor structures, is developed. The aim is to provide a framework for studying the interplay of spin relaxation and transport mechanism in spintronic devices. A key element of the unified description of transport inside a (nondegenerate) semiconductor is the thermoballistic current consisting ...

We investigate theoretically electrical spin injection at a Schottky contact between a spin-polarized electrode and a non-magnetic semiconductor. Current and electron density spin-polarizations are discussed as functions of barrier energy and semiconductor doping density. The effect of a spin-dependent interface resistance that results from a tunneling region at the contact/semiconductor interface is described. The model can serve as a guide for designing spin-injection exper...

Results of theoretical study of spin-polarized tunneling in ferromagnet/superconductor junctions are presented. Spin and charge currents are calculated as a function of applied voltage and spin polarization in a ferromagnet. The model takes into account the splitting of different spin subbands in a ferromagnet and impurity scattering in the contact. The excess resistance of an FS contact due to the charge-imbalance in a superconductor is calculated for the first time. The res...

A theory of spin-polarized transport in inhomogeneous magnetic semiconductors is developed and applied to magnetic/nonmagnetic p-n junctions. Several phenomena with possible spintronic applications are predicted, including spinvoltaic effect, spin valve effect, and giant magnetoresistance. It is demonstrated that only nonequilibrium spin can be injected across the space-charge region of a p-n junction, so that there is no spin injection (or extraction) at low bias.

We consider electron tunneling from a nonmagnetic $n$-type semiconductor ($n$-S) into a ferromagnet (FM) through a very thin forward-biased Schottky barrier resulting in efficient extraction of electron spin from a thin $n$-S layer near FM-S interface at low spin polarization of the current. We show that this effect can be used for an efficient polarization radiation source in a heterostructure where the accumulated spin polarized electrons are injected from $n$-S and recombi...

A quantum theory of the spin-dependent scattering of semiconductor electrons by a Schottky barrier at an interface with a ferromagnet is presented. The reflection of unpolarized non-equilibrium carriers produces spontaneous spin-polarization in the semiconductor. If a net spin-polarization pre-exists in the semiconductor, the combination of the ferromagnet magnetization and the incident carrier polarization combine to tilt the reflected polarization in the semiconductor. The ...

We have calculated the spin-polarization effects of a current in a two dimensional electron gas which is contacted by two ferromagnetic metals. In the purely diffusive regime, the current may indeed be spin-polarized. However, for a typical device geometry the degree of spin-polarization of the current is limited to less than 0.1%, only. The change in device resistance for parallel and antiparallel magnetization of the contacts is up to quadratically smaller, and will thus be...

We study theoretically extraction of spin-polarized electrons at nonmagnetic semiconductor/ferromagnet junctions. The outflow of majority spin electrons from the semiconductor into the ferromagnet leaves a cloud of minority spin electrons in the semiconductor region near the junction, forming a local spin-dipole configuration at the semiconductor/ferromagnet interface. This minority spin cloud can limit the majority spin current through the junction creating a pronounced spin...

It was recently predicted [Phys. Rev. B 75, 193301 (2007)] that spin blockade may develop at nonmagnetic semiconductor/perfect ferromagnet junctions when the electron flow is directed from the semiconductor into the ferromagnet. Here we consider current-voltage characteristics of such junctions. By taking into account the contact resistance, we demonstrate a current stabilization effect: by increasing the applied voltage the current density through the junction saturates at a...

The concept of low-voltage depletion and accumulation of electron charge in semiconductors, utilized in field-effect transistors (FETs), is one of the cornerstones of current information processing technologies. Spintronics which is based on manipulating the collective state of electron spins in a ferromagnet provides complementary technologies for reading magnetic bits or for the solid-state memories. The integration of these two distinct areas of microelectronics in one phy...