18 research outputs found
Spin current and polarization in impure 2D electron systems with spin-orbit coupling
We derive the transport equations for two-dimensional electron systems with
spin-orbit interaction and short-range spin-independent disorder. In the limit
of slow spatial variations of the electron distribution we obtain coupled
diffusion equations for the electron density and spin. Using these equations we
calculate electric-field induced spin accumulation in a finite-size sample for
arbitrary ratio between spin-orbit energy splitting and elastic scattering
rate. We demonstrate that the spin-Hall conductivity vanishes in an infinite
system independent of this ratio.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; revised version according to referee's commment
Andreev Reflection and Spin Injection into and wave Superconductors
We study the effect of spin injection into and wave superconductors,
with an emphasis on the interplay between boundary and bulk spin transport
properties. The quantities of interest include the amount of non-equilibrium
magnetization (), as well as the induced spin-dependent current () and
boundary voltage (). In general, the Andreev reflection makes each of the
three quantities depend on a different combination of the boundary and bulk
contributions. The situation simplifies either for half-metallic ferromagnets
or in the strong barrier limit, where both and depend solely on the
bulk spin transport/relaxation properties. The implications of our results for
the on-going spin injection experiments in high cuprates are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX, 1 figure included; typos correcte
Spin-orbit interaction in three-dimensionally bounded semiconductor nanostructures
The structural inversion asymmetry-induced spin-orbit interaction of
conduction band electrons in zinc-blende and wurtzite semiconductor structures
is analysed allowing for a three-dimensional (3D) character of the external
electric field and variation of the chemical composition. The interaction,
taking into account all remote bands perturbatively, is presented with two
contributions: a heterointerface term and a term caused by the external
electric field. They have generally comparable strength and can be written in a
unified manner only for 2D systems, where they can partially cancel each other.
For quantum wires and dots composed of wurtzite semiconductors new terms
appear, absent in zinc-blende structures, which acquire the standard Rashba
form in 2D systems.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur
Spin Injection into a Luttinger Liquid
We study the effect of spin injection into a Luttinger liquid. The
spin-injection-detection setup of Johnson and Silsbee is considered; here spins
injected into the Luttinger liquid induce, across an interface with a
ferromagnetic metal, either a spin-dependent current () or a
spin-dependent boundary voltage (). We find that the spin-charge
separation nature of the Luttinger liquid affects and in a very
different fashion. In particular, in the Ohmic regime, depends on the
spin transport properties of the Luttinger liquid in essentially the same way
as it would in the case of a Fermi liquid. The implications of our results for
the spin-injection-detection experiments in the high cuprates are
discussed.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX, 2 figures. Minor changes and corrections to typos.
To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Extracting current-induced spins: spin boundary conditions at narrow Hall contacts
We consider the possibility to extract spins that are generated by an
electric current in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba-Dresselhaus
spin-orbit interaction (R2DEG) in the Hall geometry. To this end, we discuss
boundary conditions for the spin accumulations between a spin-orbit coupled
region and contact without spin-orbit coupling, i.e. a normal two-dimensional
electron gas (2DEG). We demonstrate that in contrast to contacts that extend
along the whole sample, a spin accumulation can diffuse into the normal region
through finite contacts and detected by e.g. ferromagnets. For an
impedance-matched narrow contact the spin accumulation in the 2DEG is equal to
the current induced spin accumulation in the bulk of R2DEG up to a
geometry-dependent numerical factor.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, submitted to NJP focus issue on Spintronic
Spin-Imbalance and Magnetoresistance in Ferromagnet/Superconductor/Ferromagnet Double Tunnel Junctions
We theoretically study the spin-dependent transport in a ferromagnet/super-
conductor/ferromagnet double tunnel junction. The tunneling current in the
antiferromagnetic alignment of the magnetizations gives rise to a spin
imbalance in the superconductor. The resulting nonequilibrium spin density
strongly suppresses the superconductivity with increase of bias voltage and
destroys it at a critical voltage Vc. The results provide a new method not only
for measuring the spin polarization of ferromagnets but also for controlling
superconductivity and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) by applying the bias
voltage.Comment: 4pages, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Electric-field control of magnetic domain wall motion and local magnetization reversal
Spintronic devices currently rely on magnetic switching or controlled motion
of domain walls by an external magnetic field or spin-polarized current.
Achieving the same degree of magnetic controllability using an electric field
has potential advantages including enhanced functionality and low power
consumption. Here, we report on an approach to electrically control local
magnetic properties, including the writing and erasure of regular ferromagnetic
domain patterns and the motion of magnetic domain walls, in multiferroic
CoFe-BaTiO3 heterostructures. Our method is based on recurrent strain transfer
from ferroelastic domains in ferroelectric media to continuous magnetostrictive
films with negligible magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Optical polarization
microscopy of both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric domain structures reveals
that domain correlations and strong inter-ferroic domain wall pinning persist
in an applied electric field. This leads to an unprecedented electric
controllability over the ferromagnetic microstructure, an accomplishment that
produces giant magnetoelectric coupling effects and opens the way to
multiferroic spintronic devices.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Semiconductor Spintronics
Spintronics refers commonly to phenomena in which the spin of electrons in a
solid state environment plays the determining role. In a more narrow sense
spintronics is an emerging research field of electronics: spintronics devices
are based on a spin control of electronics, or on an electrical and optical
control of spin or magnetism. This review presents selected themes of
semiconductor spintronics, introducing important concepts in spin transport,
spin injection, Silsbee-Johnson spin-charge coupling, and spindependent
tunneling, as well as spin relaxation and spin dynamics. The most fundamental
spin-dependent nteraction in nonmagnetic semiconductors is spin-orbit coupling.
Depending on the crystal symmetries of the material, as well as on the
structural properties of semiconductor based heterostructures, the spin-orbit
coupling takes on different functional forms, giving a nice playground of
effective spin-orbit Hamiltonians. The effective Hamiltonians for the most
relevant classes of materials and heterostructures are derived here from
realistic electronic band structure descriptions. Most semiconductor device
systems are still theoretical concepts, waiting for experimental
demonstrations. A review of selected proposed, and a few demonstrated devices
is presented, with detailed description of two important classes: magnetic
resonant tunnel structures and bipolar magnetic diodes and transistors. In most
cases the presentation is of tutorial style, introducing the essential
theoretical formalism at an accessible level, with case-study-like
illustrations of actual experimental results, as well as with brief reviews of
relevant recent achievements in the field.Comment: tutorial review; 342 pages, 132 figure