Analysis of effective spin-polarized transport through a ZnO based magnetic p–n junction at room temperature

ZnO based magnetic semiconductors (MSs) are prominent candidates for the spintronic devices because of their high Curie temperatures and low conductance mismatches. In this paper the spin-polarized transport in MS/nonmagnetic semiconductor (NMS) p–n junction is investigated. A model is established based on semiconductor drift–diffusion theory and continuity equation. Boundary conditions are obtained from the quasi-chemical potential (QCP) relations at the junction interface. For a ZnO based magnetic p–n junction, we calculate the distributions of carrier/spin density and spin polarization at room temperature. It is demonstrated that by choosing proper parameters, effective spin-polarized injection from ZnO based MS into ZnO can be achieved at room temperature without external spin-polarized injection (ESPI) or large bias.     

Spin injection into semiconductors using dilute magnetic semiconductors

So far, attempts at realizing spin-polarized current injection into a semiconductor using metallic ferromagnetic contacts have yielded unsatisfying results. In this paper, we present a simple model of diffusive transport, which shows that the principle reason for these negative results is a conductivity mismatch between the ferromagnetic contacts and the semiconductor. Moreover, we demonstrate that this problem can be addressed by using dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) contacts instead of metallic contacts. We present experimental results of optical measurements on a GaAs/AlGaAs diode fitted with a DMS spin injector contact. These measurements show a spin polarization of around 90% in the semiconductor. Furthermore, we discuss a novel magnetoresistance effect based on the suppression of one of the spin channels in the semiconductor which should allow the detection of a spin-polarized current by magnetoresistance measurements.     

自旋极化有机电致发光器件中单线态与三线态激子的形成及调控

由于有机半导体（OSC）材料自旋弛豫时间长、自旋扩散长度大,OSC自旋器件逐渐成为研究热点.对于有机电致发光器件（OLED）,通过自旋极化电极调控单线态和三线态激子比率是提高其效率的有效方法.本文从漂移扩散方程和载流子浓度连续性方程出发,结合朗之万定律建立了一个自旋注入、输运、复合的理论模型.计算了OSC中的极化电子、空穴浓度,得出了单线态和三线态激子的比率.分析了电场强度、自旋相关界面电导、电极和OSC电导率匹配和电极极化率等因素的影响.计算结果表明：两电极注入反向极化的载流子并提高载流子自旋极化率,有     

Ⅱ-Ⅵ族稀磁半导体多层结构中的自旋极化隧穿

采用转移矩阵法和Airy函数,研究了ZnSe/ZnMnSe/ZnSe/ZnBeSe/ZnSe/ZnBeSe/ZnSe异质结构的自旋极化输运。在外加偏压和磁场对电子透射系数和自旋极化率的影响方面,所得到的结论显现出复杂而有趣的特性。磁场对自旋向上和向下电子隧穿的影响是不同的:对于自旋向上情况,出现双共振向单共振转换现象。     

On phonon-wind-driven spin injection and the conductivity mismatch problem

Spin injection from a ferromagnetic metal into a semiconductor driven by a constant phonon flow is considered. It is shown that diffusive (as opposed to electrical) spin injection gives rise to a highly spin-polarized current through the semiconductor. In other words, phonon-wind-driven injection under certain conditions eliminates the conductivity mismatch responsible for reduced spin polarization of the electric current injected from a ferromagnetic metal into a semiconductor.     

Nonequilibrium spin accumulation and tunneling magnetoresistance in a ferromagnet/semiconductor/ferromagnet double tunnel junction

Taking into account the nonequilibrium spin accumulation, we apply a quantum-statistical approach to study the spin-polarized transport in a two-dimensional ferromagnet/semiconductor/ferromagnet (FM/SM/FM) double tunnel junction. It is found that the effective spin polarization is raised by increasing the barrier strength, resulting in an enhancement of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). The nonequilibrium spin accumulation in SM may appear in both antiparallel and parallel alignments of magnetizations in two FMs, in particular for high bias voltages. The effects of spin accumulation and TMR on the bias voltage are discussed.     

Theoretical study on spin-polarized injection of electrical currents into polymer semiconductors

Different from electrons and holes in traditional inorganic semiconductors, the charge carriers in polymer semiconductors are spin polarons and spinless bipolarons. In this paper, a theoretical model is presented to describe the spin-polarized injection of electrical currents from a ferromagnetic contact into a nonmagnetic polymer semiconductor. In this model, a new relation of conductivity to concentration polarization for polymer semiconductors is introduced based on a three-channel model to describe the spin-polarized injection of electrical currents under large electrical current densities. The calculated results of the model reveal the effects of the polaron ratio, the carrier concentration polarization, the interfacial conductance, the bulk conductivity of materials, and the electrical current density, etc. on the spin polarization of electrical currents. As conclusions, the large and matched bulk conductivity of materials, the small spin-dependent interfacial conductance, the thin polymer thickness and the large enough electrical current are critical factors for upgrading the spin polarization of electrical currents in polymer semiconductors. Particularly, when the polaron ratio in polymer semiconductors approaches the concentration polarization of the ferromagnetic contact, a modest concentration polarization is sufficient for achieving a nearly complete spin-polarized injection of electrical currents.     

Spin-Polarized Carriers Injection from Ferromagnetic Metal into Organic Semiconductor

Charge carriers in organic semiconductor are different from that oftraditional inorganic semiconductor. Based on three-current model,considering electrical field effect, we present a theoretical model todiscuss spin-polarized injection from ferromagnetic electrode into organicsemiconductor by analyzing electrochemical potential both in ferromagneticelectrode and organic semiconductors. The calculated result of this modelshows effects of electrode's spin polarization, equilibrium value ofpolarons ratio, interfacial conductance, bulk conductivity of materials andelectrical field. It is found that we could get decent spin polarizationwith common ferromagnetic electrode by increasing equilibrium value ofpolarons ratio. We also find that large and matched bulk conductivity oforganic semiconductor and electrode, small spin-dependent interfacialconductance, and enough large electrical field are critical factors forincreasing spin polarization.     

A tunable spatial spin splitter based on a spin–orbit-coupling modulated magnetic nanostructure

We investigate theoretically the spin-dependent Goos–Hänchen (GH) effect in a magnetic nanostructure modulated by spin–orbit coupling (SOC), which can be experimentally realized by depositing a ferromagnetic (FM) stripe and a Schottky-metal (SM) stripe on the top and bottom of an InAs/Al_xIn_1?xAs heterostructure, respectively. We consider two kinds of different SOCs (Rashba and Dresselhaus types), and calculate the GH shift and its spin polarization for the electrons across the device. Results show that the GH shift still is spin-polarized after including the SOC, and the behavior of the spin-polarized electrons can be manipulated by the Rashba and/or Dresselhaus SOC. These interesting properties provide an alternative scheme for spatially realizing spin injection into a semiconductor, and the magnetic nanostructure can be employed as a controllable spatial spin splitter for a spin-polarized source in spintronics.     

A structurally-controllable spin filter in a δ-doped magnetically modulated semiconductor nanostructure with zero average magnetic field

We report on a theoretical investigation of spin-polarized transport in a δ-doped magnetically modulated semiconductor nanostructure, which can be experimentally realized by depositing a ferromagnetic stripe on the top of a semiconductor heterostructure and by using the atomic layer doping technique such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). It is shown that although such a nanostructure has a zero average magnetic filed, a sizable spin polarization exists due to the Zeeman splitting mechanism. It is also shown that the degree of spin polarization varies sensitively with the weight and/or position of the δ-doping. Therefore, one can conveniently tailor the behaviour of the spin-polarized electron by tuning the δ -doping, and such a device can be employed as a controllable spin filter for spintronics.     

自旋电子学和计算机硬件产业

1988年发现巨磁电阻（GMR）效应，是基于自旋的新电子学的开始。文章介绍观察效应的物理基础，以及这些效应和材料在信息存储上的应用。GMR硬盘（HDD）已经形成了数十亿美元的工业；其后发现的室温隧道磁电阻（TMR）效应已用于制造新关磁随机存储器（MRAM），它正在开创另一个数十亿美元的工业。自旋电子学研究的物理对象是自旋向上和自旋向下的载流子，而传统半导体电子学的对象是电荷为正和电荷为负的载流子，即空穴和电子。电子自旋特性进入半导体电子学，为新的器件创造了机会。为了成功地将电子自旋结合到半导体微电子技术中去，需要解决磁性原子自旋极化状态的控制，以及自旋极化载流子电流的有效注入、传输、控制、操纵和检测。评述了基于电子自旋的新器件原理、新材料的探索以及自旋相干态的光学操纵。     

Room-temperature tunnel magnetoresistance and spin-polarized tunneling through an organic semiconductor barrier

Electron spin-polarized tunneling is observed through an ultrathin layer of the molecular organic semiconductor tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (Alq3). Significant tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) was measured in a Co/Al2O3/Alq3/NiFe magnetic tunnel junction at room temperature, which increased when cooled to low temperatures. Tunneling characteristics, such as the current-voltage behavior and temperature and bias dependence of the TMR, show the good quality of the organic tunnel barrier. Spin polarization (P) of the tunnel current through the Alq3 layer, directly measured using superconducting Al as the spin detector, shows that minimizing formation of an interfacial dipole layer between the metal electrode and organic barrier significantly improves spin transport.     

Dynamical Theory of X-Ray Diffraction for Restricted Beams: I. Coherent Scattering by a Porous Crystal

The processes of electron spin dynamics in a hybrid nonresonance structure, which includes a layer of a diluted magnetic II–Mn–VI semiconductor and an asymmetric quantum well (QW) of a nonmagnetic III–V semiconductor, are experimentally studied. The nonresonance of the structure is determined by the fact that the level of the ground state of the magnetic layer falls into the range of the excited states of the nonmagnetic QW. The electron polarization in the ground thermalized state of QW is found not to depend on the magnetic part of the structure. However, the magnetic part affects the electron polarization in the excited state via spin injection from the magnetic semiconductor and the mixing of the electronic states of the magnetic and nonmagnetic subsystems of the structure. The possibility of controlling the polarization of an electron spin by carrier excitation toward the region of mixed states along with the absence of depolarizing influence of the magnetic semiconductor on carriers in the thermalized state of QW can be applied to design new spintronic devices along with those that use spin injection, optical orientation, and depolarization.     

Demonstration of electrical spin injection into a semiconductor using a semimagnetic spin aligner

Spin injection into semiconductors has been a field of growing interest during recent years, because of the large possibilities in basic physics and for device applications that a controlled manipulation of the electrons spin would enable. However, it has proven very difficult to realize such a spin injector experimentally. Here we demonstrate electrical spin injection and detection in a GaAs/AlGaAs p-i-n diode using a semimagnetic II–VI semiconductor (Zn_{1 − x − y}Be_xMn_ySe) as a spin aligner. The degree of circular polarization of the electroluminescence from the diode is related to the spin polarization of the conduction electrons. Thus, it may be used as a detector for injected spin-polarized carriers. Our experimental results indicate a spin polarization of the injected electrons of up to 90% and are reproduced for several samples. The degree of optical polarization depends strongly on the Mn concentration and the thickness of the spin aligner. Electroluminescence from a reference sample without spin aligner as well as photoluminescence after unpolarized excitation in the spin aligner sample show only the intrinsic polarization in an external magnetic field due to the GaAs bandstructure. We can thus exclude side effects from Faraday effect or magnetic circular dichroism in the semimagnetic layer as the origin of the observed circularly polarized electroluminescence.     

Electrical detection of spin accumulation at a ferromagnet-semiconductor interface

We show that the accumulation of spin-polarized electrons at a forward-biased Schottky tunnel barrier between Fe and -GaAs can be detected electrically. The spin accumulation leads to an additional voltage drop across the barrier that is suppressed by a small transverse magnetic field, which depolarizes the spins in the semiconductor. The dependence of the electrical accumulation signal on magnetic field, bias current, and temperature is in good agreement with the predictions of a drift-diffusion model for spin-polarized transport.     

自旋激光器的动力学特性及应用研究进展

在半导体激光器中引入自旋极化载流子是实现室温自旋电子应用的新途径,其超越了常规的磁阻效应。自旋极化载流子的注入导致自旋激光器具有丰富的动力学行为并展示出包括高频偏振振荡和偏振混沌动力学等特性,使其在保密光通信、量子计算、光信息处理和数据存储、可重构光互联以及生物医学传感等领域具有巨大的应用潜力。梳理了近年来自旋激光器的动力学特性及其应用研究进展。介绍了自旋激光器丰富的动力学行为及混沌演变机制;随后分析了自旋激光器的高频振荡特性;归纳了基于自旋激光器动力学特性的最新应用研究进展。在此基础上,展望了自旋激光器的发展趋势和面临的挑战,为相关领域的研究和工程应用提供参考。     

Spin-filtering junctions with double ferroelectric barriers

An FS/FE/NS/FE/FS double tunnel junction is suggested to have the ability to inject, modulate and detect the spin-polarized current electrically in a single device, where FS is the ferromagnetic semiconductor electrode, NS is the nonmagnetic semiconductor, and FE the ferroelectric barrier. The spin polarization of the current injected into the NS region can be switched between a highly spin-polarized state and a spin unpolarized state. The high spin polarization may be detected by measuring the tunneling magnetoresistance ratio of the double tunnel junction.     

Spin polarization of two-dimensional electron gas in hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor nanostructures

We present a theoretical study on the spin-dependent transport of electrons in hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor nanosystem under an applied bias voltage. Experimentally, this kind of nanosystem can be realized by depositing a magnetized ferromagnetic stripe with arbitrary magnetization direction on the surface of a semiconductor heterostructure. It is shown that large spin-polarized current can be achieved in such a nanosystem. It is also shown that the spin polarity of the electron transport can be switched by adjusting the applied bias voltage. These interesting properties may provide an alternative scheme to realize spin injection into semiconductors, and such a nanosystem may be used as a tunable spin-filter by bias voltage.     

Spin-polarized transport in inhomogeneous magnetic semiconductors: theory of magnetic/nonmagnetic p-n junctions

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 spin-voltaic effect, spin valve effect, exponential 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.     

Methods for spin injection managing in inGaAs/GaAs/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/CoPt spin light-emitting diodes

Spin injection in CoPt/Al₂O₃/(Al)GaAs spin light-emitting diodes (SLEDs) was studied. The oscillations of the degree of circular polarization upon variation of a distance between the active region of the SLED and a CoPt ferromagnetic injector were observed. The oscillations depend neither on a SLED material (GaAs or AlGaAs), nor on the type of injected spin-polarized carriers (electrons and holes) and are related to the action of a perpendicular magnetic field on the injected spin-polarized carriers that causes their precession. During the transfer to the active region through a distance of 50–100 nm from the injector, a z–component of a spin changes a phase that is detected experimentally as the change in sign of the degree of circular polarization of luminescence. Conceivably, a source of the internal magnetic field leading to spin precession is the magnetic field of the nonuniformly magnetized CoPt contact.