Generation and Detection of Spin Currents in Semiconductor Nanostructures with Strong Spin-Orbit Interaction

Abstract

Storing, transmitting, and manipulating information using the electron spin resides at the heart of spintronics. Fundamental for future spintronics applications is the ability to control spin currents in solid state systems. Among the different platforms proposed so far, semiconductors with strong spin-orbit interaction are especially attractive as they promise fast and scalable spin control with all-electrical protocols. Here we demonstrate both the generation and measurement of pure spin currents in semiconductor nanostructures. Generation is purely electrical and mediated by the spin dynamics in materials with a strong spin-orbit field. Measurement is accomplished using a spin-to-charge conversion technique, based on the magnetic field symmetry of easily measurable electrical quantities. Calibrating the spin-to-charge conversion via the conductance of a quantum point contact, we quantitatively measure the mesoscopic spin Hall effect in a multiterminal GaAs dot. We report spin currents of 174 pA, corresponding to a spin Hall angle of 34%.

References in corpus (6)

• Universal spin-Hall conductance fluctuations in two dimensions
• Electrical generation of pure spin currents in a two-dimensional electron gas
• Mesoscopic Spin Hall Effect
• Spin polarized current generation from quantum dots without magnetic fields
• Characterization of spin-orbit interactions of GaAs heavy holes using a quantum point contact
• Mesoscopic fluctuations of spin currents

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Spin-Seebeck effect and spin polarization in a multiple quantum dot molecule
• Record-quality GaAs two-dimensional hole systems
• Spin-to-Charge Conversion in 2D Electron Gas and Single-layer Graphene Devices
• Tuning of Fermi Contour Anisotropy in GaAs (001) 2D Holes via Strain
• Cross-section geometry effects in the subband structure and spin-related properties of a HgTe/CdTe nanowire