Current induced electron spin polarization in strained semiconductors

Abstract

The polarization of conduction electron spins due to an electrical current is observed in strained nonmagnetic semiconductors using static and time-resolved Faraday rotation. The density, lifetime, and orientation rate of the electrically-polarized spins are characterized by a combination of optical and electrical methods. In addition, the dynamics of the current-induced spins are investigated by utilizing electrical pulses generated from a photoconductive switch. These results demonstrate the possibility of a spin source for semiconductor spintronic devices without the use of magnetic materials.

5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

References in corpus (1)

• Dissipationless Quantum Spin Current at Room Temperature

Cited by in corpus (6)

• The Helical Liquid and the Edge of Quantum Spin Hall Systems
• Intrinsic Spin Hall Edges
• Electrical initialization and manipulation of electron spins in an L-shaped strained n-InGaAs channel
• Spin lifetimes and strain-controlled spin precession of drifting electrons in zinc blende type semiconductors
• Electron spin interferometry using a semiconductor ring structure
• Control of spin coherence in $n$-type GaAs quantum wells using strain