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Spatially Resolved Spin-Injection Probability for Gallium Arsenide
V. P. LaBella,1*D. W. Bullock,1Z. Ding,1C. Emery,1A. Venkatesan,1W. F. Oliver,1G. J. Salamo,1P. M. Thibado,1M. Mortazavi2
We report a large spin-polarized current injection
from a ferromagnetic metal into a nonferromagnetic semiconductor,
at atemperature of 100 Kelvin. The modification of the spin-injectionprocess by a nanoscale step edge was observed. On flat galliumarsenide
[GaAs(110)] terraces, the injection efficiency was 92%,whereas in a
10-nanometer-wide region around a [11]-orientedstep the
injection efficiency is reduced by a factor of 6. Alternatively,the
spin-relaxation lifetime was reduced by a factor of 12. Thisreduction
is associated with the metallic nature of the step edge.This study
advances the realization of using both the charge andspin of the
electron in future semiconductor devices.
1 Department of Physics, University of Arkansas,
Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
2 Department of Physics,
University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR 71601, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
vlabella{at}uark.edu
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TECHNICAL COMMENTS
W. F. Egelhoff, Jr., M. D. Stiles, D. P. Pappas, D. T. Pierce, J. M. Byers, M. B. Johnson, B. T. Jonker, S. F. Alvarado, J. F. Gregg, J. A. C. Bland, R. A. Buhrman, V. P. LaBella, D. W. Bullock, Z. Ding, C. Emery, A. Venkatesan, W. F. Oliver, G. J. Salamo, P. M. Thibado, and M. Mortazavi (17 May 2002) Science296 (5571), 1195a.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.296.5571.1195a] |Full Text »|PDF »
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Spin Polarization of Injected Electrons.
W. F. Egelhoff Jr., M. D. Stiles, D. P. Pappas, D. T. Pierce, J. M. Byers, M. B. Johnson, B. T. Jonker, S. F. Alvarado, J. F. Gregg, J. A. C. Bland, et al. (2002)
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|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
11]-oriented step the
injection efficiency is reduced by a factor of 6. Alternatively, the
spin-relaxation lifetime was reduced by a factor of 12. This reduction
is associated with the metallic nature of the step edge. This study
advances the realization of using both the charge and spin of the
electron in future semiconductor devices.
