Spin polarized electric currents in semiconductor heterostructures induced by microwave radiation

We report on microwave (mw) radiation induced electric currents in (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mg)Te and InAs/(In,Ga)As quantum wells subjected to an external in-plane magnetic field. The current generation is attributed to the spin-dependent energy relaxation of electrons heated by mw radiation. The relaxation p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2010-11, Vol.97 (18), p.182107-182107-3
Main Authors: Drexler, C., Bel'kov, V. V., Ashkinadze, B., Olbrich, P., Zoth, C., Lechner, V., Terent'ev, Ya V., Yakovlev, D. R., Karczewski, G., Wojtowicz, T., Schuh, D., Wegscheider, W., Ganichev, S. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report on microwave (mw) radiation induced electric currents in (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mg)Te and InAs/(In,Ga)As quantum wells subjected to an external in-plane magnetic field. The current generation is attributed to the spin-dependent energy relaxation of electrons heated by mw radiation. The relaxation produces equal and oppositely directed electron flows in the spin-up and spin-down subbands yielding a pure spin current. The Zeeman splitting of the subbands in the magnetic field leads to the conversion of the spin flow into a spin-polarized electric current.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3507896