arXiv · 0811.0324
Optical orientation in bipolar spintronic devices
Abstract
Optical orientation is a highly efficient tool for the generation of nonequilibrium spin polarization in semiconductors. Combined with spin-polarized transport it offers new functionalities for conventional electronic devices, such as pn junction bipolar diodes or transistors. In nominally nonmagnetic junctions optical orientation can provide a source for spin capacitance--the bias-dependent nonequilibrium spin accumulation--or for spin-polarized current in bipolar spin-polarized solar cells. In magnetic junctions, the nonequilibrium spin polarization generated by spin orientation in a proximity of an equilibrium magnetization gives rise to the spin-voltaic effect (a realization of the Silsbee-Johnson coupling), enabling efficient control of electrical properties such as the I-V characteristics of the junctions by magnetic and optical fields. This article reviews the main results of investigations of spin-polarized and magnetic pn junctions, from spin capacitance to the spin-voltaic effect.
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Jaroslav Fabian, Igor Zutic. 2008-11-03. Optical orientation in bipolar spintronic devices. https://doi.org/10.1088/0268-1242%2F23%2F11%2F114005
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