Manipulating spin and charge in magnetic semiconductors usingsuperconducting vortices

Abstract

The continuous need for miniaturization and increase in device speed exerts pressureon the electronics industry to explore new avenues of information processing. One possibility is to use the spin to store, manipulate and carry information. Indeed,spintronics may hold the promise of providing such a new paradigm. However, all spintronics applications are faced with formidable challenges in attempting to find fastand efficient ways to create, transport, detect, control and manipulate spin textures and currents. Here we show how most of these operations can be performed in arelatively simple manner in a hybrid system consisting of a superconducting (SC) film and a paramagnetic diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) quantum well (QW). Ourproposal is based on the observation that the inhomogeneous magnetic fields of the SC create local spin and charge textures in the DMS, leading to effects such as Blochoscillations, an unusual Quantum Hall Effect, etc. We exploit the recent progress in manipulating magnetic flux bundles (vortices) in superconductors and show howthese can create, manipulate and control the spin textures in DMS.