2003/04/22 by Igor Zutic, Jaroslav Fabian
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat
published as Mater. Trans., JIM 44, 2062 (2003) · 4 pages, 2 figures; submitted to Materials Transactions, special issue on Nano-Hetero Structures in Advanced Metallic Materials
arxiv created 2003/04/22 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
In an inhomogeneously doped magnetic semiconductor, an interplay between an equilibrium magnetization and injected nonequilibrium spin leads to the spin-voltaic effect--a spin analogue of the photo-voltaic effect. By reversing either the sign of the equilibrium magnetization or the direction of injected spin polarization it is possible to switch the direction of charge current in a closed circuit or, alternatively, to switch the sign of the induced open-circuit voltage. Properties of the spin-voltaic effect can be used to perform all-electrical measurements of spin relaxation time and injected spin polarization, as well as to design devices with large magnetoresistance and spin-controlled amplification.