Drift and diffusion of spins generated by the spin Hall effect

2007/06/28 by N. P. Stern, Nathaniel P. Stern, D. W. Steuerman +5
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design #Magnetic properties of thin films #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci

paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.2768633

published as Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 062109 (2007) · 9 pages, 3 figures

arxiv created 2007/06/28 · openalex publication_date 2007/08/06 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Electrically generated spin accumulation due to the spin Hall effect is imaged in n-GaAs channels using Kerr rotation microscopy, focusing on its spatial distribution and time-averaged behavior in a magnetic field. Spatially resolved imaging reveals that spin accumulation observed in transverse arms develops due to the longitudinal drift of spin polarization produced at the sample boundaries. One- and two-dimensional drift-diffusion modeling is used to explain these features, providing a more complete understanding of observations of spin accumulation and the spin Hall effect.

Citations

• Observation of the Spin Hall Effect in Semiconductors
• Spin lifetimes and strain-controlled spin precession of drifting electrons in GaAs
• Proper Definition of Spin Current in Spin-Orbit Coupled Systems
• Current-Induced Spin Polarization in Strained Semiconductors