Spin injection into heavily-doped n-GaN via Schottky barrier

Spin injection and detection in bulk GaN were investigated by performing magnetotransport measurements at low temperatures.A non-local four-terminal lateral spin valve device was fabricated with Co/GaN Schottky contacts.The spin injection efficiency of 21%was achieved at 1.7 K.It was confirmed that the thin Schottky barrier formed between the heavily ndoped GaN and Co was conducive to the direct spin tunneling,by reducing the spin scattering relaxation through the interface states.

Spin Injection from Ferromagnetic Semiconductor CoZnO into ZnO

2x （FeNi/CoZnO）/ZnO/（CoZnO/Co） x2 spin-inJection devices were prepared by sputtering and photo-lithography. In the devices, two composite magnetic layers 2x（FeNi/CoZnO） and （CoZnO/Co）x2 with different coercivities were used to fabricate the ZnO-based semiconductor spin valve. Since the CoZnO ferromagnetic semiconductor layers touched the ZnO space layer directly, the significant spin injection from CoZnO into ZnO was observed by measuring the magnetoresistance of the spin-injection devices. The magnetoresistance reduced linearly with increasing temperature, from 1.12% at 90 K to 0.35% at room temperature.

Current spin polarization and spin injection efficiency in ZnO-based ferromagnetic semiconductor junctions

[FeNi（3 nm）/Zn1-xCoxO（3 nm）]2/ZnO（d nm）/[Zn1-xCoxO（3 nm）/Co（3 nm）]2 （d=3 and 10） semiconductor junctions were prepared by magnetron sputtering system and photolithography. The spin valve effect was observed in these junctions because the utility of the ferromagnetic composite layers acted as soft and hard magnetic layers. The electrical detection was performed by measuring the magnetoresistance of these junctions to investigate the current spin polarization asc in the ZnO layer and the spin injection efficiency η of spin-polarized electrons. asc was reduced from 11.7% （and 10.5%） at 90 K to 7.31% （and 5.93%） at room temperature for d=3 （and d=10）. And η was reduced from 39.5% （and 35.5%） at 90 K to 24.7% （and 20.0%） at room temperature for d=3 （and d=10）.

Characterization of sputtering CoFe-ITO junction for spin injection

The combination of ferromagnetic metal(FM)and semiconductor(SC)for spin injection was studied and demonstrated with FM-SC-FM junction.The semiconductor was chosen to be doped Indium-Tin-Oxide(ITO).Both ITO single-layer film and CoFe-ITO-CoFe junction were sputtering deposited.The ITO single-layer film was n-type with a small resistance of about 100Ω/Square.I-V curves and Magnetoresistance(MR)effect of the CoFe-ITO-CoFe junction were measured at room temperature and 77 K.Results show that the CoFe forms an ohmic contact to ITO film.But at low temperature,the I-V curves show a Schottky-like characteristic,which is strongly affect by applied magnetic field.The MR effect was measured to be 1%at 77 K,which indicates a spin injection into semiconductor to be realized in this sandwich junction.

Thermal stability of the spin injection in Co/Ag/Co lateral spin valves

Spin injection, spin diffusion, and spin detection are investigated in Co/Ag/Co lateral spin valves at room temperature.Clear spin accumulation signals are detected by the non-local measurement. By fitting the results to the one-dimensional diffusion equation,8.6% spin polarization of the Co/Ag interface and -180 nm spin diffusion length in Ag are obtained.Thermal treatment results show that the spin accumulation signal drastically decreases after 100℃ annealing, and disappears under 200℃ annealing. Our results demonstrate that, compared to the spin diffusion length, the decrease and the disappearance of the spin accumulation signal are mainly dominated by the variation of the interfacial spin polarization of the Co/Ag interface.

Spin injection in a ferromagnet/resonant tunneling diode heterostructure

The spin transport property of a ferromagnet （FM）/insulator （Ⅰ）/resonant tunneling diode （RTD） heterostructure was studied. The transmission coefficient and spin polarization in a multilayered heterostructure was calculated by a Schrdinger wave equation. An Airy function formalism approach was used to solve this equation. Based on the transfer matrix approach,the transmittivity of the structure was determined as a function of the Feimi energy and other parameters. The result shows that the spin polarization induced by the structure oscillates with the increasing Fermi energy of the FM layer. While the thickness of the RTD is reduced,the resonant peaks become broad. In the heterostructure,the spin polarization reaches as high as 40% and can be easily controlled by the external bias voltage.

Understanding and optimizing spin injection in self- assembled InAs/GaAs quantum-dot molecular structures

Semiconductor quantum-dot （QD） structures are promising for spintronic applications owing to their strong quenching of spin relaxation processes that are promoted by carrier and exciton motions. Unfortunately, the spin injection efficiency in such nanostructures is very low and the exact physical mechanism of the spin loss is still not fully understood. Here, we show that exciton spin injection in self-assembled InAs/GaAs QDs and QD molecular structures （QMSs） is dominated by localized excitons confined within the QD-like regions of the wetting layer （WL） and GaAs barrier layer that immediately surround the QDs and QMSs. These localized excitons in fact lack the commonly believed 2D and 3D character with an extended wavefunction. We attribute the microscopic origin of the severe spin loss observed during spin injection to a sizable anisotropic exchange interaction （AEI） of the localized excitons in the WL and GaAs barrier layer, which has so far been overlooked. We determined that the AEI of the injected excitons and, thus, the efficiency of the spin injection processes are correlated with the overall geometric symmetry of the QMSs. This symmetry largely defines the anisotropy of the confinement potential of the localized excitons in the surrounding WL and GaAs barrier. These results pave the way for a better understanding of spin injection processes and the microscopic origin of spin loss in QD structures. Furthermore, they provide a useful guideline to significantly improve spin injection efficiency by optimizing the lateral arrangement of QMSs and overcome a major challenge in spintronic device applications utilizing semiconductor QDs.

Spin-polarized injection into a p-type GaAs layer from a Co_2 MnAl injector

Electric luminescence and its circular polarization in a Co2 MnAl injector-based light emitting diode （LED） has been detected at the transition of e–A0 C , where injected spin-polarized electrons recombine with bound holes at carbon acceptors. A spin polarization degree of 24.6% is obtained at 77 K after spin-polarized electrons traverse a distance of 300 nm before they recombine with holes bound at neutral carbon acceptors in a p ＋ -GaAs layer. The large volume of the p ＋ -GaAs layer can facilitate the detection of weak electric luminescence （EL） from e–A 0C emission without being quenched at higher bias as in quantum wells. Moreover, unlike the interband electric luminescence in the p＋ -GaAs layer, where the spin polarization of injected electrons is destroyed by a very effective electron–hole exchange scattering （BAP mechanism）, the spin polarization of injected electrons seems to survive during their recombination with holes bound at carbon acceptors.

Progress in organic spintronics

Recent progress in organic spintronics is given an informative overview, covering spin injection, detection, and trans-port in organic spin valve devices, and the magnetic field effect in organic semiconductors （OSCs）. In particular, we focus on our own recent work in spin injection and the organic magnetic field effect （OMFE）.

Spin transport in epitaxial Fe3O4/GaAs lateral structured devices

Research in the spintronics community has been intensively stimulated by the proposal of the spin field-effect transistor(SFET),which has the potential for combining the data storage and process in a single device.Here we report the spin dependent transport on a Fe_(3)O_(4)/GaAs based lateral structured device.Parallel and antiparallel states of two Fe_(3)O_(4) electrodes are achieved.A clear MR loop shows the perfect butterfly shape at room temperature,of which the intensity decreases with the reducing current,showing the strong bias dependence.Understanding the spin-dependent transport properties in this architecture has strong implication in further development of the spintronic devices for room-temperature SFETs.

Challenges and Prospects of Molecular Spintronics

Molecular spintronics,as an emerging field that makes full use of the advantage of ultralong room-temperature spin lifetime and abundant electrical-optical-magnetic properties of molecular semiconductors,has gained wide attention for its great potential for further commercial applications.Despite the significant progress that has been made,there remain several huge challenges that limit the future development of this field.This Perspective provides discussions on the spin transport mechanisms and performances of molecular semiconductors,spinterface effect,and related spin injection in spintronic devices,and current spin-charge interactive functionalities,along with the summarization of the main obstacles of these aspects.Furthermore,we particularly propose targeted solutions,aiming to enhance the spin injection and transport efficiency by molecular design and interface engineering and explore diverse spinrelated functionalities.Through this Perspective,we hope it will help the spintronic community identify the research trends and accelerate the development of molecular spintronics.

Molecular design for enhanced spin transport in molecular semiconductors

Molecular semiconductors(MSCs),characterized by a longer spin lifetime than most of other materials due to their weak spin relaxation mechanisms,especially at room temperature,together with their abundant chemical tailorability and flexibility,are regarded as promising candidates for spintronic applications.Molecular spintronics,as an emerging subject that utilizes the unique properties of MSCs to study spin-dependent phenomena and properties,has attracted wide attention.In molecular spintronic devices,MSCs play the role as medium for information transport,process,and storage,in which the efficient spin inject–transport process is the prerequisite.Herein,we focus mainly on summarizing and discussing the recent advances in theoretical principles towards spin transport of MSCs in terms of the injection of spin-polarized carriers through the ferromagnetic metal/MSC interface and the subsequent transport within the MSC layer.Based on the theoretical progress,we cautiously present targeted design strategies of MSCs that contribute to the optimization of spin-transport efficiency and give favorable approaches to exploring accessional possibilities of spintronic materials.Finally,challenges and prospects regarding current spin transport are also presented,aiming to promote the development and application of the rosy and energetic field of molecular spintronics.

Spin polarized current injection and transportation in a double T-shaped organic spintronic device

A double T-shaped device model is constructed to investigate the spin polarized current injection and transportation properties in organic semiconductors.Based on the spin diffusion theory and Ohm’s law and considering the different charge-spin relationship of the special carriers in organic semiconductors,the current spin polarization has been obtained.Effects of the branch current ratio and the polaron proportion on the spin polarized current injection efficiency are studied.From the calculation,it is found that the improvement of the spin polarized current injection efficiency can be obtained by adjusting the branch current ratio;moreover,high polaron proportion in organic semiconductors is beneficial for obtaining high current spin polarization.

Recent advances in spin transport in organic semiconductors

The spin relaxation time is long in organic semiconductors because of the weak spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions,leading to intensive study on spin transport in organic semiconductors.The rapid progress towards utilizing spin degree of freedom in organic electronic devices is occurring.While the spin injection,transport and detection in organic semiconductors are demonstrated,the fundamental physics of these phenomena remains unclear.This paper highlights recent progress that has been made,focusing primarily on present experimental work.

Spin manipulations through electrical and thermoelectrical transport in magnetic tunnel junctions

A brief review is presented,which includes the direct current,alternate current,electrical and thermoelectrical transport as well as spin transfer effect in a variety of spin-based nanostructures such as the magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ),ferromagnet(FM)-quantum dot(QD)/FM-FM,double barrier MTJ,FM-marginal Fermi liquid-FM,FM-unconventional superconductor-FM(FUSF),quantum ring and optical spin-field-effect transistor.The magnetoresistances in those structures,spin accumulation effect in FM-QD-FM and FUSF systems,spin injection and spin filter into semiconductor,spin transfer effect,photon-assisted spin transport,magnonassisted tunneling,electron-electron interaction effect on spin transport,laser-controlled spin dynamics,and thermoelectrical spin transport are discussed.

Carbon-based spintronics

Carbon-based spintronics refers mainly to the spin injection and transport in carbon materials including carbon nanotubes,graphene,fullerene,and organic materials.In the last decade,extraordinary development has been achieved for carbon-based spintronics,and the spin transport has been studied in both local and nonlocal spin valve devices.A series of theoretical and experimental studies have been done to reveal the spin relaxation mechanisms and spin transport properties in carbon materials,mostly for graphene and carbon nanotubes.In this article,we provide a brief review on spin injection and transport in graphene,carbon nanotubes,fullerene and organic thin films.