Spin-injection Hall effect in a planar photovoltaic cell

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a spin-injection Hall effect in a photovoltaic cell, enabling electrical detection of spin polarization in semiconductors, with potential applications in optoelectronics and spintronics.

Contribution

It introduces the first observation of the spin-injection Hall effect in a planar photovoltaic device, providing a new method for non-destructive spin detection in semiconductors.

Findings

Observation of spin-injection Hall effect in a photovoltaic cell

Development of a quantitative microscopic theory of SIHE

Device functions as an electrical polarimeter converting light polarization to voltage

Abstract

Successful incorporation of the spin degree of freedom in semiconductor technology requires the development of a new paradigm allowing for a scalable, non-destructive electrical detection of the spin-polarization of injected charge carriers as they propagate along the semiconducting channel. In this paper we report the observation of a spin-injection Hall effect (SIHE) which exploits the quantum-relativistic nature of spin-charge transport and which meets all these key requirements on the spin detection. The two-dimensional electron-hole gas photo-voltaic cell we designed to observe the SIHE allows us to develop a quantitative microscopic theory of the phenomenon and to demonstrate its direct application in optoelectronics. We report an experimental realization of a non-magnetic spin-photovoltaic effect via the SIHE, rendering our device an electrical polarimeter which directly converts the degree of circular polarization of light to a voltage signal.