Spin injection into Si in three-terminal vertical and four-terminal lateral devices with Fe/Mg/MgO/Si tunnel junctions having an ultrathin Mg insertion layer

TL;DR

This study demonstrates enhanced spin injection into silicon using ultrathin Mg layers in tunnel junctions, with improved efficiency and clear spin transport signals in both vertical and lateral devices, supported by analytical modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a method to improve spin injection efficiency into Si by using ultrathin Mg layers and provides a unified analytical framework for different device geometries.

Findings

Enhanced spin polarization in Si to 16% with 1 nm Mg insertion

Observation of true spin injection signals in vertical devices

Analytical modeling explains device geometry effects on spin signals

Abstract

We demonstrated that the spin injection/extraction efficiency is enhanced by an ultrathin Mg insertion layer (<= 2 nm) in Fe/Mg/MgO/n+-Si tunnel junctions. In diode-type vertical three-terminal devices fabricated on a Si substrate, we observed the narrower three-terminal Hanle (N-3TH) signals indicating true spin injection into Si, and estimated the spin polarization in Si to be 16% when the thickness of the Mg insertion layer is 1 nm, whereas no N-3TH signal was observed without Mg insertion. This means that the spin injection/extraction efficiency is enhanced by suppressing the formation of a magnetically-dead layer at the Fe/MgO interface. We have also observed clear spin transport signals, such as non-local Hanle signals and spin-valve signals, in a lateral four-terminal device with the same Fe/Mg/MgO/n+-Si tunnel junctions fabricated on a Si-on-insulator substrate. It was found that both the intensity and linewidth of the spin signals are affected by the geometrical effects (device geometry and size). We have derived analytical functions taking into account the device structures, including channel thickness and electrode size, and estimated important parameters; spin lifetime and spin polarizations. Our analytical functions well explain the experimental results. Our study shows the importance of suppressing a magnetically-dead layer, and provides a unified understanding of spin injection/detection signals in different device geometries.