Tunneling spin-galvanic effect

TL;DR

This paper investigates the tunneling spin-galvanic effect, where spin-polarized electron tunneling through a semiconductor barrier generates an interface current influenced by spin orientation and spin-orbit coupling.

Contribution

It provides a microscopic explanation for the tunneling spin-galvanic effect based on spin-orbit coupling and barrier transparency dependence.

Findings

Tunneling of spin-polarized electrons induces a measurable interface current.

The current direction depends on the electron spin orientation.

Spin-orbit coupling plays a key role in the effect's microscopic origin.

Abstract

It has been shown that tunneling of spin-polarized electrons through a semiconductor barrier is accompanied by generation of an electric current in the plane of the interfaces. The direction of this interface current is determined by the spin orientation of the electrons, in particular the current changes its direction if the spin orientation changes the sign. Microscopic origin of such a 'tunneling spin-galvanic' effect is the spin-orbit coupling-induced dependence of the barrier transparency on the spin orientation and the wavevector of electrons.