An alternate spintronic analog of the electro-optic modulator

TL;DR

This paper proposes a spintronic analog of the electro-optic modulator that uses Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction tuning, eliminating the need for magnetic fields and potentially improving device performance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel spintronic modulator design based on Dresselhaus interaction, offering advantages over the traditional Rashba-based approach.

Findings

No magnetic field required in the new design

Potential for enhanced modulator performance

Analogous operation to the Datta-Das device

Abstract

There is significant current interest in spintronic devices fashioned after a spin analog of the electro-optic modulator proposed by Datta and Das [Appl. Phys. Lett., \underline{56}, 665 (1990)]. In their modulator, the ``modulation'' of the spin polarized current is carried out by tuning the Rashba spin-orbit interaction with a gate voltage. Here, we propose an analogous modulator where the modulation is carried out by tuning the Dresselhaus spin orbit interaction instead. The advantage of the latter is that there is no magnetic field in the channel unlike in the case of the Datta-Das device. This can considerably enhance modulator performance.