All-electrical measurement of spin injection in a magnetic $p$-$n$ junction diode

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an all-electrical method to measure spin injection in a magnetic p-n junction diode by observing magnetoresistance under high forward bias, advancing spintronics research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel all-electrical measurement technique for spin injection in magnetic p-n junctions using ferromagnetic and magnetic semiconductor layers.

Findings

Magnetoresistance observed at high forward bias

Spin-polarized electrons successfully injected into semiconductor

Method enables electrical detection of spin transport

Abstract

Magnetic $p$-$n$ junction diodes are fabricated to investigate spin-polarized electron transport. The injection of spin-polarized electrons in a semiconductor is achieved by driving a current from a ferromagnetic injector (Fe), into a bulk semiconductor ($n$-GaAs) via schottky contact. For detection, a diluted magnetic semiconductor ($p$-GaMnAs) layer is used. Clear magnetoresistance was observed only when a high forward bias was applied across the $p$-$n$ junction.