Transport of spin-polarized electrons in a magnetic superlattice

Abstract

We investigated the ballistic transport of two-dimensional electrons subjected to a periodically modulated magnetic field in the presence of the spin-orbit coupling of both the Rashba and the Dresselhaus types. It is shown that the spin splitting leads to additional gaps in the band structure and a series of minima in the transmission probability. The boundaries of the superlattice cause a finite spin polarization which can be tuned by the magnetic field, the electronic energy, and the superlattice period. The potential of such magnetic modulated structures as spin filters is discussed.