In-Plane Electric Current Is Induced by Tunneling of Spin-Polarized Carriers

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 and symmetry properties of the barrier; in particular, the current reverses 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 wave vector of electrons.