Spin Injection into Amorphous Semiconductors

Authors

Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, University of Nebraska at LincolnFollow
V. M. Burlakov, Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Ivan I. Oleinik, University of South Florida, Tampa, FloridaFollow

Date of this Version

8-2002

Comments

Published in Physical Review B 66, 073201 (2002). Copyright © 2002 The American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

Using a realistic model for the atomic and electronic structure of amorphous silicon, we explore spin injection into amorphous semiconductors. We calculate the spin-dependent conductance of magnetoresistive devices within the Landauer-Büttiker formalism including inelastic scattering. We find that reducing the density of injected carriers and increasing the spin polarization of the electrodes are favorable for spin injection, whereas inelastic scattering is detrimental, and show that the upper limit for magnetoresistance is given by Julliere's formula.