Department of Physics and Astronomy: Publications and Other Research
Reversal of Spin Polarization in Fe/GaAs (001) Driven by Resonant Surface States: First-Principles Calculations
Published in PRL 99, 196603 (2007). Copyright © 2007 The American Physical Society. Used by permission.
Abstract
A minority-spin resonant state at the Fe/GaAs(001) interface is predicted to reverse the spin polarization with the voltage bias of electrons transmitted across this interface. Using a Green’s function approach within the local spin-density approximation, we calculate the spin-dependent current in a Fe/GaAs/Cu tunnel junction as a function of the applied bias voltage. We find a change in sign of the spin polarization of tunneling electrons with bias voltage due to the interface minority-spin resonance. This result explains recent experimental data on spin injection in Fe/GaAs contacts and on tunneling magnetoresistance in Fe/GaAs/Fe magnetic tunnel junctions.