Electric Field Effects in Semiconductor Spin Transport—A Transfer Matrix Formalism

A transfer matrix method for simulating spin injection into semiconductors in the case of high electric fields has been developed. The nonlinear relationship between electron spin density and electrochemical potential splitting, the effect of electric field on spin diffusion lengths, and spin polarized drift current are accounted for. Using this approach, high magnetoresistance (MR) at high electric fields is predicted. This is due to spin accumulation reaching its extreme values for fermion statistics. This effect opens up a new direction for solving the problem of low MR that semiconductor spintronic devices are facing.