Demonstration of the spin solar cell and spin photodiode effect

B. Endres (), M. Ciorga, M. Schmid, M. Utz, D. Bougeard, D. Weiss, G. Bayreuther and C.H. Back
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B. Endres: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
M. Ciorga: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
M. Schmid: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
M. Utz: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
D. Bougeard: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
D. Weiss: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
G. Bayreuther: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg
C.H. Back: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Regensburg

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-5

Abstract: Abstract Spin injection and extraction are at the core of semiconductor spintronics. Electrical injection is one method of choice for the creation of a sizeable spin polarization in a semiconductor, requiring especially tailored tunnel or Schottky barriers. Alternatively, optical orientation can be used to generate spins in semiconductors with significant spin-orbit interaction, if optical selection rules are obeyed, typically by using circularly polarized light at a well-defined wavelength. Here we introduce a novel concept for spin injection/extraction that combines the principle of a solar cell with the creation of spin accumulation. We demonstrate that efficient optical spin injection can be achieved with unpolarized light by illuminating a p-n junction where the p-type region consists of a ferromagnet. The discovered mechanism opens the window for the optical generation of a sizeable spin accumulation also in semiconductors without direct band gap such as Si or Ge.

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms3068

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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3068

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