Doppler velocimetry of spin propagation in a two-dimensional electron gas

Controlling the flow of electrons by manipulating their spin is a key to the development of spin-based electronics. Recent demonstrations of electrical-gate control in spin-transistor configurations have shown great promise, but operation at room temperature remains elusive. Further progress require...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nature physics 2012-02, Vol.8 (2), p.153-157
Main Authors:	Yang, Luyi, Koralek, J. D., Orenstein, J., Tibbetts, D. R., Reno, J. L., Lilly, M. P.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Condensed matter physics Devices Doppler Doppler effect Electron transfer Electronics Gallium arsenide Semiconductors Velocimetry Velocity measurement
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Controlling the flow of electrons by manipulating their spin is a key to the development of spin-based electronics. Recent demonstrations of electrical-gate control in spin-transistor configurations have shown great promise, but operation at room temperature remains elusive. Further progress requires a deeper understanding of the propagation of spin polarization, particularly in the high-mobility semiconductors used for devices. Here we report the application of Doppler velocimetry to resolve the motion of spin-polarized electrons in GaAs quantum wells driven by a drifting Fermi sea. We find that the spin mobility tracks the high electron mobility precisely as a function of temperature. However, we also observe that the coherent precession of spins driven by spin-orbit interaction, which is essential for the operation of a broad class of spin logic devices, breaks down at temperatures above 150 K, for reasons that are not yet understood theoretically. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:	1745-2473 1745-2481