Spin-induced forbidden evanescent states in III-V semiconductors.

Within the band gap of a semiconductor no electronic propagating states are allowed, but there exist evanescent states which govern charge transport such as tunneling. In this Letter, we address the issue of their spin dependence in III-V semiconductors. Taking into account the spin-orbit interaction, we treat the problem using a k . p 14 x 14 Hamiltonian that we numerically compute for GaAs. Our results show that the removed spin degeneracy in the band gap can lead to giant energy splittings and induces forbidden zones in space where evanescent states are suppressed.

Spin filtering of free electrons by magnetic multilayers: towards an efficient self-calibrated spin polarimeter.

An asymmetrical ferromagnetic cobalt bilayer (18 nm Au/0.8 nm Co/2.2 nm Au/1.3 nm Co/1.5 nm Au) operates as a self-calibrated spin polarimeter with a high spin selectivity for free electrons injected at a few eV above the Fermi level. We present the analysis of transmitted currents as a function of the incident energy, based on a model of spin polarization dilution into the first gold layer and ballistic transport close to the vacuum level throughout the sample.