Document Type
Article
Abstract
It was recently predicted [Phys. Rev. B, 193301 (2007)] that spin blockade may develop at nonmagnetic semiconductor/perfect ferromagnet junctions when the electron flow is directed from the semiconductor into the ferromagnet. Here we consider current-voltage characteristics of such junctions. By taking into account the contact resistance, we demonstrate a current stabilization effect: by increasing the applied voltage, the current density through the junction saturates at a specific value. The transient behavior of the current density is also investigated. We show that an abrupt change in the applied voltage is accompanied by a spike in the current density. It is anticipated that this is a common dynamical behavior of the current density in structures with conductivity depending on the level of spin polarization.
Publication Info
Published in Physical Review B, ed. Gene D. Sprouse, Volume 77, Issue 7, 2008, pages 073301-1-073301-4.
Pershin, Y. V., & Di Ventra, M. (2008). Current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor/ferromagnet junctions in the spin-blockade regime. Physical Review B, 77(7), 073301-1 - 073301-4. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.77.073301
© Physical Review B, 2008, American Physical Society