Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2004
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Physical Review B
Volume
69
Issue
4
DOI of Original Publication
10.1103/PhysRevB.69.045303
Date of Submission
May 2015
Abstract
A transfer matrix technique is used to model phase-coherent spin transport in the weakly disordered quasi-one-dimensional channel of a gate-controlled electron spin interferometer [S. Datta and B. Das, Appl. Phys. Lett. 56, 665 (1990)]. The model includes the effects of an axial magnetic field in the channel of the interferometer (caused by the ferromagnetic contacts), a Rashba spin-orbit interaction, and elastic (nonmagnetic) impurity scattering. We show that in the presence of an axial magnetic field, nonmagnetic impurities can cause spin relaxation in a manner similar to the Elliott-Yafet mechanism. The amplitudes and phases of the conductance oscillations of the interferometer and the degree of spin-conductance polarization are found to be quite sensitive to the height of the interface barrier at the contact, as well as the strength, locations, and nature (attractive or repulsive) of just a few elastic nonmagnetic impurities in the channel. This can seriously hinder practical applications of spin interferometers.
Rights
Cahay, M. and Bandyopadhyay, S. Phase-coherent quantum mechanical spin transport in a weakly disordered quasi-one-dimensional channel. Physical Review B, 69, 045303 (2004). Copyright © 2004 American Physical Society.
Is Part Of
VCU Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications
Comments
Originally published by the American Physical Society at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.69.045303