Room temperature spin injection into (110) GaAs quantum wells using Fe/x-AlOx contacts in the regime of current density comparable to laser oscillation

Abstract

We investigate the electrical spin injection into (110) GaAs single quantum wells (SQWs) and multiple quantum wells (MQWs) using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) having Fe/crystalline-AlOx (x-AlOx) tunnel barrier contacts. A degree of circular polarization (Pc) of 5.0% is obtained for the SQW LED at 4 K with the current density of 1 kA/cm2 which is comparable to that for the laser oscillation in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). On the basis of electron spin relaxation time and carrier lifetime in the (110) GaAs SQW measured by time-dependent photoluminescence and the value of Pc = 5.0%, the degree of spin polarization of initially injected electrons (P0) in the SQW is estimated to be 6.6% at 4 K. By using the MQW LED having a much stronger electroluminescence, a Pc value of 2.6% is obtained at room temperature (RT) with the current density of 1.5 kA/cm2. The temperature and current density dependences of Pc are found to be weak in both the SQW and MQW LEDs. The estimated P0 of 9.3% at RT suggests that the Fe/x-AlOx contacts can be used for the RT electrical spin injection for spin-controlled VCSELs.