Abstract

AbstractWe consider a quantum wire with a finite region of localized spin‐orbit interaction of the Rashba type. For energies above the onset of the second conductance plateau, we find a spin polarization of the transmitted current when a beam of unpolarized electrons is injected into the Rashba region. Our numerical simulations show that the amount of polarization can be tuned with the Rashba coupling strength, thus offering an all‐electrical method to generate spin polarized currents. With the aid of a simplified model, we discuss that the polarization effect originates from the interference between subband states with different energy and opposite spin directions (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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