Study on the spin polarization of a current through a hybrid resonant tunneling diode

Abstract

The effects of spin-splitting energy and temperature on the electric transport properties through a hybrid resonant tunneling diode (RTD) with ferroelectric barriers and a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) quantum well are studied by using the non-equilibrium Green's function method. The results show that the period of spin polarization oscillation as a function of a bias voltage increases by increasing the spin-splitting energy of the DMS quantum well. The spin polarization of the current near the Fermi level is highly influenced by a change in temperature. The RTD with a ferromagnetic quantum well is more efficient than that with a ferromagnetic emitter to manipulate the spin direction of the current and to enhance the spin polarization of the current without changing the direction of an external magnetic field.