Superiority of p-type spin transistors

Abstract

The spintronic device that has probably stimulated the most research interest is the Datta–Das spin transistor. The mechanism behind it, called the Rashba effect, is that an applied voltage gives rise to a spin splitting. We demonstrate that the relevant spin splitting in k-space can be made more than three orders of magnitude larger for holes than for electrons at the same electric field. This is partly achieved by utilizing the frequently neglected lattice-mismatch between GaAs and AlGaAs. We design heterostructures where this efficient Rashba effect should show up. Compared to present transistors, we conclude that electron-based spin transistors will have problems in becoming competitive but hole-based ones are much more promising.