Two-dimensional hole precession in an all-semiconductor spin field effect transistor

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of a spin field-effect transistor realized in a quantum well formed in a p-doped ferromagnetic-semiconductor--nonmagnetic-semiconductor-ferromagnetic-semiconductor hybrid structure. Based on an envelope-function approach for the hole bands in the various regions of the transistor, we derive the complete theory of coherent transport through the device, which includes both heavy- and light-hole subbands, proper modeling of the mode matching at interfaces, integration over injection angles, Rashba spin precession, interference effects due to multiple reflections, and gate-voltage dependences. Numerical results for the device current as a function of externally tunable parameters are in excellent agreement with approximate analytical formulas.