Electrically-tunable magnetoresistance effect in magnetically modulated semiconductor heterostructure

摘要

We report on a theoretical study of magnetoresistance (MR) effect in a magnetically modulated semiconductor heterostructure (MMSH) under an applied bias, which can be constructed on surface of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructure by depositing two asymmetric ferromagnetic (FM) stripes. Bias-dependent transmission and conductance are calculated numerically, on the basis of both improved transfer matrix method (ITMM) and Landauer-Biittiker conductance theory. An obvious MR effect appears because of a significant difference of transmission between parallel and antiparallel (AP) magnetization configurations. Moreover, MR ratio can be tuned by the bias. These interesting features not only provide an alternative way to manipulate MR effect, but also may lead to an electrically-controllable MR device.