Magnetoelectronics in semiconductor devices [Review] [French]

摘要

This work is a theoretical study of a particular concept of field effect transistor, the spin-FET. This structure consists of a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) where usual highly doped source and drain regions are replaced by ferromagnetic contacts. The source contact acts as a spin polarizer for the electrons injected in the conduction channel of the HEMT and the drain contact as a spin detector for electrons reaching the end of the channel. So, the drain current depends on the comparison of the spin orientation of electrons reaching this contact with the magnetic moment orientation of the drain. Furthermore, the control of the electron spin orientation by the gate voltage is possible in the channel of a HEMT. The spin-FET is therefore a device in which the current is controlled magnetically by the gate voltage, in addition to the classical field effect control which consists into the modulation of the electron density in the channel. After reviewing the spin dephasing effects appearing ill such structures and comparing their respective influences, we describe the model that we develop to study spin-polarized transport in the channel of a HEMT. Then, we study the spin-FET, as a structure for the investigation of the physics of spin, polarized transport in ferromagnet/semiconductor structures and as a device for fast electronics. These results point out the importance of the properties of ferromagnet/semiconductor contacts for spin-FET performances. We close this study with some considerations about these contacts and describe the approach that we develop now to model them. [References: 173]