Electrical Detection of Spin Accumulation at a Ferromagnet-Semiconductor Interface

Abstract

We show that the accumulation of spin-polarized electrons at a forward-biased Schottky tunnel barrier between Fe and $n$-GaAs can be detected electrically. The spin accumulation leads to an additional voltage drop across the barrier that is suppressed by a small transverse magnetic field, which depolarizes the spins in the semiconductor. The dependence of the electrical accumulation signal on magnetic field, bias current, and temperature is in good agreement with the predictions of a drift-diffusion model for spin-polarized transport.