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Title: Magnetic field-modulated photo-thermo-electric effect in Fe/GaAs film

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4935082· OSTI ID:22485996
; ; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Hebei Key Laboratory of Optic-Electronic Information and Materials, College of Physics Science and Technology, Hebei University, Baoding 071002 (China)
  2. State Key Laboratory of Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China)

Ferromagnet/semiconductor heterostructure, such as Fe/GaAs, is always one of the key issues in spintronics due to its prerequisite for the realization of spin sensitive devices. In this letter, a lateral photoelectric effect (LPE) was observed in Fe/GaAs. Our results show that the sensitivity was not related to laser wavelength, but only proportional to laser power, suggesting that the lateral photovoltage was induced by photo-thermo-electric effect. Moreover, we also observe that the voltage signal increases with the increase in applied field due to decreasing scattering probability for spin-polarized electrons. Our finding of LPE adds another functionality to the Fe/GaAs system and will be useful in development of spin-polarized voltage devices.

OSTI ID:
22485996
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 18; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English