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We theoretically investigate Goos-Hanchen (GH) displacement by modelling the spin transport in an archetypal device structure-a magnetically confined GaAs/Al x Ga1-x As nanostructure modulated by spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Both Rashba and Dresselhaus SOCs are taken into account. The degree of spin-polarized GH displacement can be tuned by Rashba or Dresselhaus SOC, i.e. interfacial confining electric field or strain engineering. Based on such a semiconductor nanostructure, a controllable spatial spin splitter can be proposed for spintronics applications.

We propose a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) device by depositing nanosized ferromagnetic (FM) and Schottky normal metal (SM) stripes on the top of the GaAs heterostructure. It is shown that this device possesses a considerable GMR effect, whose magnetoresistance (MR) ratio can be up to 106% at a certain energy. It is also shown that the MR ratio depends strongly on the structural parameters and the electrical barrier height induced by the applied voltage to the SM stripe, and thus this device can be used as a tunable GMR device.