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We theoretically investigate the dwell time for electrons in an antiparallel double $\delta $ -magnetic-barrier nanostructure, which is constructed on the surface of the InAs/Al x In1- x As heterostructure by patterning two ferromagnetic (FM) stripes. It is shown that the dwell time is dependent on electron spins due to the spin–field interaction between spins and magnetic fields. It is also shown that both magnitude and sign of the spin polarization in the dwell time can be modulated by the structural width or magnetic-strength difference between two magnetic barriers, which may give rise to a controllable temporal spin splitter for spintronics device applications.

The dwell time of electrons in a parallel double δ-magnetic-barrier (MB) nanostructure constructed by patterning an asymmetric ferromagnetic stripe on both the top and bottom of an InAs/AlxIn1−xAs heterostructure is calculated. Because the electron spins interact with the structural magnetic fields, the dwell time depends on the electron spins. Moreover, both the magnitude and sign of the spin-polarized dwell time can be modified by changing the magnetic field, the applied voltage, and the separation between the two δ-MBs. The electron spins can thus be separated in the time dimension, and such a magnetic nanostructure could serve as a controllable temporal spin splitter for use in spintronics device applications.

We report a theoretical investigation on Goose-Hänchen (GH) effect for spin electrons across a magnetically confined GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs microstructure modulated by spin-orbit coupling [(SOC), including Rashba and Dresselhaus types]. An intrinsic symmetry in the device is broken by SOC, which gives rise to a considerable spin polarization effect in GH shifts of electrons. Both magnitude and direction of spin polarization can be manipulated by Rashba or Dresselhaus SOC, i.e., interfacial confining electric field or strain engineering. Based on such a semiconductor microstructure, a controllable spatial spin splitter can be proposed for spintronics applications.

We report on a theoretical study of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect in a δ -doped GaAs / Al x Ga 1 − x As heterostructure modulated by two stripes of ferromagnetic metal and a stripe of Schottky metal in parallel configuration. The δ -doping dependent transmission and conductance of the device are calculated. It is shown that a considerable giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect exists in this structure. It is also shown that the magnetoresistance ratio ( MR ) can be switched by the δ -doping. The underlying physical mechanism of the results is analysed in light of δ -doping-dependent tunneling process in the device.

We report a theoretical study of spin-dependent transport in a magnetic nanostructure, which can be experimentally realized by depositing a ferromagnetic metal (FM) stripe and a Schottky metal (SM) stripe on the top and at the bottom of the semiconductor heterostructure. Theoretical analysis reveals that the intrinsic symmetry in a single FM-stripe magnetic system can be broken by the SM stripe placed at the bottom of the heterostructure, and thus a sizeable spin polarization effect appears. Numerical calculation shows that not only amplitude of the spin polarization but also its sign varies with the width and/or the position of the SM stripe.

We report a theoretical study on spin-polarized lateral displacement for the electron across a magnetic nanostructure with a zero average magnetic field, which can be experimentally realized by depositing a ferromagnetic stripe with a plumb magnetization on the top of a semiconductor heterostructure. It is shown that, the lateral displacement depends strongly on the electron spins due to the Zeeman coupling and the intrinsic symmetry, though the average magnetic field is vanishing in the nanostructure. It is also shown that the spin-polarized lateral displacement is related closely to the structural parameters. Therefore, such a novel magnetic nanostructure may be used as a spin spatial splitter for spintronics applications.

We study how the transmission properties of a two-dimensional electron gas, modulated by a ferromagnetic stripe and a Schottky metal (SM) stripe in a parallel configuration, can be modified by manipulating the voltage applied to the SM stripe. Both the transmission coefficient and conductance of the device are found to be strongly dependent on the electric-barrier height induced by an applied voltage under the SM stripe. Thus, transmission properties of electrons in the device can be conveniently tailored by means of tuning this applied voltage.

We investigate the Goos–Hanchen (GH) effect of spin electron beams in a magnetic-barrier (MB) nanostructure consisting of antiparallel double δ - MBs , which can be experimentally realized by depositing two ferromagnetic (FM) stripes on top and bottom of the semiconductor heterostructure. GH shifts for spin electron beams across this type of MB nanostructures, is derived exactly, with the help of the stationary phase method. It is shown that GH shifts depend strongly on the spin directions for double δ - MBs with unidentical magnetic strengths, giving rise to a considerable spin polarization effect. It also is shown that spin polarization of GH shifts is closely relative to the separation and magnetic-strength difference of two δ - MBs . These interesting properties may provide an alternative scheme to spin-polarize electrons into the semiconductor, and the devices can serve as tunable spin beam splitters.

Recently, an electron-spin filter was proposed by depositing a nanosized ferromagnetic metal stripe and a Schottky normal metal stripe on the top of the semiconductor heterostructure [F. Zhai, H. Q. Xu and Y. Guo, Phys. Rev. B70 (2004) 085308]. This device has a considerable electron-spin polarization and potential application in spintronics. Here we apply a bias to this device and theoretically demonstrate how to manipulate its electron-spin polarization. By numerical simulations, we found that not only the amplitude of the electron-spin polarization but also its sign varies with the bias, giving rise to a bias-tunable spin filter device.

The GMR effect in magnetic–electric barrier nanostructure, which can be realized experimentally by depositing two parallel metallic ferromagnetic strips with an applied voltage on the top of heterostructure, is investigated theoretically. It is shown that a considerable GMR effect can be achieved in such nanosystems due to the significant transmission difference for electrons tunneling through parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations. It is also shown that the magnetoresistance ratio is strongly dependent upon the applied voltage to metallic ferromagnetic strips in nanosystems, thus may leading to voltage-tunable GMR devices.

We theoretically investigate the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect in general magnetically modulated semiconductor nanosystems, which can be realized experimentally by depositing two parallel ferromagnetic strips on the top of a heterostructure. Here the exact magnetic profiles and arbitrary magnetization direction of ferromagnetic strips are emphasized. It is shown that a considerable GMR effect can be achieved in such nanosystems due to the significant transmission difference for electrons tunneling through parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations. It is also shown that the magnetoresistance ratio is strongly influenced by the magnetization direction of ferromagnetic strips in nanosystems, thus possibly leading to tunable GMR devices.

We present a theoretical study of spin-dependent electron transport in an antiparallel double @d-magnetic-barrier nanostructure with an applied bias. It is shown that large spin-polarized current can be achieved in such a device with unidentical strength between two @d-magnetic-barriers. It also is shown that the degree of electron-spin polarization is strongly dependent upon the applied bias. These interesting properties may provide an alternative scheme to spin-polarize electrons into semiconductors, and this device may be used as a bias-tunable spin filter.

The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect in a device, composed of nanosized ferromagnetic (FM)-Schottky metals (SM) and semiconductor heterostructure, is investigated theoretically. Experimentally, this GMR device can be realized by the deposition of two parallel FM strips and a SM stripe on the top of a GaAs heterostructure. It is shown that the GMR effect ascribes a significant electron transmission difference between the parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations of two FM stripes in the device. It is also shown that the magnetoresistance (MR) ratio depends strongly on the magnetic intensity of the magnetic barrier (MB) and the electric-barrier (EB) height induced by an applied voltage to the SM stripe. Thus, this device can be used as a tunable GMR one, whose MR ratio can be switched by adjusting the applied voltage under the SM stripe or by changing the magnetic strength of the MB.