Dwell time and spin polarization for electron in single ferromagnetic-stripe device modulated by spin–orbit couplings

Considering both Zeeman effect and spin–orbit coupling, we calculate dwell time for electron in single ferromagnetic-stripe device (SFSD), which can be constructed by patterning a nanosized ferromagnetic stripe on the surface of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructure. Due to an intrinsic symmetry in the SFSD, dwell time is independent of electron spins, if only Zeeman effect is involved. However, the intrinsic symmetry is broken by spin–orbit coupling, which gives rise to spin-dependent dwell time for electron in the SFSD. As a result, electron spins can be separated in time dimension, which induces an obvious electron-spin polarization effect in the SFSD. Spin polarization ratio can be efficaciously modified by interfacial confining electric-field or strain engineering, which attributes to the dependence of effective potential felt by electron in the SFSD on spin–orbit couplings. Thus, the SFSD can act as a controllable temporal electron-spin splitter, a class of electron-spin polarized sources in semiconductor spintronics.