Spin-dependent tunneling in modulated structures of (Ga,Mn)As

Abstract

A model of coherent tunneling, which combines multi-orbital tight-binding approximation with Landauer-Büttiker formalism, is developed and applied to all-semiconductor heterostructures containing (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic layers. A comparison of theoretical predictions and experimental results on spin-dependent Zener tunneling, tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR), and anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) is presented. The dependence of spin current on carrier density, magnetization orientation, strain, voltage bias, and spacer thickness is examined theoretically in order to optimize device design and performance.