Proposal for efficient generation of spin-polarized current in silicon

We propose a spin-dependent resonant tunneling structure to efficiently inject spin-polarized current into silicon. By means of a heavily doped polycrystalline Si between the ferromagnetic metal and Si, the Schottky barrier resistance is reduced and consequently the tunneling current density is raised. The small Fermi sea of the charge carriers in Si focuses the tunneling electrons to the resonant spin states within a small region of transverse momentum in the ferromagnet which creates the spin polarization of the current. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3441407]