8 Aug 2003 | Shuichi Murakami, Naoto Nagaosa, Shou-Cheng Zhang
The paper discusses the theoretical prediction of dissipationless quantum spin current at room temperature in hole-doped semiconductors such as Si, Ge, and GaAs. This effect is induced by an electric field and leads to efficient spin injection without the need for metallic ferromagnets. The authors generalize the quantum Hall effect to higher dimensions, showing that an electric field can induce a topological and dissipationless spin current. They derive the equations of motion for holes in the presence of an electric field and show that the spin current is perpendicular to both the electric field and the spin. The spin current is found to be independent of the mean free path and relaxation rates, and all states below the Fermi energy contribute to it. The paper also discusses the experimental detection of this spin current using ferromagnetic electrodes and light polarization measurements. The results suggest that this dissipationless spin current could enable quantum spintronic devices with low power consumption and reversible quantum computation.The paper discusses the theoretical prediction of dissipationless quantum spin current at room temperature in hole-doped semiconductors such as Si, Ge, and GaAs. This effect is induced by an electric field and leads to efficient spin injection without the need for metallic ferromagnets. The authors generalize the quantum Hall effect to higher dimensions, showing that an electric field can induce a topological and dissipationless spin current. They derive the equations of motion for holes in the presence of an electric field and show that the spin current is perpendicular to both the electric field and the spin. The spin current is found to be independent of the mean free path and relaxation rates, and all states below the Fermi energy contribute to it. The paper also discusses the experimental detection of this spin current using ferromagnetic electrodes and light polarization measurements. The results suggest that this dissipationless spin current could enable quantum spintronic devices with low power consumption and reversible quantum computation.