Electron-spin filtering in hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor nanosystem

The spin-dependent transport of electrons in realistic ferromagnetic/ semiconductor hybrid nanosystem was investigated theoretically. This kind of nanosystem can be experimentally realized by depositing a magnetized ferromagnetic strip with arbitrary magnetization direction on the surface of a semiconductor heterostructure. It is revealed that a large spin-polarized current can be achieved in such a device. It is also shown that the spin polarity of the electron transport can be switched by adjusting the structural parameters and location of the ferromagnetic strip in the system. These interesting properties may provide an alternative scheme to spin-polarized electrons into semiconductors, and such a nanosystem may be used as a spin filter.