Mechanism and applications of spin Hall effect

Abstract

The spin Hall effect refers to an effect in which an external electric field induces a transverse spin current. It has been known since 30 years ago that impurity scattering gives rise to such an effect. Recently, we have proposed that it is also induced by the electronic band structure, without relying on impurity scattering. Since this proposal, the spin Hall effect has been studied extensively and eventually observed experimentally. Because it can occur even in nonmagnetic semiconductors and without a magnetic field, this effect can be potentially used as an effective spin injector into semiconductor spintronic devices.