Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 196101 (2006) [4 pages]Determination of Interface Atomic Structure and Its Impact on Spin Transport Using Z-Contrast Microscopy and Density-Functional TheoryReceived 26 October 2005; published 16 May 2006 We combine Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy with density-functional-theory calculations to determine the atomic structure of the Fe/AlGaAs interface in spin-polarized light-emitting diodes. A 44% increase in spin-injection efficiency occurs after a low-temperature anneal, which produces an ordered, coherent interface consisting of a single atomic plane of alternating Fe and As atoms. First-principles transport calculations indicate that the increase in spin-injection efficiency is due to the abruptness and coherency of the annealed interface. © 2006 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.196101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.196101
PACS:
68.37.Lp, 72.25.Mk, 85.75.−d
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