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Theoretical Evidence of Spontaneous Spin Polarization in GaAs/AlGaAs Split-Gate Heterostructures

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Abstract

The spontaneous spin polarization of a quantum point contact (QPC) formed by the lateral confinement of a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure is investigated. We present self consistent calculations of the electronic structure of the QPC using the spin-polarized density functional formalism of Kohn and Sham. Spin polarization occurs at low electron densities and exchange potential is found to be the dominant mechanism driving the local polarization within the QPC. We compute the conductance using the cascading scattering matrix approach and observe the conductance anomaly at ∼ 0.7 (2e2/h).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287–5706, USA

    Ashwin Ashok, Richard Akis, Dragica Vasileska & David K. Ferry

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  1. Ashwin Ashok
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  2. Richard Akis
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  3. Dragica Vasileska
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  4. David K. Ferry
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Correspondence to Ashwin Ashok.

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Ashok, A., Akis, R., Vasileska, D. et al. Theoretical Evidence of Spontaneous Spin Polarization in GaAs/AlGaAs Split-Gate Heterostructures. J Comput Electron 4, 125–128 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10825-005-7122-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10825-005-7122-9

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