Spin filtering in a hybrid ferromagnet, Schottky metal and semiconductor nanostructure

• Spin-polarized transport is investigated theoretically in a new magnetic nanostructure.
• A sizable spin polarization effect appears in this nanostructure due to the intrinsic broken symmetry.
• Such a magnetic nanostructure can serve as a spin filter for spintronics applications.

We report a theoretical study of spin-dependent transport in a magnetic nanostructure, which can be experimentally realized by depositing a ferromagnetic metal (FM) stripe and a Schottky metal (SM) stripe on the top and at the bottom of the semiconductor heterostructure. Theoretical analysis reveals that the intrinsic symmetry in a single FM-stripe magnetic system can be broken by the SM stripe placed at the bottom of the heterostructure, and thus a sizeable spin polarization effect appears. Numerical calculation shows that not only amplitude of the spin polarization but also its sign varies with the width and/or the position of the SM stripe.