Spin-dependent electron transport in a nonmagnetic nanostructure with both Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit terms

The spin-dependent electron transport is numerically studied in a nonmagnetic nanostructure in the presence of both Dresselhaus and Rashba spin-orbit interactions. It is shown that the large spin polarization can be achieved in such a structure mainly due to the Rashba spin-orbit term induced splitting of the resonant level. It is also shown that the spin polarization strongly depends on the well width and the thickness of the middle barrier as well as the height of the middle barrier.

► The spin-dependent electron transport is studied in a nonmagnetic nanostructure.
► We find the large spin polarization is mainly due to the Rashba spin-orbit term.
► The spin polarization depends on the well width and thickness of the middle barrier.
► The spin polarization depends on the height of the middle barrier.