Generation and control of spin-polarized photocurrents in GaMnAs heterostructures

Photocurrents are calculated for a specially designed GaMnAs semiconductor heterostructure. The results reveal regions in the infrared range of the energy spectrum, in which the proposed structure is remarkably spin-selective. For such photon energies, the generated photocurrents are strongly spin-polarized. Application of a relatively small static bias in the growth direction of the structure is predicted to efficiently reverse the spin-polarization for some photon energies. This behavior suggests the possibility of conveniently simple switching mechanisms. The physics underlying the results is studied and understood in terms of the spin-dependent properties emerging from the particular potential profile of the structure.