Electrically generated spin polarization is probed directly in bulk GaN using Kerr rotation spectroscopy. A series of n-type GaN epilayers are grown in the wurtzite phase both by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with a variety of doping densities chosen to broadly modulate the transverse spin lifetime, T2*. The spin polarization is characterized as a function of electrical excitation energy over a range of temperatures. Despite weak spin-orbit interactions in GaN, a current-induced spin polarization (CISP) is observed in the material at temperatures of up to 200 K.
@article{arxiv.0906.0785,
title = {Current-Induced Spin Polarization in Gallium Nitride},
author = {W. F. Koehl and M. H. Wong and C. Poblenz and B. Swenson and U. K. Mishra and J. S. Speck and D. D. Awschalom},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0906.0785},
year = {2015}
}