The spin accumulation in an n-GaAs channel produced by spin extraction into a (Ga,Mn)As contact is measured by cross-sectional imaging of the spin polarization in GaAs. The spin polarization is observed in a 1 \mum thick n-GaAs channel with the maximum polarization near the contact edge opposite to the maximum current density. The one-dimensional model of electron drift and spin diffusion frequently used cannot explain this observation. It also leads to incorrect spin lifetimes from Hanle curves with a strong bias and distance dependence. Numerical simulations based on a two-dimensional drift-diffusion model, however, reproduce the observed spin distribution quite well and lead to realistic spin lifetimes.
@article{arxiv.1111.1523,
title = {Nonuniform current density and spin accumulation in a 1 {\mu}m thick n-GaAs channel},
author = {Bernhard Endres and Mariusz Ciorga and Robert Wagner and Sebastian Ringer and Martin Utz and Dominique Bougeard and Dieter Weiss and Christian H. Back and Günther Bayreuther},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1111.1523},
year = {2015}
}