Strong spin relaxation length dependence on electric field gradients

We discuss the influence of electrical effects on spin transport, and in particular the propagation and relaxation of spin polarized electrons in the presence of inhomogeneous electric fields. We show that the spin relaxation length strongly depends on electric field gradients, and that significant suppression of electron spin polarization can occur as a result thereof. A discussion in terms of a drift-diffusion picture, and self-consistent numerical calculations based on a Boltzmann-Poisson approach shows that the spin relaxation length in fact can be of the order of the charge screening length.