By measuring electron tunneling between a ferromagnet and individual energy levels in an aluminum quantum dot, we show how spin-resolved quantum states can be used as filters to determine spin-dependent tunneling rates. We also observe magnetic-field-dependent shifts in the magnet's electrochemical potential relative to the dot's energy levels. The shifts vary between samples and are generally smaller than expected from the magnet's spin-polarized density of states. We suggest that they are affected by field-dependent charge redistribution at the magnetic interface.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0207333,
title = {Using single quantum states as spin filters to study spin polarization in ferromagnets},
author = {Mandar M. Deshmukh and D. C. Ralph},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0207333},
year = {2009}
}