Detection of a spin accumulation in nondegenerate semiconductors

Electrical detection of a spin accumulation in a nondegenerate semiconductor using a tunnel barrier and ferromagnetic contact is shown to be fundamentally affected by the energy barrier associated with the depletion region. This prevents the ferromagnet from probing the spin accumulation directly, strongly suppresses the magnetoresistance in current or potentiometric detection, and introduces nonmonotonic variation of spin signals with voltage and temperature. Having no analogue in metallic systems, we identify energy mismatch as an obstacle for spin detection, necessitating control of the energy landscape of spin-tunnel contacts to semiconductors.