Oblique Hanle effect in semiconductor spin transport devices

Spin precession and dephasing (Hanle effect) provide an unambiguous means to establish the presence of spin transport in semiconductors. We compare theoretical modeling with experimental data from drift-dominated silicon spin-transport devices, illustrating the nontrivial consequences of employing oblique magnetic fields (due to misalignment or intentional, fixed in-plane field components) to measure the effects of spin precession. Model results are also calculated for Hanle measurements under conditions of diffusion-dominated transport, revealing an expected Hanle peak-widening effect induced by the presence of fixed in-plane magnetic bias fields. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.