Electric-field control of spin accumulation signals in silicon at room temperature

We demonstrate spin accumulation signals controlled by the gate voltage in a metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor structure with a Si channel and a CoFe/n(+)-Si contact at room temperature. Under the application of a back-gate voltage, we clearly observe the three-terminal Hanle-effect curves, i.e., spin accumulation signals. The magnitude of spin accumulation signals can be reduced with increasing the gate voltage. We consider that the gate controlled spin signals are attributed to the change in the carrier density in the Si channel beneath the CoFe/n(+)-Si contact. This study is not only a technological jump for Si-based spintronic applications with gate structures but also reliable evidence for the spin injection into the semiconducting Si channel at room temperature. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3643141]