Abstract

A silicon-based spin transistor of novel operating principle has been demonstrated in which the current gain at room temperature is 1.4 (n-type) and 0.97 (p-type). This high current gain was obtained from a hybrid metal/semiconductor analogue to the bipolar junction transistor which functions by tunnel-injecting carriers from a ferromagnetic emitter into a diffusion driven silicon base and then tunnel-collecting them via a ferromagnetic collector. The switching of the magnetic state of the collector ferromagnet controls the collector efficiency and the current gain. Furthermore, the magnetocurrent, which is determined to be 98% (140%) for p-type (n-type) in -110 Oe, is attributable to the spin-polarized base diffusion current.