Observation of the Spin Hall Effect in Semiconductors
2004Kato, Myers, Gossard & Awschalom, "Observation of the Spin Hall Effect in Semiconductors" (Science 306, 1910-1913, 10 December 2004; DOI 10.1126/science.1105514). Electrically induced electron-spin polarization near the edges of a semiconductor channel was detected and imaged with Kerr rotation microscopy. The polarization is out-of-plane and has opposite sign at the two edges, consistent with predictions of the spin Hall effect. Measurements on unstrained gallium arsenide and strained indium gallium arsenide show that strain modifies the spin accumulation at zero magnetic field, and a weak dependence on crystal orientation suggests the mechanism is the extrinsic spin Hall effect. Hirsch, "Spin Hall Effect" (Physical Review Letters 83, 1834, 1999; OpenAlex W1965304117) is a related earlier paper under precedence review and is not merged into this node.
Originators
- Y. K. Kato
- R. C. Myers
- A. C. Gossard
- D. D. Awschalom
Landmark Paper
Checked 2026-11-02 — interim signal only, see docs/BASIC_ROADMAP.md Phase 10
Connections
- is precursor to Spin-Torque Switching with the Giant Spin Hall Effect of Tantalumbasis: reasoned
Liu et al. exploit a giant spin Hall effect in tantalum as the source of spin current; Kato et al. reported the experimental observation of the spin Hall effect in semiconductors. Different material systems and an eight-year gap, so a reasoned lineage link, not a verified citation.
Cross-Domain Connections
No verified cross-domain connections indexed for Observation of the Spin Hall Effect in Semiconductors yet. Verified links are admitted under FSTP epistemic audit standards.