Local magnetoresistance through Si and its bias voltage dependence in ferromagnet/MgO/silicon-on-insulator lateral spin valves.

Local magnetoresistance (MR) through silicon (Si) and its bias voltage (V_bias) (bias current (I_bias)) dependence in ferromagnet (FM)/MgO/silicon-on-insulator lateral spin valves are investigated. From the experimental measurements, we find that the local-MR through Si increases with increasing V_bias. This anomalous increase of local-MR as a function of V_bias can be understood by considering the standard drift-diffusion theory improved by taking into account the difference in the interface resistances and first order quantum effect between FM/MgO/Si (source) and Si/MgO/FM (drain) interfaces. The interface resistance dependence on experimentally obtained local-MR ratios also agrees with the improved standard spin diffusion theory. These results indicate that experimentally observed local-MR is certainly related to the spin signal through the Si bulk band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]