ABSTRACT
Semiconductor-based spintronics o¥ers many new avenues and opportunities which are inaccessible to metal-based
spintronic structures. žis is due to the characteristics for which semiconductors are so well-known: the existence of a band gap that can oªen be tuned over a signi¢cant range in ternary compounds; the accompanying optical properties on which a vast optoelectronic industry is based; and the ability to readily control carrier concentrations and transport characteristics via doping, gate voltages, and band o¥sets. Coupling the new degree of freedom of carrier spin with the traditional band gap engineering of modern electronics o¥ers opportunities for new functionality and performance for semiconductor devices (examples can be found in Chapters 38 and 39).
