ABSTRACT
Spin-dependent transport has been extensively studied in solidstate systems, particularly since the discovery of the giant magnetoresistance e¥ect (see Chapters 4 and 5 in this book). In parallel, the properties of excited electrons in ferromagnetic materials have received signi¢cant attention. Such hot electrons, characterized by an energy of more than a few times the thermal energy above the Fermi energy (EF), exhibit spin-dependent transport as well. že aim of this chapter is to describe the fundamental rules and the underlying phenomena that control the spin-dependent transport of hot carriers in ferromagnetic metals. We focus on the study of these phenomena using hybrid structures comprising ferromagnetic metals and semiconductors, where the latter are employed to create the required potential energy landscape for hot-electron transport.
